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

[OhhWatALoser]

I'm not sure whether B. Barczyk has completed his feeding trials that he introduced on Snakebytes, where he had one group of hatchlings eating prey dusted with a multivitamin, but I am curious about the results of that.

http://youtu.be/kyXZN25XOZo about 2 minutes in

[sho220]

Alright let me ask you guys this (it may not make sense to some but hopefully others will see where I'm going with this). Would you rather buy frozen produce or fresh produce? And why?

I think you missed the part about an apple not being made of meat...or maybe it was the part about ball pythons not eating oranges...

Let the dead horse beating continue...

[nikitajane25]

Ok what about fishing? Yes they freeze some but don't they prefer to eat their catch fresh? Or hunters? Don't they eat the meat as fresh as possible. Or farmers? They drink the milk from the cows or eat the eggs straight from the chicken. They kill their own cattle, chickens, pigs, turkeys, ect. And they eat it fresh (like I said yes they freeze some) but why do they do this? From my understanding its because it tastes better, it has more flavor, its fresh!

[OhhWatALoser]

I think you missed the part about an apple not being made of meat...or maybe it was the part about ball pythons not eating oranges...

Let the dead horse beating continue...

how many posts do I need to go back to understand where the this conversation came from? Wine tastes better as it ages, do I get to beat on the horse now?

[sho220]

how many posts do I need to go back to understand where the this conversation came from? Wine tastes better as it ages, do I get to beat on the horse now?

All you need to know is that BP's enjoy the taste of fresh produce vice frozen...and they prefer their water with a splash of lemon...

[sho220]

Ok what about fishing?

With the lack of thumbs, or fingers for that matter, there's no way a BP could operate a fishing reel...so this point is moot...

[nikitajane25]

-__- I'm making the point that if we prefer our food fresh why feed our animals something they might not like and isn't natural to them just cause its cheaper or more convenient to us? Don't give them any less then you yourself would prefer.

[Skiploder]

-__- I'm making the point that if we prefer our food fresh why feed our animals something they might not like and isn't natural to them just cause its cheaper or more convenient to us? Don't give them any less then you yourself would prefer.

Do ball pythons have taste buds?

If so, what are they used for?

After you've done the research and answered these two questions, ask yourself this:

Does fresh really matter to a ball python? If so, as opposed to what?

Then, will a ball python be able to discern the difference - with it's "palate" - between a live prey item and a f/t one sufficiently heated up?

Once you've done that research, we will then have something interesting to discuss. Until then, we don't.

[Jessica Loesch]

Alright let me ask you guys this (it may not make sense to some but hopefully others will see where I'm going with this). Would you rather buy frozen produce or fresh produce? And why?

Frozen produce is the next best alternative, and can be better if you are looking to store something for longer. The nutrient content depletion is minimal when you compare it to cooking.

[wolfy-hound]

Actually frozen vegetables is better to buy than fresh if you're buying in a store. Frozen is frozen as it's picked, while "fresh" has been picked, stored in boxes, transported to a central location, transported to the store, set out on display and then at whichever point you pick it up and take it home.

As far as whether a snake cares if it's prey was frozen and reheated to sufficiently warm to mimic "blood heat", I doubt it can tell or cares. There's a reason we do the zombie rat dance.... it's because pythons are usually fairly easy to fool.

The debate rages... frozen vs live... and it will continue to be debated ad nauseum with folks on either side who espouse ONLY their way. The rest of us in the middle watch with popcorn and shrug while saying "If it works for you..."