Is F/T worth the trouble?

I've been trying to convert my (7) BPs to F/T food, since everyone seems to think it's better than live - mostly for the safety of the snake, and supposedly it also makes things easier for the keeper. Well, so far that has NOT been true for me! :cool:

Only one snake will take it 100% of the time, and that's my new baby Mojave... Toby (pastel) will eat maybe 50%, and the others are between 0-25% thus far. Therefore I'm wasting a good percentage of these frozen mice/rats, especially since the only definite F/T eater is so small (and can only eat 1-2 small adult mice at a time). I also find it much more time-consuming than live, since I have to thaw & sometimes heat them up before serving. With live I just toss it in the tub, and 9 times out of 10 it's eaten within a minute. Finally, it's actually harder to find frozen prey than live around here, and ends up costing about the same per item.

So basically I'm wondering, is it worth continuing the attempt to switch them over - or should I just stick with live? I only feed live mice, btw, for a few reasons... one being that Delilah only eats mice, and Mona (the biggest girl) has been fasting since August, so I don't want to be left with rats that are too big for my little guys. I also just got a breeding trio of mice, so hopefully I'll soon have my own supply. And when I do get my own babies, I'll really be annoyed if I end up throwing them away after freezing & thawing. :rolleyes:

Any thoughts or suggestions on this topic? Has anyone else had this much trouble converting, and if so, did you give up or keep trying?

Aww man we really do have the same problem....well all i can say is keep trying cuz i definately think its worth it saves the trip to the pet store plus if you get it from the right place prices can be pretty good on frozen feeders:snake:

well since you have 7 balls you can buy them rodentpro.com for like 30 cents each, but its bulk. like 75 of something, but since there frozen...ya know. yeah it can be hard to convert. luckily my 2 took to it within seconds lol

my 2 cents.......i don't think going to the pet store is a bad thing.i like seeing new stuff when i go.if i ordered f/t mice/rats i wouldnt have my leopard geckos,and i love my leos.
its nice to know your animals will eat a f/t but i like watching the hunt and im sure they like it too.one thing is i always have a long kabob stick if the rat bites i stick it in there to where the rat cant bite.....if i had hundreds of snakes id change but alot of us here dont so we can take the time to be sure they dont get hurt

Yeah, I was about to buy a few packs from RodentPro, until I saw the shipping cost is over $50. :O That only makes sense if you're feeding like 100 snakes... I did the calculations, and for me it would be the same as a local pet store.

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Originally Posted by Butters420

my 2 cents.......i don't think going to the pet store is a bad thing.i like seeing new stuff when i go.if i ordered f/t mice/rats i wouldnt have my leopard geckos,and i love my leos.

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Good point! I have to make regular pet store visits anyway, to feed my dog & two cats... last time I went to Pet Club (my store of choice), the guy greeted me by saying "don't you ever leave this place?" That could be a bad sign, LOL. :oops:

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Good point! I have to make regular pet store visits anyway, to feed my dog & two cats... last time I went to Pet Club (my store of choice), the guy greeted me by saying "don't you ever leave this place?" That could be a bad sign, LOL. :oops:

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naw.getting to know people is good.its nice to know someone cuz i promise they will treat you better than not knowing you.i know a lady so good now she lets me go in the back and choose my rodents,plus if a new clutch pops and there still in the back she takes me to look at them for first public pic.nothing great but i appreciate it

now there are prolly hundreds of peeps on here that will tell you f/t is the best and if it works for them great,if it works for you,awsome!but if you are responsible enough to feed live i suggest it

like you said,i also have other animals that need food and im not always here to receive packages from out of town so my options are cut down.do wat works for you as long as you are responsible.

good luck!:)

Thanks for the feedback! And yes, I am very responsible when feeding live... I "only" have 7 snakes (:D), so it doesn't take that long to supervise each of their meals. Since a few of them eat multiple prey items, I usually do it in rounds - throw in the first one and wait for the strike, then move to the next snake and wait for the strike, and when they're all done I start on round 2 (for those who eat multiples). Works for me, and the snakes don't seem to mind either. ;)

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

I've been trying to convert my (7) BPs to F/T food, since everyone seems to think it's better than live

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I must have missed some live vs. f/t conversations along the way, because not everyone thinks that f/t is better than live.

Well, I think it's better than live for my kingsnake, because he doesn't quite have the finesses to kill live prey without them getting a few scratches on him, and he takes f/t without hesitation.

