Live vs frozen/thawed

The truth about frozen thawed is convenience. Not everyone has access to live rodents of various ages so switching to frozen thawed offers advantages. It means you can order online or got to a pet store and buy quantities of frozen thawed rodents and store them in the freezer and therefore not need to either drive every time to a store to pick up a live rodent or find means to keep live prey for your reptile.

Sometimes however you have to do what is best for your snake. Some snakes do not take frozen thawed as they are either picky eaters or they have never been switched to F/T. You sometimes have to feed live in order to help them grow and gain weight. Sometimes you get lucky and can switch over on your own and in rare circumstances you can't switch.

As larger and larger prey becomes needed, the risk of injury to the snake increases. In a confined space, a snake can't escape a scared and defensive rodent. Time and time again we see the effects of inexperienced keepers letting live prey wreck havoc onto their snake.

If you have the choice with adult rodents, frozen thawed is always better for peace of mind.

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Originally Posted by Hamsnacks

I find it funny you and Craig are claiming my post is not true, and go on about like I told the person to feed his snake veggies instead. I answered his question, you didn't lol.

BUT my statement clearly stated a BAD breeder MAY do something for a particular reason, you claim I shouldn't assume, yet you went ahead and assumed I said or meant all breeders. You're also ASSUMING that he bought it from a breeder who has a 1000 snakes. Last time I checked in Canada, and I'm going to ASSUME in the US, there are a lot more smaller/personal breeders than the larger breeders/dealers. And not all Breeders are the same.

And then you continue to discuss it as if I now screwed the person over, funny thing about forums is people think they are experts based on how long they've been here for or how many posts.

Yeah I'm going to defend my words and yeah I find the extra comments weren't necessary, the extra information was helpful and gives people another view to look at, but was more of, let me come in here, ignore the main question and just go off about how bad this person's assuming comment was.

So I'm going to stick with my original comment as being useful

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I'm not assuming anything about who he bought it from because it's irrelevant to me. Regardless of the size, and the reasons they feed live, it was your statement in general which made me say you don't have a clue as I'll still stand by that statement. I've read some of your other posts which also back my statement. Don't state anything that you don't know, like breeding for example.

I also don't think I'm an expert, and I never claimed to be. I've bred snakes though so I know the benefits of feeding live vs frozen. Also, while I'm not an expert, I still have way more experience than you and I personally know people that still breed snakes. Your whole statement about why people choose live was irrelevant in the first place, so if you want to call anything unnecessary than that was unnecessary.

In the end all you had to say was while the breeder may of fed live, you as a keeper may benefit more from trying to go to frozen.

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Originally Posted by Hamsnacks

I find it funny you and Craig are claiming my post is not true, and go on about like I told the person to feed his snake veggies instead. I answered his question, you didn't lol.

BUT my statement clearly stated a BAD breeder MAY do something for a particular reason, you claim I shouldn't assume, yet you went ahead and assumed I said or meant all breeders. You're also ASSUMING that he bought it from a breeder who has a 1000 snakes. Last time I checked in Canada, and I'm going to ASSUME in the US, there are a lot more smaller/personal breeders than the larger breeders/dealers. And not all Breeders are the same.

And then you continue to discuss it as if I now screwed the person over, funny thing about forums is people think they are experts based on how long they've been here for or how many posts.

Yeah I'm going to defend my words and yeah I find the extra comments weren't necessary, the extra information was helpful and gives people another view to look at, but was more of, let me come in here, ignore the main question and just go off about how bad this person's assuming comment was.

So I'm going to stick with my original comment as being useful

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Actually, if you look at the 2nd reply, I did answer the OPs question.


No need for you to go on the defensive. Nobody said anything about veggies, nobody said anything about screwing anybody over. That's all you. Sometimes, people are wrong. I have been wrong more times than I can count. But I admit my faults and learn from them.

Your first paragraph says "there are absolutely no advantages, except disadvantages of Live feeders, not a single advantage that could convince someone to switch over." That simply isn't true. Let me cite one example for you: a keeper gets a new snake, said snake goes on food strike and begins losing decent weight but still refuses F/T and fresh killed, the keeper offers live prey, the snake eats...yup advantage to feeding live.

You went on to say "One common thing you hear with owners who do Live which is totally wrong is, "I want the snake to feel like it's still in the wild, its better for it", they still attack the F/T feeder the same way, so it's no different.".
A) since around 1999/2000 when I started keeping snakes have never once heard this, not once. So it probably isn't all that common.
B) no, not all snakes still attack the F/T feeder the same way. So you're incorrect there.

