Is live feeding really that bad?

[John1982]

That said I wouldn't keep snakes if they were LIVE feeders as I just couldn't do it .

The funny thing is over all the years I've been keeping snakes of all types including Cape File snakes , Boas , Burms , Kings , Milks , Garters , Rhino Ratsnakes , Bamboo Ratsnakes , Corns and over thirty Royals ....... I've never had one single snake that wouldn't take defrosted frozen mice / rats so I'm puzzled as to why there are apparently so many snakes out there who simply HAVE to eat LIVE food .

Just to be clear here .. .. I'm not judging anyone just expressing a view .

Your "over all the years" experience isn't even a drop in a bucket in the grand scheme. Most of the snakes you listed would eat a scented stone if you threw it at them so that doesn't much help either.

Let's go hypothetical and say that I decided to agree with you that every snake can eventually be coaxed to willingly feed on f/t prey. How long can we ethically wait before resorting to assist feeding? Why don't you feel obligated to exhaust all methods of food presentation, including live, as a responsible owner who has decided to keep these animals? You're keeping snakes as pets - for the most part, animals that don't slither around scavenging meals. Sure, some species will jump on f/t right out of the gate, but not all. Is this really a more ethical solution than feeding a live rodent? What about for the snake? Shouldn't they be offered the courtesy of a full stomach without us starving them out first or heaping stress on them by shoving something, unwanted, into their gullet?