As for my ball pythons, I've never fed pre-killed, stunned or f/t to any of my crew. 1) I don't have a freezer big enough to keep f/t for my crew, 2) I personally have no first hand evidence that feeding live is in any way detrimental to my crew, 3) I think stunning prey is cruel and un-necessary and 4) live is more convenient for me with little to no risk for my animals.

And I take GREAT pride in my ball python collection. If I felt feeding live was a significant risk, I'd be feeding f/t. I've done the calculations, and in all the live feedings I've done, the percentage of injuries (minor scratches) incurred on my animals is in the 1/1000th of a percentage.

Bottom line - f/t is better to feed if it's more convenient for the owner AND their snake feeds consistently on it. Live is better if it's more convenient for the owner AND their snake feeds consistently on it.

Feed what you're comfortable feeding, don't let anyone tell you that their way is better - it may be - for THEM. Doesn't mean it has to be for YOU!

Thanks Robin. ;) I don't remember a specific conversation/thread, but I always hear about people converting to F/T - because "it's better for the snake and keeper." Most say that because of the danger of snakes getting scratched or bitten, I assume, but luckily I haven't experienced that yet. I guess some also sympathize with the prey, and think it's cruel to feed them while alive... but I don't feel that, especially when I'm giving my snakes what's best for them. So if you (and the other experts here) don't see anything wrong with it, I'll probably stick with live for now. Just doesn't seem worth all the hassle for F/T!

Personally, i feed F/T because 1. all my snakes will eat F/T 90% of the time and 2. it is SUPER convenient for me so i really lucked out.

I get all my feeders from a local supplier and have a chest freezer (5 cubic feet freezer) dedicated to rodents, but sometimes i store regular food stuffs in it as well (lol i was SO confused when i pulled out a bag of chicken breasts and went omg what happened to these rats!?, my BF had put some chicken in there and forgot to tell me, whew).

I get great quality feeders and save shipping because i have a few local shows around me here or when i was in NY there were a few specialty exotics pet stores around me that had a ton of frozen stock. Since i buy in bulk i usually get a nice discount anyway.

Feeding live is a pain for me because my cats get SUPER predatory and i really dont have any room for mice where they wont be harassed constantly by the cats and thats not really fair, but i have fed live on a few occasions before and would again if i had to.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

(lol i was SO confused when i pulled out a bag of chicken breasts and went omg what happened to these rats!?, my BF had put some chicken in there and forgot to tell me, whew).

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:8: That is too funny, LOL. We only have one freezer in the house, so it has played double-duty for both human & reptile/fish food... since my roommate also has lizards & large fish, it not only has rodents but mealworms, brine shrimp, etc. We try to keep them on ONE shelf, however, to avoid any mixups or confusing moments like you had. ;)

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Feeding live is a pain for me because my cats get SUPER predatory and i really dont have any room for mice where they wont be harassed constantly by the cats

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My dog is actually a bigger pain on live feeding day, and I usually end up locking him out until it's done. Then I got a breeding trio of mice, which I thought could be a problem... but Rudy (the dog) immediately recognized them as "pack members" and hasn't bothered them once. My old cat looks for a second before losing interest, and the little one does think their cage is like a personal kitty TV-set. So I keep the cage in a closed bathroom now, and only let her in when I can supervise.

We'll see what happens with the mouse breeding, but that might solve my problems... then I can save myself a little money, time (from the non-dog/cat pet store visits), and even go half F/T and half live if I so desire. Wish me luck!

Btw, you're lucky that you have a good local supplier, because around here it's slim pickings... which might be surprising since I live in a major metro (SF Bay Area), but reptiles really aren't that popular here. Not to mention, we have too many "hippies" who would probably protest even the F/T suppliers. Our craigslist users are constantly flagging rodent dealers, not to mention anyone trying to sell a snake - whether it's a rescue or high-end CB morph. Oy vey. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I even caught slack from the local Petco manager, when I bought a male & female mouse with one cage. He was like "you know, we aren't supposed to sell mice for breeding, or feeding for that matter." My response was "Okay... then I'm buying them as beloved pets, and I already have a second cage at home." I mean, really? Like Petco is soooooo good with live animals, LOLOL.

