Poll- source of your mice/rats/rabbits/birds/etc.

Breed, feed live.

I will probably start feeding some frozen as I need to build up a large supply of pinkies/fuzzies for some more snakes I plan on getting in the future, and its hard to suspend time and make them stay alive and not grow :) :)


For the people saying frozen is way too expensive, have you looked at websites like rodentpro.com ? Sometimes they have some pretty good deals (saw rat pinkies for .19 each the other day).

My best figuring is that I can breed pinkies up to weanling size for around .10 cents or so, so .19 is a deal for no hassle!

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

My best figuring is that I can breed pinkies up to weanling size for around .10 cents or so, so .19 is a deal for no hassle!

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You also have to add in the shipping cost. ;)

At the moment, I'm breeding gerbils since it's the only thing she will eat.

I just got in 15 hamsters form some people who were moving, my oldest female poped right as i got her home so I have 10 new babies :D

When it comes to hamsters and rats I do pre killed or knocked out. It is just safer that way with the bigger, more agressive rodents.

oh if you didnt already know I breed then feed :P LOL

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Originally Posted by jessie_k_pythons

When it comes to hamsters and rats I do pre killed or knocked out. It is just safer that way with the bigger, more agressive rodents.

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Yep, I think rats are so cute when there in a deep sleep! lol

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

For the people saying frozen is way too expensive, have you looked at websites like rodentpro.com ? Sometimes they have some pretty good deals (saw rat pinkies for .19 each the other day).

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There are some good deals out there like my XXL rats for $1.50 each from rodent pro. Although I wouldn't recomend them anymore after the problems I have had lately

Ihad the hardest time feeding the hopper rats to my snakes. They were so frigging cute, but I grew up on a fam that raised Beef cows and calfs. You get really used to killing the cutest things.

We breed all of our snake's food and feed all of our snakes live. I do have some snakes that will eat dead meals, when I offer them a rat pink or fuzzy that just recently died.

I buy live and feed live. I take the mouse or rat(depending on which snake I am feeding, put it in a running ball and spin it a few times to make them super dizzy Then I just drop it into the feeding cages and it's supper time. Oh and my ball python has no problem eating in for of people either.

I feed frozen, for me its just cheaper and easier..
I dont have to buy live animals for $5 each or more at PetCo, or breed them (once I have them as pets, I just cant kill them)
I can pay $1.50 or so for the frozen, and order enough to keep me stocked for awhile.. :)
Not that I'm knockin live, done that before as well, this just happens to work better for me :) I think as long as its monitored, there shouldnt be any major issues. I was initially told freezing killed parasites, which that..,along with the safety of the snake were my ONLY reasons for NOT feeding live...Since I've found parasites are NOT killed by freezing, and there are responsible ways to feed live, I have no issues..Besides, your snakes, your choice. :)

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Originally Posted by FPaul702

I buy live and feed live. I take the mouse or rat(depending on which snake I am feeding, put it in a running ball and spin it a few times to make them super dizzy Then I just drop it into the feeding cages and it's supper time. Oh and my ball python has no problem eating in for of people either.

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I can't wait to hear the answer to why you put the rat in a "running ball" to make them dizzy? :fishslap:

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Originally Posted by jglass38

I can't wait to hear the answer to why you put the rat in a "running ball" to make them dizzy? :fishslap:

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I know what you mean i wait for the same answer. I never heard of getting a rodent dizzy before feeding them off..I personally K.O before feeding them but spinning them to get them dizzy?hmm.weird

iv'e fed my bp live food ever since i got her back in 2005 and not one mouse has ever bitten her.

I've had my bp for 2.5 months so far samething for me he has never been bitten. even then i wouldnt want to take the risk which is why i pre-kill or KO before feeding him.

i buy live and feed live and make sure that i keep an eye on that mouse and make sure it doesnt hurt the snake :)

When sukodo (my bp) was eating mice fuzzies I fed live but since she can eat small mice I feed her frozen. She tends tto be more scared of moving objects so I think frozen is better for her.

As for our mackie, My husband insists on feeding his live. Which I'm okay with it because he is an agressive eater and shouldn't have a problem with it.

I feed F/T for now, But I'm thinking of feeding live for both my snakes, only cause I can't find frozen rats (wanna get them started on live mice) and I'd rather just not have to buy them, kill them, then freeze them. I found a reptile place 20 miles away that sells them cheap. I see the racks and I'm pretty sure he breeds them.

As a matter of fact tomorrow is feeding night so I'll grab an adult mice and a small mice and see how they go.

