F/Ts are not for me.

[Bugmom]

I had it placed perfectly fpr her to eat it head first. This is the first she has eaten solely for me since I got her back. Before I had to leave jer she ate without "playing" with her food. When she is tossing it literally from 1 side of the enclosure to the next then gnawing the head like she is going to eat it just to toss it again I'm going to say she is playing with it. I'm sorry if that offends some people but this girl use to have a voracious appetite. She would coil, and eat no interaction like she did with this one today. I covered the front of her cage and could hear the thwap thwap of the at hitting the sides. I need to get in there tomorrow and wipe down the sides from blood now. I have never seen a ball do what she did either. I wish I had a stronger stomach to have gotten it on camera and let y'all judge if it was playing or not.

No amount of video is going to prove that your snake was doing something it can't do. If your snake is playing with anything, then I have some ocean front property in Arizona for sale.

Why ask us something then not bother to listen to reason? Your snake is a very simple creature. It eats, poops, and sleeps. It does not, never will, cannot physically, mentally, or magically perform an act it does not possess the capability to do ever, not even once. Seriously. Never. Not for one nanosecond will your snake ever consciously think "this is fun, wheeeeeeeee."

I'm not offended, but I am a bit annoyed at your continued, willful denial of a factual assessment of a snake's mental capacities in lieu of insisting your snake was willfully doing something you found offensive.

[DooLittle]

Is this a troll? I tried to click on user to see when they joined and it says user doesn't exist and won't take me to their info.

[200xth]

It was probably just adjusting while it was eating. If they're a convoluted mess after the coil or in a tight spot, they'll move around a bit at different points in the process to make it easier to swallow the animal.

[Phantomtip]

No Im not a "troll". I joined last month. Please remember people some people say the snake is "playing" see the marks around the word. I'm not saying she really was. I know reptiles are ruled by instincts. I also know she isn't like my cat and dog. Its a way for me to express what I saw. Its the easiest way for me to put it without racking my abused brain for a more appropriate word. please calm down about a word I used. I still don't like f/ts and my mimd is made up on that point. I will just go back to live stunned. When I defrosted the thing I started with luke warm water, then slowly added more warm water over the course of 4 hrs. Just like I would do for chicken, or pork. So I know I didnt "cook" it. I think the rat voideed its bowels when I killed it. Plus lile I said earlier, Im pregnant and any and every smell gets to me. The main thing is she ate it. So lets drop the subject and go look at some pretty bps.

[PiercingPrincess]

FT is really about convenience for me. With 23 snakes, and living in an apartment I cant really breed my own rats to feed, and having to keep live is annoying and smelly (they're just as bad as my room mates), But the FT are nice because Its just a freezer full of rats, Don't have to worry about feeding them, or worry about having to keep them alive if someone doesn't feel like eating. That being said, having a thawed rat that no one will take is annoying too, but at least it doesn't try to bite me when I pick it up >.>

[MrLang]

Please don't kill feeders with hammers. It's NOT humane. You say you had rat pets in the past and enjoyed them in the same thread you describe smashing one in the skull to kill it - this does not compute with me. You shouldn't be buying a live animal to feed your pet if you don't have the ability/resources to a) kill it humanely b) house, feed, and water it.

Place something rigid like a spoon handle or some kind of rod behind the ears on the back of the skull and pin it to a table at the same time you give a very firm tug on the base of the tail. There are plenty of videos and tutorials around the internet - it's called cervical dislocation.

As for the snake struggling a bit to get the rat positioned to rat it - it's because you let the rat reach the state of rigor mortis before freezing it. Once it's dead you should freeze it right away directly to the freezer. When you thaw it out it should be limp like it was when you first killed it. Like this, there shouldn't be a difference between a rat that the snake killed themself and the one you thawed out. Another possibility is your thawing method - it should be thawed in open air and heated just prior to offering. People who overheat or try to thaw rapidly using heat often talk about exploding bodies, excess blood, etc. This is because the cells are not meant to freeze and thaw rapidly and sustain too much damage through that process to hold integrity.



If F/T is not for you - get a tank, water bottle, food, and treat your feeders like a pet until you're ready to offer again. You have a baby growing inside you and can smash another mammal with a hammer without an ounce of compassion - another contradiction that boggles me. Did you know rats are 80+% genetically identical to humans?

[Phantomtip]

I live im my own home so the only ones I have to worry about saying anything are my in laws. My son is fascinated by my bp. My in laws hate me having her. My husband is fine as long as her enclosure is secure. With only the 1 bp and no other reptiles I have no reason to breed rats. Its more convenient for me to get one while Im in town doing my shopping and getting other errands done. We have 2 exotic stores in town. One charges over $6 for a largish small rat and the other charges a little over $3 for a smallish medium. Yes there is a difference just not a lot on the size. I usually go for one of those two sizes depending on how big her "belly" is. She took a smallish small 2 wks ago and then that f/t that was a smallish medium yesterday. On the smell thing as long as the rat cages are kept clean they don't stink. I've jad them as pets and they smelled less than my cat and hamsters I had growing up. You can also put a tiny bit of vanilla extract in their water which helps hold down the ammonia smell. The only time mine stunk was while I was recouping after surgery and couldn't clean the cage. I can understand why f/ts are more convenient for you with roommates and living in an apartment. I do understand why people feed f/ts and respect their decisions. Personally I would rather do live and if she doesn't eat it return the rat and get another one later. I am glad Im getting her to eat though. The people that were "watching" her neglected her and said she went off fopd by herself for about 3 months till I found out that they used the money I sent for her care on food for them, and their animals not her. She was in a really dirty cage with no water and no heat. There was a lot of shed pieces, and poop all over. She is now in a clean enclosure with fresh water heat and humidity. I'm just trying to get her back up to par on being clean and well cared for. She was my very first bp and she was a sweetheart.

[Saber402]

All I do with my F/T rats (and mice) is get everything out of the freezer a couple hours before feeding time. 10 minutes before feeding put two at a time (in a zip-lock bag) in a large bowl with the hottest tap water I can get. After ten minutes I take them out, roll them up in a paper towel to dry while I walk to their cages to feed. If they are still damp I use a hair dryer for a minute or so.

I get an immediate response as soon as the cage is opened. The snakes are very active as they can smell the rats. Seriously 95% of the time they strike in seconds. And when they haven't hit it the first time, another minute under the hairdryer always does the trick.

[KyleZ]

I don't want to ignite the debate of "live vs f/t," but personally, I feel that if you have *a* BP that is obviously willing to take f/t, then you now have discovered a more convenient, safe and humane way to feed your snake.

FWIW, I keep larger snakes who all eat f/t, and I honestly couldn't imagine feeding them live (prey size and potential carnage/suffering too much to risk), but I do understand folks with large breeding BP collections doing what they need to do to be efficient... But if you have one pet who is apparently willing to take a thawed rat, why not keep that going? As for the "play..." some snakes take a while to inspect and maneuver their food before deciding to eat, especially if it's their first time with f/t. I have a mouser carpet that will some times take nearly an hour to "figure out" her first offering, then gulp her subsequent ones in less than 2 minutes a piece.

[Crazymonkee]

Honestly it would cost me more to feed frozen thawed
as I can't get them locally and the shipping is outrageous, understandably so but it would not be worth it for me.
Now if for some reason I had to (i. e. Bought a snake who will only eat frozen thawed) I would but for me live is best.
I don't have any of the bigger snakes but if I ever would go that way I would do f/t then as well.

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