Our best local supplier is probably East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley, but that's across the bridge from me - which means a $4 toll, and minimum of 30 minutes in heavy traffic (any time of day). :mad: I used to go there when I worked in the East Bay, but now it simply doesn't make any sense.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

Feeding live is a pain for me because my cats get SUPER predatory and i really dont have any room for mice where they wont be harassed constantly by the cats and thats not really fair, but i have fed live on a few occasions before and would again if i had to.

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One of my 2 cats is super predatory, and I'm quite thankful for that. When I've had ASF's "boing" out of a tub - she's right there to catch them for me.

I call the ASF breeder tank "Lexi TV".

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...i/IMG_5580.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...i/IMG_5577.jpg

In my opinion, no. It is not worth trying to convert balls to f/t. They are such picky eaters as it is. I tried to feed all my ball pythons f/t when I got big into them, but I was throwing away too many each week. Once I switched them to live, I have a much better feed ratio. The rats that are not eaten are put back with the breeding colony until the following week.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

One of my 2 cats is super predatory, and I'm quite thankful for that. When I've had ASF's "boing" out of a tub - she's right there to catch them for me.

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Now, that's what you'd call a symbiotic relationship. ;) I use Rudy as my cricket-catcher, whenever they escape during gecko feeding... all you have to say is "GET IT" and he'll catch whatever you point to.

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I call the ASF breeder tank "Lexi TV".

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LOL... and cute pictures! I guess mine could be called "Bindi TV," although her interest does seem to be lessening with time. Btw, I wish I could breed ASFs, since I hear good things about them (in terms of keeping & feeding). But for whatever reason they're illegal here, along with gerbils - which kept me from buying this gorgeous striped/normal adult girl I saw online, since the breeder said she would ONLY eat gerbils.

all of my balls eat f/t

FT is easier for me just not having to keep extra pets around. I have one picky eater that will only eat live and when she wont eat it gets fed off too one of the others. I'm lucky in that all except the one slam FT.

I think there'sa little miss conception ar far as which is more humane especially in the big pet stores. I work in a research facility and although its not my job i've seen rodents get CO2 before it takes a minute or 2 and a struggle. Feeding live takes seconds. Its the fact that we're spared the human emotion aspect. Kinda like just dealing with the Steak at the supermarket.

Be prepared to be flexible. If you have enough snakes & a desire to feed FT, you'll find you're doing a bit of everything. I've one stubborn mouse eater (used to be more than that), but he's a boy & we've got him on a 5 day schedule- he gets 2 items at every other feeding.

I've got babies (all start on L rat pups) converting over to FT rats, 1/3 are still a tad shaky. If I get a refusal on FT they get L the next day. Then there's the older ones 4 of those - 2 will only eat live, 2 will do pre-killed. 3 of those are girls & I can usually get them on FT after their 1st clutch if not before.

The rest (25+) are on FT & do great on it. I like the consistent feeding I see with my FT feeders, they seem to be less sporadic than the others. But you'll end up being flexible because as you get snakes in, you're adjusting to whatever feeding method they were on, some will adjust, some not. You have to be flexible. I still think it's worth it for me because of the % of FT feeders here & I'm pretty good at getting them to come 'round to it.

I say give it a shot if you feel up to it.

All of my snakes eat FT. No ball will ever eat 100% of the time. They all go off feed for a little bit. I have one that consistently goes off feed 6 months every winter. As for money, you should redo your math. If you buy a small stand alone freezer and get a full box of ratcicles not only will you save money on rodents but the freezer will pay for itself in a few months. I just went this rout after getting sick of shelling out 50 a week to feed my 9 snakes and am saving a ton. The main reason to feed FT or PK is to avoid scars. Who wants to look at a snake with a bunch of scars, especially a morph? If you try feeding and they don't eat just refreez it once. Twice no, but once never hurts. Time is the other reason to feed dead. If it takes you longer to feed dead than live you are doing it wrong. If live is working for you and you can't get them to take FT stick with live. It sounds like you just need to wait them out though. If they take it once they will take it again. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Butters420

its nice to know your animals will eat a f/t but i like watching the hunt and im sure they like it too.

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Snakes do not "like" things the same way people do. You are anthropromorphizing. The snakes are operating off of instinct.

As for those who say feeding live is safe. Obviously not as safe as frozen/thawed feedings. If anyone has ever been bitten by an adult rat (my my had 10+ stictches in her hand from a large male once that she had as a pet) then you know the damage they can do. Regardless of how proficient your snake is with hunting, it only takes one missed strike or misplaced hit for the rat (or mouse) to severely injure your animal and cause damage. Know the risks if feeding live.

