The Age Old Question

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Somebody posted that it is NOT just the hungry rats that bite. In my experience I have found that to be true on numerous occasions.

Sometimes my :snake: won't take the rat. Thus, I'm forced to cage it. I feed and water it well. I then offer the rat up again in a few days. Many times these well fed rats have offensively attacked my snake.
Needless to say I immediately grabbed the rat!

This is why I now feed by hand, while the rat is trying to bite me.:O

Which reminds me, I'm getting off here now to get on EBay to buy some long hemostats. The long tongs won't hold the rats.

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Why on earth are you feeding live rats anyways ? There is simply no need IMHO .

One it's just cruel on the rats , at least in the wild they have a chance of escaping and try and run . In a confined space they get cornered and fight back to save their lives . Google snakes bit by rats !!! Scary what damage they can do to your precious snakes who don't quite as pretty with scarred heads or eyes missing !!

Should we start a separate thread for the live vs f/t debate? It still seems to be going strong...

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Why on earth are you feeding live rats anyways ? There is simply no need IMHO .

One it's just cruel on the rats , at least in the wild they have a chance of escaping and try and run . In a confined space they get cornered and fight back to save their lives . Google snakes bit by rats !!! Scary what damage they can do to your precious snakes who don't quite as pretty with scarred heads or eyes missing !!

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It isn't any more 'cruel' to feed live than it is for them to live their lives crammed into a petstore cage with ten other rats (maybe someone else has access to more humane pet stores, but I've not seen them). If you want rats and snakes to live naturally, you shouldn't keep them in captivity.

Instead of googling 'snakes bit by rats' you should search this forum for people who responsibly live-feed. Sometimes BPs will only eat live (this is also the case with many wild rescue animals I've worked with through the years) so sometimes there IS a need to feed live. If my BP would take f/t I'd do that simply bc it's easier, but she will literally starve herself to the point of losing weight if you offer her anything other than live prey.

Part of owning a snake is being willing to do whatever it takes to give that snake the best life possible. In the case of animals that won't take pre-killed prey, that means feeding live.

Sorry I'm just not convinced ... There are so many ways of getting so called no feeders to feed . One of the less well known and possibly one of the weirdest methods is to simply put the non- feeding Royal in a rub /tub with the heated d/f rat or mouse and tape something that vibrates to the outside of the container (use your imagination ) . This wacky method has a very high success rate and the rat is unlikely to blind the precious Royal .

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Sorry I'm just not convinced ... There are so many ways of getting so called no feeders to feed . One of the less well known and possibly one of the weirdest methods is to simply put the non- feeding Royal in a rub /tub with the heated d/f rat or mouse and tape something that vibrates to the outside of the container (use your imagination ) . This wacky method has a very high success rate and the rat is unlikely to blind the precious Royal .

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I'm aware of that method, and several more that just sound crazy but I've given them a try (like scenting the mouse with tuna juice of all things). I know they're supposed to work, and I've told my BP that but she just doesn't seem to listen to me.

Seriously though, I tend to gravitate toward 'hopeless case' adoptions, and I've spent over a decade working with reptiles. Heck, I've even convinced a snake that went blind to eat regularly. There are some animals that will just never adjust to pre-killed prey. You're right, many can be switched over, but blanket statements like "All snakes can do X" or "No snake does Y" are almost always wrong.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

I'm aware of that method, and several more that just sound crazy but I've given them a try (like scenting the mouse with tuna juice of all things). I know they're supposed to work, and I've told my BP that but she just doesn't seem to listen to me.

Seriously though, I tend to gravitate toward 'hopeless case' adoptions, and I've spent over a decade working with reptiles. Heck, I've even convinced a snake that went blind to eat regularly. There are some animals that will just never adjust to pre-killed prey. You're right, many can be switched over, but blanket statements like "All snakes can do X" or "No snake does Y" are almost always wrong.

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Fair enough mate . Just differing opinions . I couldn't / wouldn't feed live for the two reasons I've already given ..

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Sorry I'm just not convinced ... There are so many ways of getting so called no feeders to feed . One of the less well known and possibly one of the weirdest methods is to simply put the non- feeding Royal in a rub /tub with the heated d/f rat or mouse and tape something that vibrates to the outside of the container (use your imagination ) . This wacky method has a very high success rate and the rat is unlikely to blind the precious Royal .

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That sounds mean to the snake, wouldn't it stress them out? I've read up on this method, and some say that eventually the snake gets so annoyed with the rat/mouse that it eventually just eats it. It sounds like force feeding to me, I personally wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary. Am I right about this, or am I missing the point?


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Originally Posted by gameonpython

That sounds mean to the snake, wouldn't it stress them out? I've read up on this method, and some say that eventually the snake gets so annoyed with the rat/mouse that it eventually just eats it. It sounds like force feeding to me, I personally wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary. Am I right about this, or am I missing the point?


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I think the goal is to get the snake to recognize the mouse as food so you don't have to do that every time. If you only have to do that a time or two I'd say it's probably not too stressful for the snake.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

I think the goal is to get the snake to recognize the mouse as food so you don't have to do that every time. If you only have to do that a time or two I'd say it's probably not too stressful for the snake.

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Oh ok. I've heard of people who leave their snakes in with the mouse in a tiny container overnight, but I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if it was just a while. I understand the purpose now, thanks for the explanation.


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Originally Posted by gameonpython

Oh ok. I've heard of people who leave their snakes in with the mouse in a tiny container overnight, but I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if it was just a while. I understand the purpose now, thanks for the explanation.


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You only need to put it in the container for a very short time , sometimes just a few minutes as the vibrations seem to induce a feeding response .. I've read of some people who have odd ones that will ONLY eat when they're in a moving car !!

As to the vibrations ... Many years ago I had a Royal that had a RI . I cured it myself by putting the Royal in an enclosed container with a hand held nebuliser which was nebulising F10 . The nebuliser was vibrating strongly and I wondered if the Royal would be scared but after a few minutes I noticed the Royal completely wrapped around the nebuliser like an octopus . It did that EVERY time for the next 10 days !
That suggests that they actually like vibrations maybe it reminds them instinctively of live food !?
Could it have been trying to constrict the nebuliser ??

Petstores do sell vibrating dishes.


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