How Frequently Do You Feed Your BPs?

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

As often as they will eat

[ani15174eva]

I have read alot of opinions on the matter, not only here but on many many other posts. I think that it is up to the Snake and its owner and whats best for them.

I do have to say that I have read alot of "Its natural and you want to be as close to natural as possible"
Not exactly true b/c the animal is captive. there is no natural to them with the feeding. the way they are "programed" is as different for each snake in the wild as it is the snake in each one of our homes. Esp CBB. but certainly not limited to CBB.

Your snake will let you know what its likes and dislikes are. I am sure that if a snake owner didn't believe this then they wouldnt have gotten the snake in the first place.

Sorry to have written a novel here, just my own opinion.

~Hollie~

[boost3d05]

i offer a mouse every 3-4 days for my juveniles (under 600grams) and a mouse or more every 6ish days for anything bigger

[ViciousBliss]

Well, how do we know how often they eat in the wild? Does somebody chill out for a couple of weeks and follows one BP to see it's feeding habits? Or are we just guessing they should eat once a week?

I feed live because.. well, there are no F/T rats in the wild.

i completely agree with that. i do enjoy watching my snake eat i guess.... it's intense... but i watch mainly for making sure that the snake doesn't get bit... i don't know what i would do if it did but... i just watch to make sure everything is a okay. i rescued my ball not too long ago and i just want it to have a natural comfortable life.

feeding live is just a personal preference... more like nature than frozen i guess?

maybe some part of me thinks that hunting the snake hunting the mouse/rat while it's alive entertains some sort of snakely adrenaline rush, and my snake gets to feel like a bad ass as he waits for the rodent to stop breathing... yikes i don't know haha maybe i thought about it too much i love my snake i want him to be healthy and happy, and feeding live thus far has done fine for me.

i say once every 7 days is what most ppl do, so for now thats the schedule i'm in and he seems happy about it

[ChicaPiton519]

i dont know why poeple even give it frozen food at all i guess some people are scared the mouse or rat will damage the snake but ive never had that problem and ive had my ball for 5 months

because i would rather have a dead rat thawing on my counter then having to pay a ton of money in vet bills cause a rat got ahold of my snake... it has happend to me (a mouse bit a ball of mine, nothing horable, but it made me want to switch them faster... they were rescues)
5 months... is it small? that would possibly be why you dont have problems, my small snakes sometimes get live fuzzies, and stuff... never live as older snakes...

just not safe IMO...
btw,
my big ball akua, my adult JCP, and my BRB all eat on saturdays, and my other snakes eat on fridays, because the food the big 3 eat takes longer to thaw =]

[froggsong]

Can you point me to a study that says that live is healthier and more exciting for the snake than f/t? The fact that there are thousands of animals feed f/t that are thriving in collections around the world is proof enough that f/t is no less healthy than feeding live.

I am impressed with my snakes and the fact that they are perfectly designed to dispatch their prey - but if entertainment value is the reason to choose to feed live, the keeper might want to re-think their reason for having a snake.

Ok, first, I haven't read this entire thread yet, but I have to disagree with at least part of this post.

"I am impressed with my snakes and the fact that they are perfectly designed to dispatch their prey - but if entertainment value is the reason to choose to feed live, the keeper might want to re-think their reason for having a snake."

What is so wrong with enjoying watching a snake kill it's prey? Shouldn't feeding be a large point of consideration before ever purchasing a snake? I am currently feeding F/T, and I will likely continue to do so until I either need to breed my own mice, or have much more experience with my snake and feel comfortable taking the risk (which I feel is likely negligible if the snake has a strong feeding response). Part of the reason I would like to switch eventually is because I would enjoy watching my snake do what it does best. Why do so many people seem to think that make you sick/sadistic? I can't WAIT until my CWD can eat mice. He will be getting them live. I'd be willing to bet that a large portion of people that claim they do not "enjoy" watching their snake eating a live mouse are full of crap.

I realize that I will probably get some possibly angry responses to this post, but I am still going to post it, because I am just really tired of reading people basically saying that people should be ashamed because they enjoy watching their pet eat.

I enjoy watching my snake eat F/T too, even the first time i fed him and he didn't strike at it. When I fed him the other day and he struck, it was AWESOME! I loved it. I felt so good because he really wanted what I had for him. I feel good when all of my pets eat, I love to watch my frogs go after crickets, I love to watch my toads eat a worm/waxworm, and I absolutely LOVE hand feeding crickets to my CWD, and now, I love feeding my snake.

People are not bad because they derive enjoyment/entertainment from watching their animals eat. Is it wrong to watch a nature show on discovery channel where a lion is ripping a gazelle or whatever to shreds?

Oh, and one more thing, is it right to have to "fool" a snake into thinking what he is eating is alive?

Ok, now that I am done with my rant, I will answer the question. I was planning to feed my BP once a week, but he is very thin, so I am feeding every five days for now until he gets his weight back up.

