live feeding

if my snakes are in their hide, i dangle the mouse right outside, they "wake up" and start wandering, and then i drop the mouse farthest away from the snake.

but accidents still do happen, one of my females, i didnt see the mouse, even though i monitor them, bite her, but a few days later i was handling her, and i noticed a little cut and immediately put neosporin on it

I agree w/ everyone on the fact of pre-scenting.
Rather then remove the hides I just place a pc of cardboard in front on the one Ozzy is not in. Then I will open his cage door and set the rodent box in there for a min. or two and if Ozzy is ready to eat he will stick his head out of the hide and be in the strike position, at which time I will let the rat loose on the far end of the cage and by the time the rat scampers over his way he strikes and coils so fast the rat doesn't know what hit him let alone get the chance to bite. I know that the pre-scent is what gets Ozzy so hyped up and ready to go.
It works!

I didn't realize so many people fed there snakes live.

I always thought F/T was safer for the snake?

Any reason behind feeding live snakes vs. F/T?

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Originally Posted by kplunk

I didn't realize so many people fed there snakes live.

I always thought F/T was safer for the snake?

Any reason behind feeding live snakes vs. F/T?

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I personally don't feed live but its a decision as a snake owner they can make. Live is more dangerous but if done responsibly, it is ALMOST as safe as f/t. There is always the risk the mouse or rat will bite back in the split second it takes to react.
Also, some balls are just too picky and refuse to eat dead prey. For some its just easier to feed 1000+ mice a week VS. thawing them out then feeding.
Lets not let this get out of hand, keep it civilized:carrot:

Completely civily speaking ...

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Live is more dangerous

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How so? Do you have first hand experience feeding large numbers of snakes live prey and stating fact based on first hand knowledge? Or are you merely expressing an opinion based on what you believe to be true?

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

There is always the risk the mouse or rat will bite back in the split second it takes to react.

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I literally feed out tens of thousands of live rodents a year and carefully study the behavior of the rodents and the animals ... I've been doing so for a long time ... When feeding live is done correctly, there is no "split second" in which a mouse or rat can bite back and do any type of damage. I feel confident stating that as fact based on my first hand experience.

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

For some its just easier to feed 1000+ mice a week VS. thawing them out then feeding.

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For me, it has nothing to do with what is "easy" ... I have an extremely expensive collection of high end animals and I would never take a "risk" in order to make things easier ... I do what is best for my animals ... I feed live because I know that it can be done just as safely as any other method of feeding. ;)

Thank you for letting me share the large amounts of experience I have with this subject ... hopefully it helps someone.

:D

-adam

I feed most of my snakes live but what i do to insure their safety is feed them rat pups and rat weanlings. They are much larger and more nutritious than mice and are not able to do harm to my snakes. Some of my snakes will eat perkilled most of the time but most of them prefer live and like any parent I like to give my babies what they want. For instance last night I fed some of my larger snakes 2 and 3 rat pups. I breed my own rats, which are much easier to breed than mice(mice need specific temps to breed) and even the pinkies are perfect for baby BP's. I had a guy call me last night asking about a pastel I'm selling and he told me a rat chewed his pastel's face anf killed him!!!!!! Go for the rat pups :rockon:

there really isn't any proof that rats are more nutritious then mice. :)

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Completely civily speaking ...



How so? Do you have first hand experience feeding large numbers of snakes live prey and stating fact based on first hand knowledge? Or are you merely expressing an opinion based on what you believe to be true?

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I was saying that live is more dangerous vs. a dead rat in general. No matter how the snake hits the rat there is still a SMALL Posibility something could happen. Am I saying its likely? NO. Am I saying it will happen? NO. Am I saying its possible, Yes.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I literally feed out tens of thousands of live rodents a year and carefully study the behavior of the rodents and the animals ... I've been doing so for a long time ... When feeding live is done correctly, there is no "split second" in which a mouse or rat can bite back and do any type of damage. I feel confident stating that as fact based on my first hand experience.

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There is always a chance a rodent can fight back. the chances of it when fed live responsibly, like I said above. Possible but not likely.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

For me, it has nothing to do with what is "easy" ... I have an extremely expensive collection of high end animals and I would never take a "risk" in order to make things easier ... I do what is best for my animals ... I feed live because I know that it can be done just as safely as any other method of feeding. ;)

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I didn't mean to make it sound like you take the easy way out. I did say that some animals just won't take dead therefore implying that live may be needed. Although if done correctally it is relatively safe, there still is a slightly higher risk a live rodent would cause damage vs. a DEAD rodent. What damage can a f/t rodent do to your snake?

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Thank you for letting me share the large amounts of experience I have with this subject ... hopefully it helps someone.

:D

-adam

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I wasn't trying to flame or anything, I was just saying my oppinion and what I see as facts and possibilities

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

I was saying that live is more dangerous vs. a dead rat in general. No matter how the snake hits the rat there is still a SMALL Posibility something could happen. Am I saying its likely? NO. Am I saying it will happen? NO. Am I saying its possible, Yes.

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And there's always a chance that a rodent won't be thawed out correctly, and could still by icy in the middle...or partially cooked...or rotten....any of which could cause serious complications for your snake. Is it likely? No, not if thawing is done responsibly...but it IS possible. ;)

I certainly don't disagree with feeding f/t.....but I did want to point out that both methods have their slight risks, as do all things in life worth doing. I think they balance each other out and one is not better or worse or safer or more dangerous than the other if the snake keeper is doing their job right.

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Originally Posted by JLC

And there's always a chance that a rodent won't be thawed out correctly, and could still by icy in the middle...or partially cooked...or rotten....any of which could cause serious complications for your snake. Is it likely? No, not if thawing is done responsibly...but it IS possible. ;)

I certainly don't disagree with feeding f/t.....but I did want to point out that both methods have their slight risks, as do all things in life worth doing. I think they balance each other out and one is not better or worse or safer or more dangerous than the other if the snake keeper is doing their job right.

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Of course each have their pros and cons. I mean what ever works for you, Go for it. Its easier for me as well as most boa keepers feed f/t. Its just easier becuase most boas will readily accept f/t vs the many picky balls that won't touch it.