tired of!!!

Just had to release some stress ... im tired of seeing bps eaten by dam rats n mice .. I feed live most of the time im actually trying to switch f/t over to live with one finally took my other still will not stike at nothing live witch is annoying me cause he hasn't eaten in a good month n change .. n e ways I can not drop nothing live in any of my bps huts n just leave it for hours I don't understand how people are doing that .. n then jump on here and ask for help .. if ur gonna feed live the number one rule is to watch and make sure the process is completed correctly ... number 2 rule keep a pencil near by to stick in preys mouth if ya bp doesnt strike n coil correctly it's not a hard thing to do

It's only fair to keep in mind that what seems like common sense to you is only common sense because you know something about BPs. When I got mine, I never in a million years would have suspected that a rodent could pose a threat to a snake. I didn't know much about either. You could say it's my responsibility to know before I get the snake, but in all my research about husbandry, how often to feed, etc, it never crossed my mind that I should look into whether my snake's prey would attack it.
I was fortunate to stumble upon that information early on so I didn't have to find out the hard way. Sometimes it's carelessness, but more often than not I think it's just naivety.



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Prey is never in the tank for hours.. As soon as my guys sense there dinner is in the enclosure they strike within 2-5 mins,the whole time,I'm observing everything,with screen lids off incase I have to intervene

im fortunate,my guys strike at the neck and face always.i can't remember the last time they had a bad strike. Usually prey is choked out within a minute. I sometimes speed the process by pulling the rodents tail a bit,makes my guys squeeze harder

I got my 1st bp like a year ago and I never owned one b4 .. i just thought if ur leaving a live animal in with something to eat it . u should keep eye incase the prey turns in to the predator

I never have had an issue when feeding live although allmy snakes have really good food responses

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If a rat is ferocious towards the snake, it's probably because the rat was not being taken care of to begin with. Well fed rats/mice are what you want, not some store bought rat that has been malnourished and stressed it's entire life.

I feed a lot of my BPs live and have not had a problem (knock on wood), ever. I also breed my own rats. :gj:

Best of luck.

Yes breeding ur own feeders is the way to go ..

I've always (until recently) fed live. I have also always kept an eye I n the process. Even when I've gotten an aggressive rat my girl has gotten it quickly and has never been bitten by her food. My male has never been bitten either. I am cautious though. I know its easier to watch and make sure than to treat a bite wound. Also if I get a rat that is aggressive I feed and water it for a few days before feeding it to my BPs. That way its had a chance to calm down, and get a few good meals.

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Originally Posted by Coopers Constrictors

If a rat is ferocious towards the snake, it's probably because the rat was not being taken care of to begin with.

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Not necessarily, there are the occasional outliers who just seem to be nasty even though the rest of the litter is fine. My supplier culls them quickly.

I think feeding rats that are too mature is a bad idea. I have noticed if I feed live and the rat is bigger than a 'small' they seem much more aware of the danger they're in when they go in with the snake.

For instance, when I drop a pup or a 50-100g rat in they usually just hop around exploring and look completely clueless, even in the face of the snake.

When I drop in a bigger rat I regularly see them back their butt into a corner and will sometimes tap their tail on the side of the tub. I have noticed the tail tapping to be a good indication of when the rat feels threatened enough to be in a state where they will fight for their life. That is not a good state for a feeder to be in.

Ive noticed that with mice .. some of them will shake there tails when I put them in there .. havent seen it with rats but ive never threw a rat bigger then 80 grams in a tub

It doesn't matter if you feed live or f/t there are things you need to know.
It is the owners responsibility to know and if you don't and your animal suffers
it's too late and then everyone should tell you it's ok and accidents happen.
I have had someone actually ask if they could just put a frozen rat in the tank.
common sense people.

I fear some of this mentality also breeds the "that is a stupid question" opinion when a new/prospective owner asks something that is obvious to the rest of us. A lot of education still comes from ridiculous care sheets racked up in pet stores and they don't cover half of the information needed to adequately care for a snake. Common sense is anything but common.

When I 1st started collecting I was all for f/t ... my 1st ate live n then I switched him to f/t n it would work but after a while I found it easier to feed live .. then as my collection grew I got all of them on f/t ... then it started to become annoying like if someone don't eat I gotta refreeze n it just got to the point where live is eaiser especially when I started breeding ... if they don't take I can but the rat back .. but now im trying to get everyone on both .. I got 4 baby's im gonna start switching to f/t ... and I got one that will not eat live.. well he won't eat anything right now .. but even b4 breeding season I tried switching him to live n he won't take it

I currently have 10 snakes at the moment. 8 of which are now switched over to f/t and eat for me without issue every Friday.

I have one right now that is in the process of being switched over to frozen, but loves to pound a live mouse when I give her one. The last guy just wont eat for me yet.

Even though the mouse is on the smaller side, I still sit there and watch until I know the mouse is dead. There has been a few times they latched wrong and the mouses head was in skin range of the snake, and that's when the number 2 pencil comes out real quick into the mouses mouth.

I know feeding f/t can be quite expensive, but if I can help it, that's what my guys will be staying on once they make the switch.

My girl will eat whatever is thrown in with her unless its a really big large or jumbo. I recently fed her a medium large rat and she snapped it quick. It was an f/t but still huge. My male only wants a medium small. He's my picky one. He also will not take an f/t. The LPS I go to were out of live the last couple times I went so they got f/ts and he hasn't eaten. I even watch to see if they eat those just to make sure.

I just hate the knee jerk reaction of people saying "see what happens when you feed live" Its not about live vs F/T its about responsible vs irresponsible.

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Originally Posted by Jay Mechtly

I just hate the knee jerk reaction of people saying "see what happens when you feed live" Its not about live vs F/T its about responsible vs irresponsible.

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Exactly. One of my snakes absolutely refuses to eat f/t so I must feed him live, and it is easier for me to feed all of them live instead of catering to one picky animal. During feeding I'm always within reach holding a pencil or tongs, ready to intervene, and so far have had no injured snakes due to biting rats. Responsible live feeding is possible.