Hate it when they do this... I know I'm not the only one

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

another reason why i dont like f/t. Im a live guy all the way, just gotta watch them and be at the ready.

I once fed my 6 year old ball python this one rat who after he was wrapped up he had his teeth sunken deep into his neck, i tried to get him off by he had him wrapped so tight i couldt, i thought for sure there was gonna be serious damage, but after he let him go, that rats teeth never even got to pierce the skin.

You gotta remember that snakes skin are very resilient and can take a beating. They dont eat frozen thawed or "knocked out" mice in the wild....

honestly my only concern with feeding life is if they catch an eye, but thats a risk im willing to take because another thing is, kinda disgusting have a freezer full of dead mice, just the thought of that makes me irk

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If you keep frozen mice in a freezer , they're always kept apart from normal food stuff and either kept in sealed plastic boxes or vacuum packed plastic bags .
Some will have a separate little fridge .

I don't have an issue feeding live but it is a lot cheaper and convenient for me. I don't really care to breed my own rats and I have a f/t supplier with great prices. Live feeders from a pet store are ridiculously expensive IMO. Also I don't keep any frozen rats with my own food. I have a deep freezer in the garage just for snake and dog food(my dog is on a raw diet). I appreciate the input but this is just the easiest way for me.

Luckily he hasn't popped a lot of rats lately but he has ripped the tail off a couple when he striked and coiled so fast half of the tail was stuck in the hemostats

It happens sometimes, and yes it truly stinks. I've run into the situation unfortunately a couple times myself. Long as it isn't a regular occurrence, I rack it up to part of the "game".

That's very weird. I have some hard strikers/wrappers and the only time one 'popped' was because I had warmed it in too hot of water.
I was thinking leaving it sitting on the counter too long might make it start to go bad/get weak? I don't know, that's very strange though.

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

They dont eat frozen thawed or "knocked out" mice in the wild....

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Snakes have been known to eat carrion in the wild.

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I was thinking leaving it sitting on the counter too long might make it start to go bad/get weak? I don't know, that's very strange though

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I leave them in the fridge for a day or two depending on the size of the rat to defrost then just leave them sitting out to bring them to room temp.