FT, FK, Live?

A while back there was a pole done to see who fed what. There were lots of people who were feeding live. I want to see what kind of impact we have had on the live feeders. Just a friendly poll and you may post a reply if you like.

EDIT: Just so I dont get reamed I feed fresh killed. Its not cost effective for me to order a bunch of frozen rodents when i can get them live for cheaper.

Well I'm planning on feeding frozen thawed. But if livei s better mabey I should rethink my choise.

Stick with the Frozen/Thawed Idea! Gozetec's comment was that hopefully those that were feeding live are now switched to frozen/thawed or Fresh Killed. Feeding live is dangerous to your snakes well being. Yes thats what they eat in the wild, but there they attack unsuspecting little critters. After a little while in a cage with your snake, a rat/mouse in no longer unsuspecting, but can catch on to the trouble they are in and fight back! Frozen/Thawed is your best bet as they can't bite back and are virtually parasite free.

F/T all the way baby (unless you are weaning them off something else) - our big 'ole box of frozen rodentia arrived today! W00T!

F/T is what I feed my ball. Dead things don't fight back. Mmmm.....rodents ;)

F/T is DEFinitely the easier choice for most people. If you can get them from a local reptile expo/show, you can get just the size and number you need to stock up for however long you wish...and not have to pay shipping. This way, you don't have to worry about getting to the store each week to buy a mouse...don't have to worry about how stinky they are or what they might pee on or bite before you kill it...don't have to worry about killing it...don't have to worry about a live mouse injuring your snake...don't have to worry about what to do with a live mouse that the snake has refused......

I will even pay the seemingly extra cost of shipping, just to avoid the hassle of working with live mice every week.

When you get em at a show, how do ya get em home still frozen!?!? Do you need to bring your own cooler full of ice or do the sellers provide you something styrofoam with some dry ice......?

You gotta come packin'

We were goign to snag a bunch at the last show but didn't have diddly with us and had a day and a half before we'd be home. If they do happen to have any packing materials/styro/coolers plan on paying them a bit more for it.

The time I bought mice from a show, I had one of those hot/cold bags you can get from grocery stores. Put a small, unopened bag of ice in that and put the mice in there and they were still frozen solid when I got home several hours later.

Sounds like I'll be packin a cooler or something to the show here in August. Thanks guys.

There ya go - and hit your neighborhood Carvel's (or whoever sells ice cream cakes in your area) and they might be willin to hook you up with some dry ice to boot.

This is a question for those of you who pre-kill or stun your rodents. How do you do it?

Croquet Mallet or Anvil Drop.

j/k

When I have to do it and there aren't too many of them i simply put them in a plastic shopping bag and give it a good solid thwack against a hard (brick) surface. You can't swing like you're going for a home run but you should avoid being prissy about it to avoid undue suffering. THis will pretty much universally break their neck at a minimum (assuming sufficient force).

I put them in a Ziploc bag and smack them on the counter.

But my prefered method is death my automobile i.e. running them over. LOL J/K

I put them in one of those strong freezer bags and with a big swing smack them into the counter top. Then i throw away the bag.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

There ya go - and hit your neighborhood Carvel's (or whoever sells ice cream cakes in your area) and they might be willin to hook you up with some dry ice to boot.

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Carvel's? LOL, Must be an east coast thing, never heard of it. None of that here. Baskin robbins, Coldstone, Leatherbys, Phipps, etc is what we have out here.

NO CARVEL'S??? You mean you've never had a Carvel's icecream cake.....dude, you're missin' out!! mmmmmm, Carvel's...*drool*

Never had it or even heard of it. I'm sure we have stuff just like it here under different names.

mmm .... Bruster's is *the* place for ice cream, but it's a local chain, so I'm sure y'all don't have it. Made fresh on premises every day, never yesterday's ice cream. I'll be happy to take whoever shows up for the Atlanta reptile expo. But for dry ice I'd just go to the grocery store.

F/T all the way for me - not only is it cheaper, but safer, easier, more humane, less vet expense... man so many angles. I'm all about the F/T action! :)

We have finally got both snakes converted to f/t. YEAH!!!!