Frozen/Thawed or Live???

For my first snake, what do you guys recommended, live rats or frozen rats. I heard that ball pythons can be very picky about what they eat, so any advice, would really help.

Whatever works better for you and your snakes.

Hi,

Ask what it was feeding on when you buy it and stick to that for a bit to help with the settling in process. :)

I feed mine on F/T but many people find it easier and cheaper to feed live.


dr del

Definately what ever works best for you and your snake. F/t is a safe way to go. I do p/k as I don't have enough room in my freezer. Except for one guy, who won't eat anything without a heartbeat.

If you read the following you'll see both sides of the debate:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...8272-Live-prey

And if you use the Search function located in the upper right on the tool bar, you'll find about 85 threads that thoroughly cover this topic.



EDIT: Oh what the heck, I like a good fight as much as the next guy...

Carsten, you should only ever feed your BP F/T! It's totally the best way to go!

Yupp, it all depends on the snake. Mine was started off on live, and I haven't changed because she eats live mice great. If it ain't broke don't fix it!! :P

I fed live for 5 years but now that i have 3 snakes i converted to f/t. Now i can stock up in bulk and not have to run to the petstore every week. If you buy in bulk itll cost more because youre buying alot to begin with but the price per rat is cheaper. At the petstore i got to a small/med rat is like $4.99. From Rodent Pro the same size rat, bought in bulk of course, is only $1.39 per rat. But you do whatever is easier for you. The snake wont care one way or another as long as hes being fed lol

Agreeing on f/t being best. It's more convenient because you won't have live mice sitting around waiting to be eaten. It's safer because your snake won't be bitten by the prey fighting back. Most importantly, it's the most humane option for both animals. The rodents are put to sleep with gas and don't know what hit em. I can't see any reason to feed live.

I do both because sometimes I can't get live mice or rats and none of my snakes are picky eaters at all.I also switch between mice and rats and I have never had a problem feeding my snakes.I guess I'm lucky to have snakes that never give me feeding problems:P

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Originally Posted by skinnyrascal

Agreeing on f/t being best. It's more convenient because you won't have live mice sitting around waiting to be eaten. It's safer because your snake won't be bitten by the prey fighting back. Most importantly, it's the most humane option for both animals. The rodents are put to sleep with gas and don't know what hit em. I can't see any reason to feed live.

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Feeding live is more convenient for me. It is cheaper as well. Maybe not as safe, but that is a calculated risk.

As far as your comments on rodents being gassed being humane...it is only humane if done properly. Done too quickly or too slowly, and it causes major distress.

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Originally Posted by Slim

EDIT: Oh what the heck, I like a good fight as much as the next guy...

Carsten, you should only ever feed your BP F/T! It's totally the best way to go!

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LMAO!!!
And it worked!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skinnyrascal

Agreeing on f/t being best. It's more convenient because you won't have live mice sitting around waiting to be eaten. It's safer because your snake won't be bitten by the prey fighting back. Most importantly, it's the most humane option for both animals. The rodents are put to sleep with gas and don't know what hit em. I can't see any reason to feed live.

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Convenience is in the eye of the beholder! We feed all(27) of our snakes live. We also breed our own feeders so it is much more convenient for us to feed live. And, because we raise our own feeders we know our snakes are getting the best feeders possible, do you? We supervise all of the feedings and are ready to intervene if we need to so it is safe. And we also don't have to waste food, if one of the snakes doesn't want to eat then the rat/asf just goes back in it's tub until next time.

To the OP, as others have stated it is whatever works the best for you and your snake.

Some ball pythons won't switch to frozen thawed, so be prepared for that. Each way has it's perks, live you can just throw in, f/t you have to thaw and warm it. Live you have to be very responsible and make sure you don't leave the rodent in too long, f/t you can leave in all night no worries.

all mine are on f/t and thats my preferred choice due to safety and cost.

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

As far as your comments on rodents being gassed being humane...it is only humane if done properly. Done too quickly or too slowly, and it causes major distress.

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I can imagine that. Couldn't the same be applied to snakes constricting their prey? From what I've heard/seen in videos, the rodents aren't all too happy about it. So I guess in the end, none of it is pleasant but the snake's gotta eat too... :P
If I had to choose though I'd rather use f/t rodents that I know were gassed humanely. I have a friend who raises her own for that exact reason. I might consider that option when I have the space to do so.