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Originally Posted by Grim91Z

I feed F/T for now, But I'm thinking of feeding live for both my snakes, only cause I can't find frozen rats (wanna get them started on live mice) and I'd rather just not have to buy them, kill them, then freeze them. I found a reptile place 20 miles away that sells them cheap. I see the racks and I'm pretty sure he breeds them.

As a matter of fact tomorrow is feeding night so I'll grab an adult mice and a small mice and see how they go.

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Did you ever think about buying from http://www.rodentpro.com? They have great service and that way you don't have to pre-kill and freeze feeders on your own.

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Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

Did you ever think about buying from http://www.rodentpro.com? They have great service and that way you don't have to pre-kill and freeze feeders on your own.

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Hmm, may have to check that out.

I fed my Boa a small live mouse. Took it without any problem (except spending two minutes to sniff it's entire body). Didn't feed the BP as it is going into shed.

i do the fresh kill, saves time warming the feeders, and is still warm and wiggly.

My python will only eats live, my corns eat thawed.

Breed em and feed em "Live" :rockon:

Breed, feed, buy, stun/pre-kill, clean cages, pick up poo... My BCC won't eat her pre-kill untill after dark...And the reason I pre-kill hers is she's up to Jumbo size and I worry about an injury since she won't feed infrount of me. Baby pastel BP will only eat if I hold infrount of his hide, all the others take outta my hand... But I do freeze my cricketts.. joke!:P

I buy and feed live to my BP's, they all came to us eating that way and Ive kept it that way.
Now my lil girls cornsnake came eating f/t so I'll stick with it. And Our tegu will eat either. I prefere f/t for her tho, live is a very viscous (sp?) display.
I guess I cater to what they like, I do the same things with my kids, One refuses to eat "anything" green!

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Originally Posted by Sinsation

I prefere f/t for her tho, live is a very viscous (sp?) display.

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viscious:sweeet:

i started out f/t (i always had to brain them), majority started refusing, so switched to live, and it's been easy. however i got it from petco and it's going to cost 9 or 10 dollars a week... i'm going to look for another pet store

i would breed, but man, mice STINK!

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Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

viscious:sweeet:

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Thank you:oops:
Sometimes that blondeness really gets me. More so in the evening after a long day.

I feed all my snakes frozen/thawed. Except for the short tails and the gopher snakes, they won't touch live rodents.

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Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

viscious:sweeet:

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Actually it's.....(from Webster's)

Main Entry: vi·cious http://www.m-w.com/images/audio.gif
Pronunciation: 'vi-sh&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French vicios, from Latin vitiosus full of faults, corrupt, from vitium vice
1 : having the nature or quality of vice or immorality : DEPRAVED
2 : DEFECTIVE, FAULTY; also : INVALID
3 : IMPURE, NOXIOUS
4 a : dangerously aggressive : SAVAGE <a vicious dog> b : marked by violence or ferocity : FIERCE <a vicious fight>
5 : MALICIOUS, SPITEFUL <vicious gossip>
6 : worsened by internal causes that reciprocally augment each other <a vicious wage-price spiral>

ive nothing against live feeding but ive always used frozen , except for one royal a few years ago that would only except live

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Actually it's.....(from Webster's)

Main Entry: vi·cious http://www.m-w.com/images/audio.gif

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Wow!!! Why did I add an extra "s" ? I knew that it is vicious not viscious, but.....I too was being dirty blond :D .

I should of just used the word "Savage" and saved us all this trouble!
Ill just show the pictorial::explosion

i feed live and if monty doesnt eat it within 10 mins of my dropping the mouse in the i take the mouse out of the cage and try it later in the day or the next day i tried frozen and i heated it up so it would be the temp of the mouses body temp and monty just looked at me like i was stupid so i tried to feed him pre-killed he wrapped around it and after he wrapped it up he picked it up with his mouth and hid it in his hide then i went back to live and he went right for it so i feed live only

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Originally Posted by Sinsation

I should of just used the word "Savage" and saved us all this trouble!
Ill just show the pictorial::explosion

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Or : :sabduel: (black one is lizard and yellow one is :rat: )

:D

I buy live and HAVE BEEN feeding live but I had a close call with my pastel the other day when I fed him a small rat. My pastel got bit very very lightly and the neck and thank god he was shedding so it only got a piece of the old skin. (THANK GOD!)


I will now be working on feeding prekilled, It's just hard because some of my snakes just won't take a second look at a prekilled...