Having said that, if the animal will eat nothing but live you have no choice. All of my ball pythons eat f/t and I am thankful for this as for me it is both cheaper and more convenient. My emerald tree boa eats nothing but live and I have to go out of my way every feeding to get a live hopper mouse for her. Being allergic to rodents keeping them on hand is not an option for me and I have no desire to tend to or take care of my snake's food. That is an even larger inconvenience than getting the one hopper every couple of weeks. (Lucky for me etb metabolisms are much slower and they require far fewer feedings.)

I'm not advocating one way or the other and I think whatever works best in getting meals into the snakes is probably the best course. I just think that sometimes the risks when feeding live are severely downplayed and we shouldn't lose sight of the damage that can be inflicted when feeding live. Personally, I prefer my collection without scars and with all their eyes in tact. But again, like I said, lucky for me, every one here eats f/t except one snake.

If you can’t convert them now (it requires tough love (of course given your BP are healthy and have a good body weight)

I convert mine back and forth each year……………………..let me explain.

I produce my own feeder rats and mice and prefer to feed live (with over 50 snakes it is just more convenient for me) however during the winter months I always end up producing more then I need as my snake slowly go off feed for months, so I euthanize the feeders, freeze them and once my snake resume feeding they are offered F/T first while supply last and then back to live.

I am doing that every year and trust me when a snake comes out of several months of fast (especially females that have laid) they will eat about anything.

So is it worth it well F/T has it's advantages and inconvenience what matters is that you feed what works for your snake and is convenient to you (one is no better then the other)

My opinion on F/T. I believe it is easier, cheaper and a lot safer.
Easier because I don't have to go to the pet store every week and get a hundred rats to feed to my snakes (even though I have a few that will not take F/T so I need to pick a hand full). It is so easy to go down stairs to the freezer and pick out what I need and if one does not eat another will just get an extra one or I just toss it. If I have to get all live and some did not eat then I would have to house them and I do not want that.
Cheaper because F/T is around $1 a rat and live is more then that even at friend prices. Well at least where I get them from. He has shown me his invoice so I know what he pays for the feeder.
Safer for the obvious reasons. The snake will not get bit. I will not get bit. I do not have to worry about any of them escaping.

I just prefer F/T or live and P/K. As much as I dislike the little buggers I still don't like to be the one to kill them. But a snake has to eat!

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Btw, you're lucky that you have a good local supplier, because around here it's slim pickings... which might be surprising since I live in a major metro (SF Bay Area), but reptiles really aren't that popular here. Not to mention, we have too many "hippies" who would probably protest even the F/T suppliers. Our craigslist users are constantly flagging rodent dealers, not to mention anyone trying to sell a snake - whether it's a rescue or high-end CB morph. Oy vey. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I even caught slack from the local Petco manager, when I bought a male & female mouse with one cage. He was like "you know, we aren't supposed to sell mice for breeding, or feeding for that matter." My response was "Okay... then I'm buying them as beloved pets, and I already have a second cage at home." I mean, really? Like Petco is soooooo good with live animals, LOLOL.

Our best local supplier is probably East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley, but that's across the bridge from me - which means a $4 toll, and minimum of 30 minutes in heavy traffic (any time of day). :mad: I used to go there when I worked in the East Bay, but now it simply doesn't make any sense.

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It may be worth the time now if you buy in bulk, if its something you want to do. Honestly, its all about what works best for you and your animals. :)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

One of my 2 cats is super predatory, and I'm quite thankful for that. When I've had ASF's "boing" out of a tub - she's right there to catch them for me.

I call the ASF breeder tank "Lexi TV".

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Its Ollie and Fatty TV for me, my BF is allergic to rodents so its really not the best idea for us to keep them in the house, but he does enjoy when i bring them home (until its snakey dinner time...)

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Originally Posted by Deborah

If you can’t convert them now (it requires tough love (of course given your BP are healthy and have a good body weight)

I convert mine back and forth each year……………………..let me explain.

I produce my own feeder rats and mice and prefer to feed live (with over 50 snakes it is just more convenient for me) however during the winter months I always end up producing more then I need as my snake slowly go off feed for months, so I euthanize the feeders, freeze them and once my snake resume feeding they are offered F/T first while supply last and then back to live.

I am doing that every year and trust me when a snake comes out of several months of fast (especially females that have laid) they will eat about anything.