Now onto the "bad breeder" thing...there's no end to what a "bad breeder" may do. I have never heard of a breeder feeding live because they are "too cheap to invest in a humane way to kill the mice/rats so they just feed them as is." but I have heard of many breeders who feed live for convenience, but do it safely and are knowledgeable.

You also said "every snake can be switched over with time, skill and patience." I'd love yo hear your experience to back this up...

Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but you were asking "beginner" and "amateur" (your words, directly from your thread titles) questions in January. On March 29 you started a thread in which the opening line was "So I have no experience with Live Prey" so maybe you're just not experienced enough to answer questions you have no experience with. " funny thing about forums is people think they are experts based on how long they've been here for or how many posts." I don't claim to be an expert, but when I offer advice it's because I'm confident in what I'm saying, have learned it from enough reliable sources and have enough hands on experience to be confident in what I'm saying. When I'm not confident or have no experience i either don't answer the question or I make sure I let people know I have no experience and that I am only sharing what I have read.

Look, I'm not ragging on you, I'm just saying you should graciously accept that some of the info you shared wasn't great advice and move on. Learn from people with more experience and maybe refrain from giving advice here you don't have enough experience...

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Originally Posted by Neal

I'm not assuming anything about who he bought it from because it's irrelevant to me. Regardless of the size, and the reasons they feed live, it was your statement in general which made me say you don't have a clue as I'll still stand by that statement. I've read some of your other posts which also back my statement. Don't state anything that you don't know, like breeding for example.

I also don't think I'm an expert, and I never claimed to be. I've bred snakes though so I know the benefits of feeding live vs frozen. Also, while I'm not an expert, I still have way more experience than you and I personally know people that still breed snakes. Your whole statement about why people choose live was irrelevant in the first place, so if you want to call anything unnecessary than that was unnecessary.

In the end all you had to say was while the breeder may of fed live, you as a keeper may benefit more from trying to go to frozen.

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Good job at continuing not to answer OPs question lol and continue your attacks and trying to put down others' comments instead of just adding and helping out.

I'll tell you when thing that's pretty obvious, you sound arrogant and stubborn. What's funny is you're still wrong, there is no benefit of feeding a snake live, there is only a benefit for a breeder! That wasn't OPs question.

You obviously got offended by my breeder comment, which clearly started with " a BAD breeder may..." You could of simply added your comment and all would of been good. Just because someone is a breeder does not mean they are good to their feeders or even their snakes.

So you may ASSUME you know more, but when someone starts talking like that, you lose my respect.
Stick with your Experience and Knowledge lol I'll stick with respecting others.

And read my other comments on this website, I'll never give advice I'm not sure about, and I'm always up for discussion, different opinions and new knowledge.

Have a nice day.

Basically the Advantages to FT are Safety (free from Rat bites or parasites) , Cost and being able to keep large amounts of Rodents on hand.
I myself do not like the process of FT at all. Nasty I think. Ive also fed Snakes for 30 years Life & Fresh Kill so maybe its the fact you cant teach a old dog new tricks. I have fed FT to mine and it works when I wait several weeks and got them very hungry. Mine will not take them every 7-10 days like they will Life or Fresh kill though.
I use a CO2 chamber, put the Rats to sleep and then feed. Keeps my snakes from getting bit and they eat 95% of the time when offered.
There are several opinions out there. Make sure you read and talk to several experienced people and decide whats best for you and the animal you have. Public Forums are as bad as Facebook Fake News!!



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The first thing is about being educated on your feeding options and know how to feed a snake responsibly regardless of the method you are using.

There are pro and con to both whether it is convenience or cost, not having to go to the store each week etc, one person may find live more convenient than f/t while the other may found f/t more convinient.

I breed snakes which means I started breeding feeders very early own to ensure that I could successfully start my hatchling and always have the right size available.

I have fed well over 25000 live preys in the last decade (likely double that) I also feed F/T (I euthanize and freeze my own feeders).

Feeding live is convenient, with hatchling BP it's really a must, however feeding F/T to some animals allows me to deal with surplus efficiently, and I work with other species that I prefer to feed F/T too also.

The bottom line feed what works for the animals and for you regardless of what other may think or label you as.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Actually, if you look at the 2nd reply, I did answer the OPs question.


No need for you to go on the defensive. Nobody said anything about veggies, nobody said anything about screwing anybody over. That's all you. Sometimes, people are wrong. I have been wrong more times than I can count. But I admit my faults and learn from them.

