Is feeding Live really this bad?

[progerian]

http://redtailboa.net/forums/feeding...live-pile.html

These guys are seriously against feeding live but I've been feeding my ball live for two years and shes never once had a problem.

What is the "responsible" way to feed a snake a life mouse or rat? I have a second tank with a hide with a large opening she can strike from so he can actually "ambush" the mice, then seal it off for about 15 minutes, then pick her up and toss her back into her terrarium.

[Patrick Long]

The people that are "seriously" against feeding live, have probably had horror stories before. Did you look at the thread you posted? See the pics of the boas head chewed through....that would make me be openly against feeding live


and a lot of wild snakes, that eat live in the wild, have a lot of scars and built up scar tissue, from bites n such

[dalvers63]

There are many people on here that feed live prey exclusively and have never had a problem. I feed both F/T and live, depending on what the snake prefers. If you make sure that your animal is hungry and the rodents are calm, it won't take more than a few seconds for most snakes to eat once the live rodent is put in the cage.

The most important thing to do when feeding live (and I'm sure that others can elaborate better than I) is to be aware of your snake and what is happening. Most of the horror stories you hear are from people throwing a full grown rat into a snake cage and then leaving it alone for hours or days. though there can always be exceptions, snakes have evolved to eat live prey and if that is what you prefer to feed your animals then don't feel bad about doing it.

In the end it always comes back to what works best for you and your animals.

[mikeamy2007]

The gentlemen i rehomed my ball from has alwasy fed him live rats, and he told me the only problem he had was the one time he put in a large instead of a medium,"Dude" struck its butt for whatever reason, and the rat bit him. After pulling the two apart, he left the rat in the cage for two days and Dude finally ate it without incident. I really feel for my guy before i rescued him !!!

[Whodinidunit]

the only thing my BP will eat is live. But when I do feed him I am there to watch him until he strikes and constricts the food. I will never leave my tank unattended if a live prey is in there.
More then likely the horror stories are from those who drop a live prey and walk away. thats where the problem in. no supervision

[littleindiangirl]

Feed whatever your snake will eat. Do it responsibly and always in the best interest of your snake.

[blackcrystal22]

We can't always supervise. If I supervise my snake right now, he won't eat. :[

I've read that story before actually. If you pay attention to what it says, it was a RESCUE.
The rescue was needed in the first place because a lazy owner left a rat in the cage.
Simple as that, don't do it and you'll probably be ok. :]

Of course, theres always going to be a risk, but thats part of having a snake.

[Nate]

that thread is of the reasons I left that site and refuse to go back. My experience there left me with the feeling that it's their way or you're a bad owner..there's no gray areas, just black and white.

Plus, I'm a ball owner...I was looking into red tails and came across it

[mischevious21]

Personaly, I feel that there is no problem with feeding live, so long as you do it responsibly. As in- NO leaving live prey and snake unattended for any length of time, and to feed the snake a proper sized rodent. Yes, I have had an incident where a rat bit my snake while she was constricting it- but there was no damage done, because she was squeezing too hard for the rat to bite down hard.

Do what you've got to or want to do- just be responsible about it.

[Samuel]

My ball will not eat prekilled .. he absolutly refuses. HKe goes out of his way to ignore them. I had to go up to a town that has a good sized pet store to get the frozen mice, 4 of the medium mice for $9.00 .. or something like that ... 3 hours of my time and $20 worth of gas just to try it out, and he refused. From what I have read, Balls are picky eaters, and from what I have seen/read .. that seems to be a true statement.