If I feed off one of my lives then I put it down first.......unless the snake is really picky......then I watch and use a hook to let the mouse bite it instead of my snake!

My rats are "homegrown." I breed rats, and if I run out or something, don't have the right size, I get them from my friend; she has a huge colony and always has spares of every size.
I feed live, supervised; now that they're in the rack, my BPs seem to take it faster for some reason.

yay..we've hit 200 votes. thanks to those who voted.:)

When i feed it is always F/T....When i buy the food, it depends on what is cheapest that day, frozen or live. If they are live, i just freeze them, and thaw when it is time for a feeding. I never feed live, Just too many risks, and my snakes have no problems eating f/t...actually one of them wouldnt eat the live pinkey i gave him :rolleyes::confused:. It makes my life easier either way. lol. If i get another snake ill probably breed, just 2 females, 1 male....I'll only have 3 snakes, so i wont really need too many.

today i went to a new petshop, looking for mice, last time i had to go to petco and my friend's brother had to be there, because they wouldnt sell it to a minor

the new pet shop, sells to minors, and they have a selectiong of pinkies/fuzzies/hoppers/adults, so i'm really pleased with it

when i bought my female bp she was eating live with no prob. don't fix some thing that's not broken, right? i feed her in a smaller empty tank so if there's ever a time she'd refuse it i can just take her out and try later. she always grabs the head and quickly constricks so no bites or scratches. i always watch till she's done. it all depends on the snake they will let you know what they like.:mouse2: :hungry:

buy live, feed live is the way i do it and it seems like its what most other ppl do too :)

BL/FL > ALL !!!

Well, I breed about 75% of what I feed.. usually though, I come up short and buy what I need extra from my friend who has a pet store in Arcade. I feed live.. on the super rare occasions when I have something that is not eaten and cannot be fed to anyone else, I will freeze it and offer it to Luna, my one BP that will accept prekilled or thawed..

u dun stotted suttin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried doing the f/t thing but my animals are not eating consistently enough for me to stick with it but whenever I put in a live, they are done in a short time. I will now be breeding my own food

I have fed max three times, all live, and due to the stories i hear of F/T I will never go that route. I have no issue with feeding live and I love watching him eat. I make sure I am there and can get in the way if the soab starts to bite back (really unfair if you ask me). Max seems to enjoy eating live and I will continue to do so till I have a good reason to change it. I am looking into getting a bunch of mice and trying to breed my own, but im sure thats a huge mess in itself..

Anyone just buy live mice in bulk and throw them in the freezer then pull them out as you need it??

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Originally Posted by sw204me

I have fed max three times, all live, and due to the stories i hear of F/T I will never go that route. I have no issue with feeding live and I love watching him eat. I make sure I am there and can get in the way if the soab starts to bite back (really unfair if you ask me). Max seems to enjoy eating live and I will continue to do so till I have a good reason to change it. I am looking into getting a bunch of mice and trying to breed my own, but im sure thats a huge mess in itself..

Anyone just buy live mice in bulk and throw them in the freezer then pull them out as you need it??

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There are a few people that euthanize live rats or mice first before "throwing them in the freezer".

What is the link?

i buy live and feed live now i tried breeding but doing so im my bedroom gets a bit on the smelly side that was a stupid idea and my mice still never bred after 2 month of a male and 4 females stupid mice lol warning to all if you want to breed your snakes food make sure its in a well ventilated room and away from your sleeping quarters. they stink. hehehe i am going to have to start breeding again cus 15 bucks a week for my snakes is getting a bit pricey and i plan on adding some more to my collection soon so that will be going up.

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

There are a few people that euthanize live rats or mice first before "throwing them in the freezer".

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i used to use the small co2 bottles like from paintball and i made a miniature gas chamber works fast and i believe is a bit more humane than the thumping method i have also tried hat but now i just throw it in the tank.

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Originally Posted by sg1trogdor

i buy live and feed live now i tried breeding but doing so im my bedroom gets a bit on the smelly side that was a stupid idea and my mice still never bred after 2 month of a male and 4 females stupid mice lol warning to all if you want to breed your snakes food make sure its in a well ventilated room and away from your sleeping quarters. they stink. hehehe i am going to have to start breeding again cus 15 bucks a week for my snakes is getting a bit pricey and i plan on adding some more to my collection soon so that will be going up.

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I've gathered from rat breeders' posts on this site that rats smell MUCH less than mice do. If your snakes will eat rats, it might be worth it to try breeding them instead of mice :)