So is it worth it well F/T has it's advantages and inconvenience what matters is that you feed what works for your snake and is convenient to you (one is no better then the other)

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That is an awesome idea!

I prefer feeding F/T just because its easier. I was breeding my own feeders and that became to much work! Some of the bp's will eat f/t with no problem. others will skip a few meals then take one. All the morelia snap them up like they have never been feed so what I do is feed the left overs to them.

Thanks to everyone for the opinions... gave me a lot to think about! ;) Tonight was feeding night, and I went with live b/c I'm not ready to deal with the conversion quite yet. I bought 10 adult mice (as I explained earlier, I don't often feed rats), and here's what the results were:

Toby - ate 3
Delilah - ate 2
Pedro - ate 2
Vinnie - ate 2
Orlando - ate 1
Rosalind - refused (I think she prefers rat pups)
Mona - refused (she's been on a breeding fast since mid-Aug, but I always offer)

I think that's a pretty good ratio, and when Ros & Mona refused I was able to feed the extras to Pedro & Vinnie... for me that is best, and so far I'm the only one who's been bitten by a rodent. :cool: I will try converting them over time, since F/T will be easier and cheaper as my collection grows. For now I'll probably stick with live, though, since I like how consistently they feed. Thanks again for the input!

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Originally Posted by Deborah

If you can’t convert them now (it requires tough love (of course given your BP are healthy and have a good body weight)

I convert mine back and forth each year……………………..let me explain.

I produce my own feeder rats and mice and prefer to feed live (with over 50 snakes it is just more convenient for me) however during the winter months I always end up producing more then I need as my snake slowly go off feed for months, so I euthanize the feeders, freeze them and once my snake resume feeding they are offered F/T first while supply last and then back to live.

I am doing that every year and trust me when a snake comes out of several months of fast (especially females that have laid) they will eat about anything.

So is it worth it well F/T has it's advantages and inconvenience what matters is that you feed what works for your snake and is convenient to you (one is no better then the other)

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Thats a smart economical way of doing things...I like it..:gj:

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Originally Posted by Mettle

Snakes do not "like" things the same way people do. You are anthropromorphizing. The snakes are operating off of instinct.

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Snakes can certainly have preference between live or f/t. Whether or not that is considered "liking" is subjective.


Anyway, I know many breeders that successfully keep dozens of bp on live forever, but personally I believe that if you can wean them to f/t, it is so much better. Not only is it cheaper and more economical, but you no longer run the risk of spreading disease or injury to your bp.

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

Snakes can certainly have preference between live or f/t. Whether or not that is considered "liking" is subjective.

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Yes, they can certainly have "preferences" - and strong ones at that! Just ask Delilah, my girl who's never eaten a rat in the 9 months I've had her (and we did try)... or Mona, who looks visibly insulted when I offer anything P/K or F/T. "You expect me to eat what now??" :colbert:

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Thanks to everyone for the opinions... gave me a lot to think about! ;) Tonight was feeding night, and I went with live b/c I'm not ready to deal with the conversion quite yet. I bought 10 adult mice (as I explained earlier, I don't often feed rats), and here's what the results were:

Toby - ate 3
Delilah - ate 2
Pedro - ate 2
Vinnie - ate 2
Orlando - ate 1
Rosalind - refused (I think she prefers rat pups)
Mona - refused (she's been on a breeding fast since mid-Aug, but I always offer)

I think that's a pretty good ratio, and when Ros & Mona refused I was able to feed the extras to Pedro & Vinnie... for me that is best, and so far I'm the only one who's been bitten by a rodent. :cool: I will try converting them over time, since F/T will be easier and cheaper as my collection grows. For now I'll probably stick with live, though, since I like how consistently they feed. Thanks again for the input!

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Do whatever works best for you and your snakes!

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Originally Posted by JohnAvilla

The main reason to feed FT or PK is to avoid scars. Who wants to look at a snake with a bunch of scars, especially a morph?

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Over 5000 live feeds to 40 ball pythons with zero scars! :gj:

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Originally Posted by Mettle

As for those who say feeding live is safe. Obviously not as safe as frozen/thawed feedings.

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Never said it was safe, I said that it was minimal risk from my own experiences with my own collection and the number of times that I've even had one get a small scratch.

Frozen/thawed also has its risks if someone does not properly defrost a prey item and it rots in the belly instead.

However - it's up to each individual keeper to make their own educated decision as to what works best for them. For me, live works best, and I have no compelling reason or desire to switch to f/t for my ball pythons.

