f/t vs. live

i have to do a persuasive essay in english. woohoo. well i got to choose my own topic and i decided to persuade people to feed their reptiles f/t instead of live. im gonna touch on danger of the rodent biting the snake, parasites/disease on live rodents, and that its a less humane way for the rodent to die. im going to be using this sight as a source, (that o.k. john?), so id like to hear everyones thoughts in this thread. hopefully somebody has something to add. :)

Well, for one...f/t is definitely cheaper, lol. You also don't have to care for the live prey items if you feed f/t. Other than that, you've mentioned all the other reasons I feel f/t is the best way to go.

And f/t has no maintenance costs except electricity for your freezer and doesn't smell bad if it sits in its place ignored for a week or two.

this is good...these things hadnt even entered my mind! just the stuff i need, keep it coming! thanks.

Well, hope you can persuade your class, because so far I have not been persuaded to feed f/t, though I have to admit, I have been seriously thinking about trying to switch Monty Joe over. Just have not convinced myself yet to do it.

Good luck on your essay.

well maybe ill email you a copy of the essay to try to persuade you. :) feeding live may be so much easier but it will be real difficult when you have to take care of a nasty bite. thanks for the luck...im gonna need it, haha.

nasty bites don't sound fun to care for....

If you're LUCKY, all it will be is a nasty bite....worse case scenario: you end up with a dead snake. A couple of years agao, a friend of mine had a 6 foot Burmese Python....he fed it live large rats......well one day the rat decided to bite back, which resulted in a severed spinal column and a dead Burm :(.......if you ask me, there is no persuasion needed....dead prey is the best way to go, end of story.

Hi Mike,
That's a great idea for an essay,
If you would like help, let me know.
I have had many dealings with rat bite rescued snakes, Worst one was eyecap the ball python, approx. 78% of his spine was exposed and had about 17 layers of eyecaps when I first rescued him! Our vet and I worked diligently around the clock for approx. 6 months for his wounds to close (not fully heal, that took about 2 years) but luckily our vet is wonderful and did a great job.
I have experienced many cases including the transfer of certain parasitic colonies to different snakes also.
Please let me know if I can be of any help
Thanks
Rusty

wow this guy sounds like a friggen scientist...nice