[edie]

Froggsong - There is a difference between enjoying watching a show where an animal is eaten on the discovery channel and watching your pet snake kill a live animal. The discovery channel show is a show where the animals are wild and are in the wild - at home the snake is not in the wild it is a pet, and although it is not domesticated like our cats and dogs it is still pet and is still in captivity.
I have no problem with feeding live, or with anyone enjoying seeing what snake does best (as long as they are respectful of the prey animal) - but you have to remember that there are a lot of people out there with twisted minds that don't enjoy watching a snake kill a live mouse/rat because thats what the snake would do in the wild - but they enjoy watching it because they think its funny or cool or they just enjoy watching something get killed - THAT is what is wrong

[rabernet]

Ok, first, I haven't read this entire thread yet, but I have to disagree with at least part of this post.

"I am impressed with my snakes and the fact that they are perfectly designed to dispatch their prey - but if entertainment value is the reason to choose to feed live, the keeper might want to re-think their reason for having a snake."

What is so wrong with enjoying watching a snake kill it's prey? Shouldn't feeding be a large point of consideration before ever purchasing a snake? I am currently feeding F/T, and I will likely continue to do so until I either need to breed my own mice, or have much more experience with my snake and feel comfortable taking the risk (which I feel is likely negligible if the snake has a strong feeding response). Part of the reason I would like to switch eventually is because I would enjoy watching my snake do what it does best. Why do so many people seem to think that make you sick/sadistic? I can't WAIT until my CWD can eat mice. He will be getting them live. I'd be willing to bet that a large portion of people that claim they do not "enjoy" watching their snake eating a live mouse are full of crap.

I realize that I will probably get some possibly angry responses to this post, but I am still going to post it, because I am just really tired of reading people basically saying that people should be ashamed because they enjoy watching their pet eat.

I enjoy watching my snake eat F/T too, even the first time i fed him and he didn't strike at it. When I fed him the other day and he struck, it was AWESOME! I loved it. I felt so good because he really wanted what I had for him. I feel good when all of my pets eat, I love to watch my frogs go after crickets, I love to watch my toads eat a worm/waxworm, and I absolutely LOVE hand feeding crickets to my CWD, and now, I love feeding my snake.

People are not bad because they derive enjoyment/entertainment from watching their animals eat. Is it wrong to watch a nature show on discovery channel where a lion is ripping a gazelle or whatever to shreds?

Oh, and one more thing, is it right to have to "fool" a snake into thinking what he is eating is alive?

Ok, now that I am done with my rant, I will answer the question. I was planning to feed my BP once a week, but he is very thin, so I am feeding every five days for now until he gets his weight back up.

Meghan, you took my post completely out of context. If someone's ONLY reason to switch from F/T to live is for their OWN entertainment, not the well being of their snake, to show off their snake to their buddies and laugh and punch arms and high five each other because it's so cool - then no - I do not agree with that type of entertainment.

I never said I don't get pleasure for watching my perfectly designed, healthy animals doing what they do best. It's a wonderful sense of satisfaction to watch my snakes eat and grow. It's not entertainment though. It is fascination that they are such amazing creatures, perfectly designed to do what they do. It's pride that my babies are growing and thriving.

but you have to remember that there are a lot of people out there with twisted minds that don't enjoy watching a snake kill a live mouse/rat because thats what the snake would do in the wild - but they enjoy watching it because they think its funny or cool or they just enjoy watching something get killed - THAT is what is wrong

That is EXACTLY what I was referring to as "entertainment". Thank you!

Again - I'm a live feeder, I've never fed f/t to any of my snakes, ever. But I don't encourage anyone to switch only for the entertainment value of it.

Does that make more sense?

[froggsong]

I wasn't reffering to your post specifically, but in a general way.. I don't know, it is hard to explain... I have just heard the same type of statement so many times, I just don't get why people have such a problem with someone enjoying watching their pets feed. I think I understand what you mean though, that it is wrong for it to be entertaining just because something is dying (did I understand that correctly this time?). While I would not derive any type of pleasure from killing a mouse myself, watching a snake or lizard eat one would be entertaining to me. Not because the mouse is dying, but because I get to watch the animal in action. It is hard to explain, I guess. I will admit, I walk up to the mouse cages at the pet store and ask them if they want to be a nice tasty dinner, which I find amusing, but only because I own animals that will eat them. If I were buying one for a pet, rather than a feeder/breeder, it would be a different situation all together. Another example would be the guppies that I breed for feeders, I derive great enjoyment from watching my dragon eat a fish, but I would not feed him my other fish that are pets, just the female common guppies (the males are too pretty to use as feeders, lol) that I breed as feeders. I don't enjoy it because it is death to the fish, but because I love to watch him eat them (when one dies naturaly, it gets a little funeral in front of the toilet). I think alot of times that people that say they love to watch their herp eat live prey are misunderstood. I just don't feel like people should have to feel like they need to pretend they don't enjoy it, and I don't feel like people should have to explain why they enjoy it either (I'm not saying that anyone said I had to explain). Anyway, I've already had to put one foot in my mouth, so I guess I'll hush for now, since they wont both fit at once...

[rabernet]

I get where you're coming from Meghan

There's nothing wrong with enjoying watching the awesomeness of our animals doing what nature designed them for.

My problem is with people who have expressed a desire to switch to live because it's meant to be a weekly show to be cool with their buddies and laugh at the mouse being killed. THAT'S not a good reason to switch, and that's where my framing was coming from!