While thawing out large rats for larger snakes (my old 7' BCC before I came over to this god-forsaken place) can be a pain in the butt, it is SOOOOOO much cheaper! To me the cost savings far outweight any annoyances of thawing out a rat. My female cinny will eat live or f/t, male pastel won't bother with f/t, haven't tried with my female spider.