Live food...why? Honestly & with facts!

[Missy King]

So! Yes, i feed my lizard live worms, live crickets. I feed my big fish live other fish. I have tarantulas, and have had frogs, etc. Bugs seem to not be a problem to feed to other bugs. Fish seem to be okay to feed to turtles, frogs, other fish.

So...Rodents to snakes.

I want an honest, real reason YOU feed live food to your snakes.
I know the monicaled cobra only eats other snakes, though in captivity most people do transition to rats. Even frozen/thawed.

I know some snakes eat fish, and some eat lizards. I haven't heard of anyone trying to feed dead lizards, though.

But still....unless there is some way to trim the teeth, as well as the nails...what are the benifits of feeding live rodents to snakes, other than you get to watch them strike and kill a rodent?
If you have a live food eating snake that refuses dead food....do you occasionally still try to transition to F/T?
What do you do for your snake if it's bitten, or damaged from it's live food?

Just wondering. Honestly! Not trying to start something. It's not really like, OH poor rodent! It's more like, i worry about the snake's livlihood. I personally have three rescues that are covered in scars, huge missing scale spots, and one with a damaged nostril.
I'm honestly trying to comprehend the reason live food is used. These snakes actually didn't have a problem at all eating f/t right when i got them, so i'm just totally wondering how someone could let them get so damaged and still keep feeding them live.

Expand my mind! lol

[decensored]

sometimes its just really hard to get them over to frozen thawed. I prefer to feed dead animals but sometimes its not really an option.

I am planning on starting my hatchlings on F/T right away in the spring. I know for breeders who have their own rodent colonies its just easier to feed live. It takes time and money to cull animals and it's just easier for them.

Personally I plan on culling and freezing or giving PK all of my snakes when I get my babies coming in..

[cmack91]

i fed live for over 5 years, honestly at first (when i was 13 ish), it was for fun lol. but after a year or two, and a bite or two, i realized how much safer f/t or p/k is, but he never took them, ever. granted i only tried maybe once every 6-8 weeks. he's taking them now though like a champ, he went through a 6month feeding strike towards the end of last year, then ate a few live rats, and the rest since then have been p/k and one f/t my boa has only eaten f/t with me, except for her first mouse, which was live, but she transitioned perfectly with no questions so to speak lol.

whenever mitch would get bit, i would use either neosporin, or tea tree oil, idk if th eoil did anything, but it was supposed too, luckily he has never had any kind of serious bite

[ReptilesK2]

I feed mostly frozen thawed, but have a couple snakes that will only eat live.
I always make sure to watch carefully with tongs in my hands, I have seen some rats trying to fight back and bite!

IMO if your snake will take F/T give it to them, but sometimes when they wont eat F/T I have no choice but to feed them live.

[carlisleishere]

I feed live to some of my snakes, but it has to be done with caution. I feed live because I bought them eating live, and I am trying to convert them to f/t. I think the main concern with live feeding is an injury, which has happened to me on two occasions. Both times the rat had bit the snake after it had coiled. I had to physically remove the rats jaws away from the snake until the rat was dead. It was minor injuries that you have to look for to notice. I put polysporin on the wound and it heals great.


I think the main reason people feed live is convenience (it's just an opinion, it may not be the truth). I reason this because I find most people who feed live breed the feeders themselves, so there is less processing of the rat.

I strongly believe that it is reasonably safe to feed live rodents to snakes as long as you watch the snake until the rodent is dead. Until the prey is dead, it still poses a possible threat. The real problem comes from people who leave the prey unsupervised.

[DellaF]

I have two Bps that refuse to eat f/t. I buy them live cause I like my snakes to eat. I would prefer them to eat f/t it is so much cheaper. I have tried to switch them back several times. They don't want no parts of f/t. My husband and I stay close by when we feed the snakes just in case. So far the rats haven't did any harm to them.

[heathers*bps]

All of my balls eat live, and so does my gtp. With over 40 snakes, its easier for me to feed live. I do have some snakes that like to stalk the rat before striking, and its honestly becoming a PITA to have to stand there and wait for them to do their thing, as I keep a close eye on them as to ensure no bites. I have been seriously debating on trying to switch everyone over to f/t after breeding season.

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[evan385]

I feed live if I have it, because it's more natural and that is what they prefer. That's all the excitement they get besides being handled which they tolerate and feeding day is their favorite day of the week. In most cases where a snake was hurt by a rat it's because the owner didn't watch and probably just left the rat in with the snake and walked away. If you know what you are doing and supervise the whole process, you can even hold the feet back so they don't get scratched, then there is little to no risk.

[RichsBallPythons]

I do what the snake tells me to do.

Most snakes when started will not take frozen for first meals. Never tried it as you want to stimulate their response to food, so you feed live. I let customer decide to switch or not.

[RichL]

I currently feed live due to the fact its easy. I also like offering as 'realistic' environment as possible for my animals. I give them the thrill of the hunt. That is unless of course the mouse/rat walks up and says hi. =)

I know my normal will take F/T or P/K at any time. Haven't tried on the new spider yet, and the '11's refused F/T the first time I offered.

I am setting up a kill chamber this week due to the 1.0 Spider taking a small bite the past two weeks. Nothing serious, but he is just not very accurate with his strikes. Both times, he had constricted so tight, that I was unable to get to the rat. Both are superficial bites with little to no blood being drawn.

So, I'm swapping to P/K this week because of him for everyone. Hopefully the '11's take them. They have been pretty good eaters so far on live even eating during 'blue'. Once I get everyone on P/K well. I will probably try and make the swap to F/T because of the price.