Your first paragraph says "there are absolutely no advantages, except disadvantages of Live feeders, not a single advantage that could convince someone to switch over." That simply isn't true. Let me cite one example for you: a keeper gets a new snake, said snake goes on food strike and begins losing decent weight but still refuses F/T and fresh killed, the keeper offers live prey, the snake eats...yup advantage to feeding live.

You went on to say "One common thing you hear with owners who do Live which is totally wrong is, "I want the snake to feel like it's still in the wild, its better for it", they still attack the F/T feeder the same way, so it's no different.".
A) since around 1999/2000 when I started keeping snakes have never once heard this, not once. So it probably isn't all that common.
B) no, not all snakes still attack the F/T feeder the same way. So you're incorrect there.

Now onto the "bad breeder" thing...there's no end to what a "bad breeder" may do. I have never heard of a breeder feeding live because they are "too cheap to invest in a humane way to kill the mice/rats so they just feed them as is." but I have heard of many breeders who feed live for convenience, but do it safely and are knowledgeable.

You also said "every snake can be switched over with time, skill and patience." I'd love yo hear your experience to back this up...

Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but you were asking "beginner" and "amateur" (your words, directly from your thread titles) questions in January. On March 29 you started a thread in which the opening line was "So I have no experience with Live Prey" so maybe you're just not experienced enough to answer questions you have no experience with. " funny thing about forums is people think they are experts based on how long they've been here for or how many posts." I don't claim to be an expert, but when I offer advice it's because I'm confident in what I'm saying, have learned it from enough reliable sources and have enough hands on experience to be confident in what I'm saying. When I'm not confident or have no experience i either don't answer the question or I make sure I let people know I have no experience and that I am only sharing what I have read.

Look, I'm not ragging on you, I'm just saying you should graciously accept that some of the info you shared wasn't great advice and move on. Learn from people with more experience and maybe refrain from giving advice here you don't have enough experience...

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Excellent response Craig. Very respectful and good information.
I dont want anyone to feel less valuable here than others however Im not knowledgeable about a lot of things and I just zip it. I enjoy learning new crap and refrain from giving advice in certain areas. Ive had Pythons for 30 years this spring and you will NEVER see me in certain threads. I know nothing about breeding unless you want to go to the quarantine room and discuss human interactions [emoji4] ....i know nothing about Hots, Arboreal snakes, colubrids etc... So I just leave it alone...

I don't believe anyone was stomping on your reply however your reply was spoken as facts. I'm sorry but it was 90% incorrect, wasn't even stated as opinion.


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I'll start again by thanking all of you for your info. I'm sorry it turned into what it has turned into, but, although I'm new to this forum, I've been on several forums so I would be more shocked if it didn't evolve into something like it did. To quote the great Mr. King, "CANT WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?" (OK, it's Rodney not Martin Luther but technically it's still Mr. King!"). I am fortunate to have a fantastic locally owned pet store that specializes in reptiles less than a mile from my front door so live and f/t are just as convenient As for cost, right now I have one snake and a couple dollars a week is not an issue. Safety wise, I've got a long pair of forceps (think that's what they're called) that I use to hold the tail of the mouse when I feed. I don't just drop it in there. She's on adult mice now, I feed every 4th or 5th day. She's never refused a meal and is growing FAST! I am gonna try a small rat really soon. I just wanted to know all the advantages and disadvantages in my husbandry because I love animals and would hate to think that I've taken the responsibility of snake ownership but aren't willing to do what's best for her health and safety.

I think Deborah pretty much ended this discussion. You feed a snake what you need to feed a snake to keep it thriving. That is all. If you are lucky to be able to switch to F/T they do so. For a small scale hobbyist F/T is far more convenient. I thank my lucky stars all my snakes feed F/T but if they didn't I would be buying live even if it meant I had to drive miles to get stock.

I also have to say that it's ignorance on the part of snake owners to not buy a snake from a location or a breeder where you know their feeding preference. If you don't want to feed live, don't buy a snake that only eats live. Simple as that.

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Originally Posted by bhsurf4

I'll start again by thanking all of you for your info. I'm sorry it turned into what it has turned into, but, although I'm new to this forum, I've been on several forums so I would be more shocked if it didn't evolve into something like it did..... I just wanted to know all the advantages and disadvantages in my husbandry because I love animals and would hate to think that I've taken the responsibility of snake ownership but aren't willing to do what's best for her health and safety.

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well, for some reason the FT vs live discussion, no matter how innocently started, always seems to take a turn for the worse on this forum. Just consider Deborah's reply to be the final word on this topic.