How to "safely" feed live rodents? Opinions please.

I would prefer to feed my BP's F/T but if I had a snake(s) that only ate live, what would be the best way to present the food item safely to the snake and do it humanely?

I have read everything from stunning the rodent to spinning them making them dizzy, however, I don't want to cause any undue pain/stress and suffering to the prey.

Thanks for your input!:)

Just make sure the rat is well fed and not thirsty and don't be mean to it. If you throw a feeder in there that has not eaten or drank water in a while or your mean to it and make it act defensive you have a much bigger chance of the rat attacking the snake. The chance that the rat will hurt the snake is extremely low as long as you don't leave it in there until it gets Hungary or thirsty.

Some people make it sound like a live rat is just waiting for an opportunity to kill a snake this is not true. The feeder has no idea whats about to happen until its too late. If the snake grabs it wrong and you see the rat trying to bite the snake either put a pencil in its mouth or thump it in the back of the head until it stops.

Smack it against a wall,hold it with tongs,your good to go.

Tongs in hand, drop in rodent, observe with patience until the snake strikes. The rodent will seldom bite your snake; mostly they're just scared. After the strike, roll the snake over if you have to in order to see if the rodent's mouth is exposed and could do damage to the snake. If the mouth is exposed then put your tongs or a pen or something in the mouth to stop the rodent from biting. I've had to put my tongs in a rat's mouth a few times. It's just part of the hobby, and part of being a responsible snake owner. Generally you just have to hold it there for a minute or so before the rat is dead or gives up. In my experience none of this has ever put off a snakes appetite.

Please don't smack it against a wall... The last thing you need is an angry, disoriented rodent locked in a small space with your snake. As others have said, keep it fed, watered and calm and all should go well. Keep a pencil around if the need arises to prevent a bite.

Some responsible live feeding tips:

1) Feed the appropriate size food. I like smaller and more frequent meals than larger and less often. Weanlings and small rats are safe and harmless(mostly). They're also not as conscious to danger as an adult would be. Adult rats can pack a nasty bite and are much stronger at fighting back, which is why "smaller and more frequent" is the way to go. I feed all of my adults weaned/small rats once a week. And multiple smalls for the big girls. A medium size would be the max appropriate size for a ball python.

2) Keep the feeder well fed and hydrated. They're less likely to see your snake as food. Hungry rats are dangerous rats. They will eat your snake if left unattended for extended periods of time. This is the reason for most snake killing incidences.

3) Don't dangle the live feeder. This puts them in panic mode. A freaked out feeder is a dangerous feeder. Gently place the feeder into your enclosure. Calm feeders are good. Most of the time they'll just groom themselves or explore the enclosure.

4) Monitor your feedings and keep a tool, such as tongs, on hand to assist your snake in case the feeder tries to bite down. I use a chop stick to stick in the feeder's mouth if its in a bad position.

5) Don't keep the feeder in with your snake longer than 30 mins max or so. Some people have a shorter time frame. If he doesn't eat within that time frame, take out the feeder and save it for next week.


Smacking a rodent to stun is not humane. A confused, frightened, and cornered animal is dangerous....

gas chamber

I have a fancy decked out enclosure that is heaven for rats. Lots of hiding places where the snake will have a hard time getting to. And lots of things the rats can destroy. And I don't want to chance the rat pooping and peeing in there. So, I feed in a separate container.

I also grow my own ASFs. I feed ~6-month old ASFs (equivalent to a medium rat) to my adult snakes.

And this is what I do:
1.) Put snake in one corner with his hide.
2.) Put a rat food block in the other corner.
3.) Put the rat gently next to the food block.
4.) Wait with tongs.
5.) When the snake strikes, immediately look for the rat head and use tongs to block the rat's teeth if necessary.
6.) If the snake explores instead of eats, the rat goes back to enjoy another week with his family.

I have 6 snakes to feed - I also clean the cages while the snake is swallowing the rat - so I don't wait too long for the snake to snag the rat because then it will take me all day to feed them.

I don't bother with a gas chamber because in my opinion, the ball python is a lot more efficient and humane to a rat than the gas chamber would be. I don't stun or pre-kill either for the same reason. There are tons of live-feeding videos on YouTube. You will see how fast and efficient a ball python's strike and coil action is.

DO - remove any hides, ground cover, sticks, bowls, basically anything that the feeder can hide behind, chew, or will impede a clean strike.

DO - gently place the feeder in the tub, 99% of the time they don't even realize the snake is a threat, it just looks like a piece of cage furniture until it suddenly whallops them.

