It seemed so wrong, but felt so right...

[GoBoilers]

Aw, man...Look, you made a mistake and you realize that...'nuff said.

I think what some people are having a hard time understanding (myself included) is this: you've made it CRYSTAL CLEAR that the health and safety of your snakes is your top priority; however, you've chosen to switch them from a feeding that is inherently safer (f/t = 0% chance of scratches or bites) to one that carries some risk. Moreover, the reasons you've stated for switching from f/t all boil down to the fact that it is inconvenient for YOU. Essentially, you're saying that your snakes' health and safety is a priority...as long as it doesn't inconvenience you. Can you understand how that might look a little fishy?

Anyway, I'm not here to start another f/t vs. live debate...but might I suggest, for your own sanity, stick with either f/t or prekilled. I've seen the consequences first-hand of that "one-in-a-million" bite that ultimately killed a snake and this was not the result of an irresponsible owner who left a rodent in with his snake unattended. The tragic part was that the owner was a 12 year old boy whose care was immaculate (he even schooled the vet a couple of times )! He had always fed live and did exactly as others had instructed him to do: "don't leave the snake and rodent unattended." The bite happened on impact and the rat just got lucky and bit the snake through the eye and the roof of the mouth piercing the skull. It just happened so quickly and the kid witnessed the whole thing. He was absolutely devastated. Like I said, "one-in-a-million," but that was no consolation to the kid that just lost his beloved pet.

So like I said, if your snakes' safety is truly your #1 priority, stick with f/t or prekilled 'cause having that doubt in the back of your mind can't be good for your peace of mind!