Live prey

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

It's not like frozen mite eggs have a never ending shelf life.

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Maybe this is why I've been lucky so far.

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Originally Posted by Slim

I never said it did appy to you, but thanks for implying that I buy feeders at nasty pet stores. That was awesome:gj:

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I was in no way implying anything towards you....nor was I implying that pet stores are nasty, I was making fun of everyone that when they talk about petstores, the word nasty, or disgusting has to be thrown in there......I don't imply things, if I have an issue, or want to say something to, or about, you, I would just say it......I don't need to throw in clever hints.....I am way to old for that crap......

Jason

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

That's an entirely conditional statement...if frozen at low enough temperatures the eggs will die almost immediately. If frozen for long enough, even not at sub-zero temps, they will die...and it's only a matter of days, not extended periods of time. It's not like frozen mite eggs have a never ending shelf life.

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I agree. But they have been known to survive at least a few months though, which gives plenty of time to transfer if there was ever such a case.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by JTrott

I was in no way implying anything towards you....nor was I implying that pet stores are nasty

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That's not the way I read it...

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Originally Posted by JTrott

I raise my own feeders so mites come from dirty petstores don't apply to me....

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But I am willing to take you at your word if you say you are in the business of calling a pointed garden tool a pointed garden tool. I'm in that business too.

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Originally Posted by JTrott

I raise my own feeders so mites come from dirty petstores don't apply to me.......and by the way, not all petstores are nasty.....I have been to LOTS of petstores that I would not mind buying from or selling to....they just don't carry things that I want/need.

I have raised probably thousands of snakes over the past 10 years, and maintain a collection of just over 150, and have never had a snake get attacked/chewed up by a rat.......maybe that is because I take care of my rats the same, if not better than my snakes......I have the understanding that you only get out what you are putting in......just because I don't have almost 2000 posts in 4 months doesn't mean that I don't know what I am talking about.

We can argue/debate all day who is right, and who is wrong, and whos opinion is better, but in the end of the day it is all just opinions. No matter how you feed your snakes, it is up to you to do it in a responsible way......

Good day to everyone,
Jason

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I apologize. I realize what i may have said sounded rude. I was just being sarcastic lol. As i suspected you DO have a ton of experience with snakes and feeding live. You also raise your own rats which make a huge difference. I respect that. BUT i dont think someone who is new to snakes should be doing the same thing as you. Theyll think that they can just get a rat from a petstore and drop it in the tank and forget about it. That may sound absurd to you bc you have alot of experience and know thats a really bad idea, but i gurantee there are people out there that would try it. And the number of posts someone has, has nothing to do with how much they know. I wasnt trying to sound like a know it all.

Petstore rats are just as calm or vicious as the rats I breed......has nothing to do with where they come from.....it is a matter of using the gray stuff between you ears for something more than keeping your ears seperated......if 'new' people cannot use common sense and not leave a rat in the tub/cage for hours on end, then maybe they should not have purchased the snake to begin with and have LOTS bigger problems....it is all a matter of common sense, and I would agree....some people have more than others.....

Jason

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Originally Posted by Slim

That's not the way I read it...

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The rest of the sentence was......."by the way, not all petstores are nasty.....I have been to LOTS of petstores that I would not mind buying from or selling to....they just don't carry things that I want/need.".......that was meant to be a side note...sorry it didn't come out that way.....hard to portray emotion and stuff on a forum.....

My apologies if it came across the wrong way.....

Jason

Did you guys know that racecar spelled backwards is also racecar!
;)

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Originally Posted by JTrott

Petstore rats are just as calm or vicious as the rats I breed......has nothing to do with where they come from.....it is a matter of using the gray stuff between you ears for something more than keeping your ears seperated......if 'new' people cannot use common sense and not leave a rat in the tub/cage for hours on end, then maybe they should not have purchased the snake to begin with and have LOTS bigger problems....it is all a matter of common sense, and I would agree....some people have more than others.....

Jason

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Very true i agree lol

On a side note: you dont breed the rats for being docile at all? Like ive heard some people feed off mean or cannabalistic ones and through generations develop nicer ones. Just curious...

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Originally Posted by ster36

I just got a spider ball python and he's used to eating frozen/thawed. So my question is how to convert him to live Prey?

Thanks

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Do what you gotta do. but I would start off with something small.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Very true i agree lol

On a side note: you dont breed the rats for being docile at all? Like ive heard some people feed off mean or cannabalistic ones and through generations develop nicer ones. Just curious...

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Not answering for JTrott, but in my experience...