DO NOT - attempt to stun, confuse, or disorient the feeder. That will escalate what would otherwise have been a calm, curious exploration of a new tub to an atmosphere of frenzied panic.

DO NOT - leave a feeder unsupervised in the tub

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

Please don't smack it against a wall... The last thing you need is an angry, disoriented rodent locked in a small space with your snake. As others have said, keep it fed, watered and calm and all should go well. Keep a pencil around if the need arises to prevent a bite.

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If I smack a rat against the wall and knock the crap out of It the last thing its going to be is mad,its going to be in a whole other world,lol...

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

If I smack a rat against the wall and knock the crap out of It the last thing its going to be is mad,its going to be in a whole other world,lol...

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I'm sorry I don't find that funny. There are humane ways to prekill.
I want to say more but will stop myself

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

If I smack a rat against the wall and knock the crap out of It the last thing its going to be is mad,its going to be in a whole other world,lol...

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If you mean to smack the rat against the wall to kill it, then there are much better ways to pre-kill prey than that method.

I think the biggest three things are.

1.) Feed smaller meals

2.) Watch the snake

3.) Be ready with something to put in the rats mouth.

I think in general if you adhere to rule number 1 correctly then rule number 3 is a moot point. A small enough rat poses no harm (while it is dieing) to your snake unless it is capable of biteing an eye. The only way other then biteing an eye that a small enough feeder can do damage to your animal is if it left alone without supervision. The rat can begin using your snake as a chew toy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OctagonGecko729

I think the biggest three things are.

1.) Feed smaller meals

2.) Watch the snake

3.) Be ready with something to put in the rats mouth.

I think in general if you adhere to rule number 1 correctly then rule number 3 is a moot point. A small enough rat poses no harm (while it is dieing) to your snake unless it is capable of biteing an eye. The only way other then biteing an eye that a small enough feeder can do damage to your animal is if it left alone without supervision. The rat can begin using your snake as a chew toy.

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Not to be overly picky or anything, but I don't subscribe to the smaller meals. I feed appropriate sized (you know, the regular rule-of-thumb being a rat is the same size as the widest part of the snake thing). Smaller meals means more often... which means more chances of getting a feeding accident. Ball pythons are efficient at hunting and killing appropriate sized prey.

But, you are correct in that it is not good to feed too big of a prey... if an appropriate size is not available, it's better to go smaller than bigger.

I've been feeding appropriate sized live ASF since 2008 and I've only had to stick a tong in a rat's mouth less than 5 times total.

Pre-scent the room with your live prey. It will get the snake in the mood, and will lead to a near instantaneous strike.

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Originally Posted by MarkieJ

Pre-scent the room with your live prey. It will get the snake in the mood, and will lead to a near instantaneous strike.

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This is what I do

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Originally Posted by Wizard

I would prefer to feed my BP's F/T but if I had a snake(s) that only ate live, what would be the best way to present the food item safely to the snake and do it humanely?

I have read everything from stunning the rodent to spinning them making them dizzy, however, I don't want to cause any undue pain/stress and suffering to the prey.

Thanks for your input!:)

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This actually makes it unsafe, nothing worse than a rodent gaining consciousness after being tease.

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

Smack it against a wall,hold it with tongs,your good to go.

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You sir have no business buying live preys or breeding your own if this is what you do.

And people wonder why snake owners are perceived the way they are? :rolleyes:

Even if you do not like rats or mice (I don’t really care for them) there is such a thing as respecting and killing the prey humanely, if you are not capable of doing that I would encourage you to buy F/T

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Now back to the original question.

How to do it safely?

Feed an appropriate size prey, do not feed over-sized preys.

Make sure the rodents are well hydrated, well fed and do not add unnecessary stress.

Establish a routine feed the same day each each (this will condition your snake(s) to know when feeding day is)

Pre-scent the room by leaving the rodents in your snake room 1 to 2 hours prior to feeding, this will entice your snake(s) to eat.

Remove the prey if not eaten within 15/20 min.

I feed several thousands of live preys each year and have done so for several years and I never had to intervene, I also never had snake with a severe injury.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

If I smack a rat against the wall and knock the crap out of It the last thing its going to be is mad,its going to be in a whole other world,lol...

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Do you kill it when you smack it against the wall? If so, that's not live feeding. If it's still alive, then this is a dangerous practice that puts your snake at risk. Your snake is perfectly capable of taking down a rat on its own, no need for you to 'help' incapacitate the rodent.