Is F/T worth the trouble?

[Lolo76]

I've been trying to convert my (7) BPs to F/T food, since everyone seems to think it's better than live - mostly for the safety of the snake, and supposedly it also makes things easier for the keeper. Well, so far that has NOT been true for me!

Only one snake will take it 100% of the time, and that's my new baby Mojave... Toby (pastel) will eat maybe 50%, and the others are between 0-25% thus far. Therefore I'm wasting a good percentage of these frozen mice/rats, especially since the only definite F/T eater is so small (and can only eat 1-2 small adult mice at a time). I also find it much more time-consuming than live, since I have to thaw & sometimes heat them up before serving. With live I just toss it in the tub, and 9 times out of 10 it's eaten within a minute. Finally, it's actually harder to find frozen prey than live around here, and ends up costing about the same per item.

So basically I'm wondering, is it worth continuing the attempt to switch them over - or should I just stick with live? I only feed live mice, btw, for a few reasons... one being that Delilah only eats mice, and Mona (the biggest girl) has been fasting since August, so I don't want to be left with rats that are too big for my little guys. I also just got a breeding trio of mice, so hopefully I'll soon have my own supply. And when I do get my own babies, I'll really be annoyed if I end up throwing them away after freezing & thawing.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this topic? Has anyone else had this much trouble converting, and if so, did you give up or keep trying?

[Beto510]

Aww man we really do have the same problem....well all i can say is keep trying cuz i definately think its worth it saves the trip to the pet store plus if you get it from the right place prices can be pretty good on frozen feeders

[tsdsbd]

well since you have 7 balls you can buy them rodentpro.com for like 30 cents each, but its bulk. like 75 of something, but since there frozen...ya know. yeah it can be hard to convert. luckily my 2 took to it within seconds lol

[butters!]

my 2 cents.......i don't think going to the pet store is a bad thing.i like seeing new stuff when i go.if i ordered f/t mice/rats i wouldnt have my leopard geckos,and i love my leos.
its nice to know your animals will eat a f/t but i like watching the hunt and im sure they like it too.one thing is i always have a long kabob stick if the rat bites i stick it in there to where the rat cant bite.....if i had hundreds of snakes id change but alot of us here dont so we can take the time to be sure they dont get hurt

[Lolo76]

Yeah, I was about to buy a few packs from RodentPro, until I saw the shipping cost is over $50. That only makes sense if you're feeding like 100 snakes... I did the calculations, and for me it would be the same as a local pet store.

[Lolo76]

my 2 cents.......i don't think going to the pet store is a bad thing.i like seeing new stuff when i go.if i ordered f/t mice/rats i wouldnt have my leopard geckos,and i love my leos.

Good point! I have to make regular pet store visits anyway, to feed my dog & two cats... last time I went to Pet Club (my store of choice), the guy greeted me by saying "don't you ever leave this place?" That could be a bad sign, LOL.

[butters!]

Good point! I have to make regular pet store visits anyway, to feed my dog & two cats... last time I went to Pet Club (my store of choice), the guy greeted me by saying "don't you ever leave this place?" That could be a bad sign, LOL.

naw.getting to know people is good.its nice to know someone cuz i promise they will treat you better than not knowing you.i know a lady so good now she lets me go in the back and choose my rodents,plus if a new clutch pops and there still in the back she takes me to look at them for first public pic.nothing great but i appreciate it

now there are prolly hundreds of peeps on here that will tell you f/t is the best and if it works for them great,if it works for you,awsome!but if you are responsible enough to feed live i suggest it

like you said,i also have other animals that need food and im not always here to receive packages from out of town so my options are cut down.do wat works for you as long as you are responsible.

good luck!

[Lolo76]

Thanks for the feedback! And yes, I am very responsible when feeding live... I "only" have 7 snakes (), so it doesn't take that long to supervise each of their meals. Since a few of them eat multiple prey items, I usually do it in rounds - throw in the first one and wait for the strike, then move to the next snake and wait for the strike, and when they're all done I start on round 2 (for those who eat multiples). Works for me, and the snakes don't seem to mind either.

[rabernet]

I've been trying to convert my (7) BPs to F/T food, since everyone seems to think it's better than live

I must have missed some live vs. f/t conversations along the way, because not everyone thinks that f/t is better than live.

Well, I think it's better than live for my kingsnake, because he doesn't quite have the finesses to kill live prey without them getting a few scratches on him, and he takes f/t without hesitation.

As for my ball pythons, I've never fed pre-killed, stunned or f/t to any of my crew. 1) I don't have a freezer big enough to keep f/t for my crew, 2) I personally have no first hand evidence that feeding live is in any way detrimental to my crew, 3) I think stunning prey is cruel and un-necessary and 4) live is more convenient for me with little to no risk for my animals.

And I take GREAT pride in my ball python collection. If I felt feeding live was a significant risk, I'd be feeding f/t. I've done the calculations, and in all the live feedings I've done, the percentage of injuries (minor scratches) incurred on my animals is in the 1/1000th of a percentage.

Bottom line - f/t is better to feed if it's more convenient for the owner AND their snake feeds consistently on it. Live is better if it's more convenient for the owner AND their snake feeds consistently on it.

Feed what you're comfortable feeding, don't let anyone tell you that their way is better - it may be - for THEM. Doesn't mean it has to be for YOU!

[Lolo76]

Thanks Robin. I don't remember a specific conversation/thread, but I always hear about people converting to F/T - because "it's better for the snake and keeper." Most say that because of the danger of snakes getting scratched or bitten, I assume, but luckily I haven't experienced that yet. I guess some also sympathize with the prey, and think it's cruel to feed them while alive... but I don't feel that, especially when I'm giving my snakes what's best for them. So if you (and the other experts here) don't see anything wrong with it, I'll probably stick with live for now. Just doesn't seem worth all the hassle for F/T!