Live prey

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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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I really believe that if you ordered f/t prey in bulk it would be cheaper in the long run, even with shipping included. Especially if you pick the slowest shipping method.

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

That's fine when they will take pre-killled(most don't) and when your collection is only a few snakes but when you feed 50-100 snakes what Robin posted is what most breeders do with out incident.

I feed over 100 snakes a week, 97% live and have never had a problem because I feed appropriate sized rodents. Most folks run into problems because they are feeding too large of a rodent that is also dehydrated and starving. This is a formula for problems.

The only snakes I pre-kill for are my kings and boas.

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Fed my adult female, 2,000g, her first live Rat this weekend. She has never killed her prey in her 6 years of life until now!

The snake is a family pet, and very healthy. My 8 yo middle son is a carnivore enthusiast, and frankly we got bored of feeding F/T. He keeps venus fly traps (best fed traps on the planet) and other carnivorous plants, as well as various carnivorous insects. He likes feeding live. Plus it was a pain to thaw the rats and they stank.

So this weekend we went down to the local shop and got a small rat, probably just shy of 100g, maybe around 90g. I didn't want to start her off with a live 225g rat like we would give her F/T. She took down the little bugger within about 2 mins of it being in her tank!

My question is, are the bigger rats, say 225g, significantly more dangerous than a 90g rat, given that they are both raised in a responsible local non-chain shop, well fed and watered? I want to give her the appropriate size but I would rather feed her twice as often than endanger her significantly more than with the littler rats. And I say "significantly" because i know there is always a small chance of problems.

For me, cost is a non-factor. Compared to my 3 kids, spending a few bucks a month on a snake is nothing.

I must say though that the live rat, in my situation, was way cleaner, easier, and more entertaining than the F/T by a long shot.

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Originally Posted by JTrott

FYI.....rodents don't carry reptile mites.......

Jason

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FYI.....reptile mites are known to travel on rodents.....They just don't feed on them.

There are risks and benefits to both f/t and live. But to say one method is safer than the other is inaccurate. If f/t works for some people, then great! I personally feed live. All of my snakes have an extremely strong feeding response. They usually snatch the rats as I'm dropping them into the tub. I feed smaller and more frequent than larger and less often. Keeping the prey size smaller minimizes risks as well.

A rat with a full tummy will be less of a threat than a hungry rat. When a hungry rat is left in with the snake, the only other edible thing in the tub is the snake.

I breed my own feeders. I like playing with them and giving them some play time out of their enclosures. They're socialized to be pet friendly. A more socialized rat isn't likely to freak out and get scared as easily. A scared rat can be a dangerous rat.

F/t works for some and live works for some.
Like Robin said, as long as live feeding is done responsibly, it can safe. Same thing can be said about f/t.

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Originally Posted by Smoked Oyster

My question is, are the bigger rats, say 225g, significantly more dangerous than a 90g rat, given that they are both raised in a responsible local non-chain shop, well fed and watered? I want to give her the appropriate size but I would rather feed her twice as often than endanger her significantly more than with the littler rats. And I say "significantly" because i know there is always a small chance of problems.

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In my opionion, larger adult rats have the potential to be dangerous.
I personally feed smaller and more often. The snakes tend to have an easier time dispatching smaller rats than the large ones who struggle.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by JTrott

I will stick to how I do it....thanks for your opinion though........been doing it this way for about 10 years now....never had an issue......don't plan on having one now.....

Kinda curious why you quoted my post though when Robin(rabernet) posted almost the EXACT same thing I did......

Anyways, thanks again for your opinion.

Jason

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Sorry i was in between classes at school and didnt really read the whole thread. As long as you stand there and watch the whole time its fine. But ive never had a snake not pound the rat within the first 5 minutes if its gunna eat. Living it in there for longer than that seems uneeded imo. But ya as far as smell the f/t really dont smell any worse than a live one.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Sorry i was in between classes at school and didnt really read the whole thread. As long as you stand there and watch the whole time its fine. But ive never had a snake not pound the rat within the first 5 minutes if its gunna eat. Living it in there for longer than that seems uneeded imo. But ya as far as smell the f/t really dont smell any worse than a live one.

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You don't even need to stand over it the entire time. I never do.

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Originally Posted by Smoked Oyster

Fed my adult female, 2,000g, her first live Rat this weekend. She has never killed her prey in her 6 years of life until now!

The snake is a family pet, and very healthy. My 8 yo middle son is a carnivore enthusiast, and frankly we got bored of feeding F/T. He keeps venus fly traps (best fed traps on the planet) and other carnivorous plants, as well as various carnivorous insects. He likes feeding live. Plus it was a pain to thaw the rats and they stank.

So this weekend we went down to the local shop and got a small rat, probably just shy of 100g, maybe around 90g. I didn't want to start her off with a live 225g rat like we would give her F/T. She took down the little bugger within about 2 mins of it being in her tank!

My question is, are the bigger rats, say 225g, significantly more dangerous than a 90g rat, given that they are both raised in a responsible local non-chain shop, well fed and watered? I want to give her the appropriate size but I would rather feed her twice as often than endanger her significantly more than with the littler rats. And I say "significantly" because i know there is always a small chance of problems.

For me, cost is a non-factor. Compared to my 3 kids, spending a few bucks a month on a snake is nothing.

I must say though that the live rat, in my situation, was way cleaner, easier, and more entertaining than the F/T by a long shot.

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I don't feed much larger than 150 gram rats once a week to even my largest girls.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Feeding F/T eliminates two worries for me...no bites and no mites.

As far as the smell goes...smells like dinner time to the boys ;)

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You can still get mites from f/t. Adult mites will die in the freezing process, but not their eggs. The eggs can lie dormant until more ideal hatching conditions arise.

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Originally Posted by Slim

FYI.....reptile mites are known to travel on rodents.....They just don't feed on them.

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Ok?.......so they live on rats, but don't feed on them....so mites are self sustaining(sp?) now?.....that doesn't make sense.....I understand if you offer to one snake that has mites, and move to another snake that doesn't, the mites can pass to that snake, but reptile mites will not just 'show up' on a rodent.....they have to origionate from somewhere.......if you got reptile mites from a feeder, it is because the person you got that feeder from has offered it to a snake that has mites......

If reptile mites do not feed on rodents, then how do they survive?......I guess that is my problem with your statement.....

Jason

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Originally Posted by JTrott

If reptile mites do not feed on rodents, then how do they survive?......I guess that is my problem with your statement.....

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They don't live on rats, they can be carried on feeders that get raised in the back of a reptile store or in close proximity to snakes, as is very common in this hobby. I've heard multiple stories over the years of someone bringing home reptile mites on the backs of feeder rodents. It only takes one egg carrying mite on a rat's back to get an infestation started.