Feeding live?

i was not saying there was a problem feeding live, i just wanted to explain why i choose the way i do it. this happened to my male water python 1 month before breeding season.

There's a lot to be said for proper conditioning of ball pythons and feeding live, f/t, or p/k. Whether you have one snake or a more sizeable collection, getting into a routine really serves ball pythons well as they begin to know what to expect during live feedings. I think a lot of new keepers are always switching things up (trying live then f/t then p/k and back again), interfering with the rat and snake during feeding time, etc, and it really throws the snake off.

I feed 11 ball pythons live prey each week at the same time. I start by leaving the rats in containers in the room with the snakes for about 30 minutes. I've noticed that most of them "wake up" and start roaming their cage or sit in wait at the front of their tubs. I drop a rat in each tub, more often than not the rat barely hits the ground before the snake grabs them. No waving or wiggling the rat or any other coercion to get the snakes to eat.

The whole point of this is that proper conditioning of ball pythons and consistency in your habits goes a long way to keeping them successfully. Whether you feed live inside a cage, a seperate box, f/t, p/k, whatever, you have to find a routine that works and stick to it exactly. With that and a little patience, you and your snake will be much better for it.

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Originally Posted by lisa77

I personally have never fed live as I am in UK & its illegal.

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Are you sure about that? Isn't it an urban legend.
I'm f/t all the way anyway.

I put my girls in a seperate feeding tub, or the "Rodent House of Death", as my kids call it (I got into the habit when I first started on the advice of the local herp shop). Inside that I have a small cardboard box that I place the "snake food" in. The rodent typically settles down in the box and is, in effect, "hunted". I listen for the strike and then remove the lid to make sure everything goes as planned. This way the snake isn't exposed to the rat until she is ready. I also tend to wait for "hungry" behavior, since I tried the weekly thing and ended up with a lot of wasted rodents. I wasn't a big deal when I still had their mom, who would eat anything that didn't try to eat her first. I had very good luck this summer with pre-killed. THey have consistantly, since their second winter, refused to eat from October to March. They drink all the time, but have accepted maybe three winter meals in as many years. At four they are around 1800 grams and have never had any health problems, so I figure they know what they need.

Excellent post Brad! Really good solid common sense advice there. Whatever you feed, as a responsible keeper you need to know the pro's and con's of a feeding method as well as the proper procedures and also how a particular snake will react to that method. We feed live much as Brad does and it's pretty standard around here to place the live rat in a tub and immediately hear the "thump, whap" of the snake hitting it instantly.

I appreciate the replies everyone. I have never approached feeding my snake by first scenting the room with the prey before I drop it into his cage, I will try this. My main concerns were him getting wounds from a small small rat's claws as I have had these problems with a red tail I had previously. When I spoke to the couple I get my feeders from the guy told me that there was no need to scent his surroundings before I feed and I took his advice considering he has over a thousand snakes, but I will try this method and see what the results are.

I really can't thank all of you enough for the reassurance that feeding live is not a bad thing and I will try some of your suggestions.

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Originally Posted by kurgan

Are you sure about that? Isn't it an urban legend.
I'm f/t all the way anyway.

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From everything I've heard from herpers in the UK, live feeding is illegal.

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Originally Posted by eyeofowl

I appreciate the replies everyone. I have never approached feeding my snake by first scenting the room with the prey before I drop it into his cage, I will try this. My main concerns were him getting wounds from a small small rat's claws as I have had these problems with a red tail I had previously. When I spoke to the couple I get my feeders from the guy told me that there was no need to scent his surroundings before I feed and I took his advice considering he has over a thousand snakes, but I will try this method and see what the results are.

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One thing I've learned is that everybody does things differently. The people you've spoken to may have found "their way" which does not include scenting the room, but in no way does that mean you absolutely don't have to.

I've just found that doing that tends to decrease the amount of time that the rat is moving around in the tub before the snake hits it. Often times, I've got about 3 seconds to get the tub open, drop the rat in, and close the tub, before the snake nails it, or else the snake is coming out!

As opposed to before what I didn't scent the room, the first indication the snakes had that it was "feeding time" was when a curious rat came right up to their nose and suprised them...and for some of my shy feeders at the time...would be enough to turn off their feeding response.

What you should do is keep doing what you are doing, gathering information and taking advice from others, and develop your own unique routine that draws on that advice and works for you. If you end up with happy, healthy snakes, your way is the right way for you.

It seems that it is legal with certain restrictions (last resort, humane conditions and treatment of feeder animal - both of which seem perfectly reasonable to me):
see:
http://www.publications.parliament.u...52/4090727.htm
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/pets/herp-faq/part3/

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Originally Posted by kurgan

It seems that it is legal with certain restrictions (last resort, humane conditions and treatment of feeder animal - both of which seem perfectly reasonable to me):
see:
http://www.publications.parliament.u...52/4090727.htm
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/pets/herp-faq/part3/

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Hi,

Kurgan is 100% correct. In the petshop I used to work in we were used to train the rspca inspectors about reptiles for a couple of years and that was always one of the questions they asked. Ironically we had a harder time explaining to one of them why a lizard that lived in the sahara didn't need a water bowl "large enough for him to swim in". A lot of it comes down to the personal feeling of the inspector as far as the heat of the argument but as long as a good reason for it can be provided ( like starving to death) you will certainly not be prosecuted.

But as stated in his links if you are feeding live just because " you think it's cool" or keeping the food in bad conditions they are within their rights to arrange for the courts to take your animals away and ban you from keeping anything for 5 years or more.You should have seen some of the poor animals they handed in to us over the years - breaks your heart somedays.

It usually comes down to proving you are knowledgeable and responsible with the lives in your charge.It's easy to lose your temper when an inspector is called to your house incorrectly (happened to a zoo-keeper friend of mine once - he was not a happy bunny) but they are generally reasonable human beings and are obliged to investigate any complaint.They also tend not to know a lot about reptiles - so teach one at every opportunity :)




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