Honest opinions on feeding.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I guess the rat below didn't get the email .

http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-ar...s-ball-python/

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left a live rat in with the ball python for the night.

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This is again NOT representative of RESPONSIBLE live feeding.............nice try :rolleyes:

Key word RESPONSIBLE

That link also recommended stunning rodents before feeding...

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Then again ' really not that dangerous ' can equate to " maybe a little risky "

Why take a chance with a snake that could be worth hundreds of dollars !?

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Virtually everything in life is 'maybe a little risky' How you wish to handle that risk no matter how slight or insignificant is up to you.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

That link also recommended stunning rodents before feeding...

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As Deborah mentioned before, 'stunning' a rodent is cruel and inhumane. Killing a rodent by bashing it over the head is one thing. Lightly bashing a rodent over the head with the intension of leaving it alive and capable of stumbling about with brain damage but incapable of fighting back is in my opinion just plain wrong.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

everyone's quite happy to drop a fine tuned proven killing machine intent on fighting for it's life with razor sharp claws and teeth into a sealed area with nowhere to hide with our precious Royals . These beautiful Royals / BPs aren't exactly kitted out for warfare are they ??

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LOL What?

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Originally Posted by MarkS

As Deborah mentioned before, 'stunning' a rodent is cruel and inhumane. Killing a rodent by bashing it over the head is one thing. Lightly bashing a rodent over the head with the intension of leaving it alive and capable of stumbling about with brain damage but incapable of fighting back is in my opinion just plain wrong.

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Absolutely agreed. I was using that as an example that whoever wrote that article, in addition to being kind of sensationalist, doesn't know much about live feeding.

This is a ridiculous and overly dramatic argument.

Bottom line; Live feeding is safe if done correctly, period. Don't want to do it? It's your snake and ultimately your decision and no one will be forcing you to.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I'd argue that you can't compare a trapped and cornered rat with one in the wild where they can attempt to runaway .

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I just wouldn't be willing for my precious Royal to take the chance tbh and that's presuming I knew where to buy those kamikaze rats .

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

We may as well drop this now.
Maybe it's a cultural thing as mentioned above .
I still find it odd that I'm causing stress by giving my Royals the occasional soak ( after a bed shed or to rehydrate ) and yet it's supposedly fine and dandy to drop an adult rat into an enclosed space with my soft little Royal :)

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Then again ' really not that dangerous ' can equate to " maybe a little risky "
Why take a chance with a snake that could be worth hundreds of dollars !?

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Where to start??
Again, what is YOUR history of feeding? I started and tried the frozen thing. It was okay up until we got our fifth ball python. Now at over fifty no way, no how, no time. For me feeding live is so much easier, takes less time and is more efficient. Snakes eat more often and no rats go in the trash.
If the rat doesn't get eaten then it goes back into the rat rack it came out of. No waste at all.
Fed and taken care of rodents almost never cause a problem. Yes things could happen but that is also part of being a responsible breeder/owner.
If all you have is google to fall back on then you have hit the end of this chain and you are done trying to prove a point you don't have experience with.
Last time I checked balls have been eating live a lot longer than we all together combined have been keeping them.
Never had a bite in several thousands of feedings, toenail scratches are a different thing.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

Absolutely agreed. I was using that as an example that whoever wrote that article, in addition to being kind of sensationalist, doesn't know much about live feeding.

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Too many people want to base everything they know on stuff they read on the web.
Just because it works in my house doesn't mean it will work in yours BUT I wont push my ways on anyone and expect the same in return.

Incidentally , that last quote of mine wasn't mine - for what it's worth .

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Incidentally , that last quote of mine wasn't mine - for what it's worth .

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No one said it was. ;)