Well I guess for you guys over the water this is the main feeding type "live" but in england not so many feed live "not that i know of anyway" only for non feeders ,

In my opinion if i had the chance to feed live I would I guess they will get more nutrients from the live rather to freezing the prey ?

A buddy of mine got a pair of fires from bob clark they took f/t straight away ,
I got a bee from him and tried him last week didn't take so some are more lucky then others!

James

a little known but good source for frozen mice / rats is themousefactory.com . I've known the owner since my college years 20+ years ago and I've personally ordered from him and received good quality feeders. At this point I breed my own rats to feed our snakes, but if I ever get fed up with the rats, I'll be ordering from them again!

F/T is TOTALLY worth it. If you keep a number of snakes, buying live feeders is just a LOT more expensive--which means, if you're going to save your bank book, you would have to raise your own. Which costs about the same as using F/T, but is incredibly more laborious and stinky.

Plus, freezing kills parasites, reducing the risk of your snakes picking something up from the feeders (which happens more regularly than you might think). F/T rodents don't bite or scratch (eventually any snake can grab a rodent wrong, and receive an unpleasant bite).

IMHO, if you are asking "is f/t worth the trouble", then the answer is no, it's not.

Both methods are totally acceptable. What you should be doing depends on your snakes, and on you. If live works for you, and you are feeding responsibly, then don't let people tell you otherwise.

This has certainly been an interesting discussion, and obviously there is no "right answer" to the question... I guess it's just a personal thing, and we all do what's best for us (and our snakes). I do want to convert them to F/T, for all the reasons mentioned above, but at this time it doesn't seem worth the trouble. Plus I'm still waiting for my mice to breed, which could make it easier for me to do both - F/T for those who will take it, and live for the picky ones. Thanks again for all the responses! :gj:

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

F/T is TOTALLY worth it. If you keep a number of snakes, buying live feeders is just a LOT more expensive--which means, if you're going to save your bank book, you would have to raise your own. Which costs about the same as using F/T, but is incredibly more laborious and stinky.

Plus, freezing kills parasites, reducing the risk of your snakes picking something up from the feeders (which happens more regularly than you might think). F/T rodents don't bite or scratch (eventually any snake can grab a rodent wrong, and receive an unpleasant bite).

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The source that I buy live from is not any more expensive than buying f/t, his prices are the same. Edit - just checked - frozen is $.05 less per prey item than live - not enough of a savings for me.

Since parasites are host specific, the freezing doesn't really play into that argument. Even Dr. Scott Stahl addressed this when he was a guest on Reptile Radio and said that parasites are not passed from prey items since they are host specific (unless you put a live rat in with a snake with mites then offered it to another snake without mites if not eaten). Parasites that thrive in endothermic animals don't thrive in ectothermic animals.

Again, this forum supports each keepers decision to feed the method that works best for them.

I don't believe that one method is "in general" preferable or "better" than the other.

For what it's worth, I had 100% of my snakes eating f/t for a couple of years ( I only have 8). It worked very well. Gradually they started refusing more often and I tired of thawing and throwing away the uneaten prey. I have been feeding live for probably the last 6 months and they eat everything and it is much less work for me. While f/t is less expensive per rodent, when I factor in the uneaten throw aways it is pretty much the same.

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you would have to raise your own. Which costs about the same as using F/T, but is incredibly more laborious and stinky.

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Not sure you speak from experience on that but by raising my own feeder each feeder only cost me 1/3 of the cost of a F/T.

The advantage is also to know that I provide the best quality food possible.

I had the opportunity to visit a large feeder breeding facility and what they were using in addition to feed was just scary.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Over 5000 live feeds to 40 ball pythons with zero scars! :gj:

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I'm just playing devils advocate, but my grandmother never wore a seatbelt for the first 10 years of my life and never got hurt (my constant nagging once I learned about seatbelts in school finally got her to wear one). Just saying...

As for the OP, its up to you. IMO there's virtually no risk with feeding f/t compared to live. Now with live, plenty do it w/o any ill effects as rabernet clearly shows. With responsible feeding there's also minimal risk with feeding live.

For me I try to switch all mine to f/t for a number of reasons. First off is the safety factor. With live there's always a risk (though small) of injury. With f/t that risk is non existent. Plus its cheaper. The pet shop charges close to $5 a rat, and I've had trouble finding a steady breeder.

So really its up to you what you want to do.