Rats are a social animal and what you put into them is what you get out of them. I've not come across a single naturally aggressive rat in the 3+ years I've been breeding them. The bites I have received(very, VERY few) are most likely from individuals that I have not handled as much, which are more nervous and fearful...not mean and aggressive. The reason I feed off rats that bite or cannabalistic rats is simply because I do not want to keep rats that will bit me or eat their babies. For me, it is not breeding for temperament, since they already have such a good disposition naturally.

they will eat live regardless. its food and they know that. but why would you want to? its a lot more expensive, you have to clean and disinfect his tub/cage or your feeding tub (whichever you use) every time after he eats. i say just keep him on frozen thawed.

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Originally Posted by adam_c

they will eat live regardless. its food and they know that. but why would you want to? its a lot more expensive, you have to clean and disinfect his tub/cage or your feeding tub (whichever you use) every time after he eats. i say just keep him on frozen thawed.

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Can you tell us more about why it is necessary to clean and disinfect the tank after live feeding vs ft feeding?

So many things going on in this one thread.

I started Koga on f/t from my local Petsmart, because I was under the impression that feeding live was much more dangerous than it really is. I switched to live a whole two weeks ago because it costs a mere fraction of the price (I only have one snake and he's still growing, so ordering in bulk isn't the best option right now.) No difference in feeding response, I have no preference of f/t vs live, and really the only downsides to live are 1) having to drive out to the small exotic pets store each week and 2) having to hear the squeal of a dying rat each week.

I could go either way. Live is just more convenient for me right now.

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Originally Posted by Smoked Oyster

Can you tell us more about why it is necessary to clean and disinfect the tank after live feeding vs ft feeding?

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I would also like to know why live feeders would be different to frozen as far as germs in the tank. If the snake is eating the mouse, than germs apparently arent a factor. Now i can see if the mouse piddled or poodled in the cage, that should get got, but if its just chilln and then gets swooped, poop and all, is it really that much worse than a frozen?

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Originally Posted by adam_c

they will eat live regardless. its food and they know that. but why would you want to? its a lot more expensive, you have to clean and disinfect his tub/cage or your feeding tub (whichever you use) every time after he eats. i say just keep him on frozen thawed.

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You do? I missed that memo, I guess.

Also, live is less expensive for me than f/t. Literally - live prices are less.

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Originally Posted by ster36

Not where I live in rural Wyoming nobody carries frozen thawed and shipping would put the price higher then a live one would cost me.

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If you buy in bulk isnt that cheaper in the long run? They will keep for a pretty long while in the freezer.
Im trying to convert my Dumeril to F/T.. im tired of spending 3.99 a week on one live mouse, when I have 50 perfectly good dead ones in my freezer (which only cost me 25.00).

In my opinion she is just being picky.. Just a thought :P

I'ma just add to the cost thing of Ft vs Live, FT may be cheaper if your snake actually EATS FT.

I've been trying for a long time to get Kallista to eat FT, but she just doesn't like it. I don't and WON'T buy bulk FT because it's way to bloody expensive with the shipping and all for rats that I'll have an overabundance of that my single growing ball python probably will only eat 20% or LESS of, the rest needing to be thrown out eventually.

Seeing it that way, it's more worth it for me to go out and either spend 2-8$ on 1-4 mice(mice are 2.15$ with tax) At 500 or so grams, Kalli can probably take two larger adult mice. Or 8$ on one rat of almost any size(expensive, yes, I know, but more worth it when she actually eats them.)

I agree though, it's all a personal preference. I was thinking of just asking Petco for some dirty gerbil bedding to thaw my rats in, but it would be easier just to go down to Alley cat(where I buy my feeder mice/rats) and pick up a live one. I'll have to get over my love for rats and just not think too much about it and just on Kallista eating. (Or I could feed her mice since 1) it's a little cheaper 2) I don't care about feeding mice to Kallista and 3) I don't care if she doesn't grow as big or as fast as snakes on rats because I just want her to eat.


Sorry if this sounds somewhat... harsh? It's just stressful to spend 12$ on 3 rats only to have to throw them out after the first or second thawing.

I was expecting this 'fun' though when I got a ball python, fully knowing that they were picky eaters, reading about all the hugner strikes and FT vs Live threads, ect, and it's a lot of work, but worth it for these wonderful reptiles!

I'll just say now though, I probably will just stick with lizards of all sizes and maybe eventually a snake I know will almost always eat anything.


This is just my opinion/view/thought/experience with ft vs live

I work in a shop that has a lot of snakes and feed almost 7/8ths of them f/t. My personal collection, however, is fed mostly live, with a few juvies taking p/k...if its easier for the op to get live, then why berate him for wanting to do so...snakes are good, skilled predators, they can take care of themselves for the most part

The more I think about it.......hey if it's easier for the OP to get live then F/T and that works for him why not? I don't think there is anything you have to do to get a snake on live, they are wired to eat live. It's usually the other way around.