Mice killing

[Evilme5229]

My snakes feed with live prey with no problem. Supervision is key and I have noticed that I only really have to worry about the small and medium rats when it comes to them feeding. **The rats get a little more aggressive at that age**. I'm not one to try and pre-kill anything, and defrosting sounds like an unnecessary chore.

Sometimes, you just have to think it as "the circle of life."

[jjmitchell]

Ashlee, you sound like you are the same situation I was in recently... I ordered a BP from Pro Exotics who had started him on Rat Pups....

I tried for 3-4 weeks on F/T medium mice with no success, even with pre-scenting and zombie dancing...

So with the advice of some on the board, I bought a live adult mouse and asked the pet store for some used rat bedding. As soon as I brought the rat bedding in the room my BP came out of his hide as I could tell he knew the smell. Since the mice had been in a box with rat bedding, they smelled like the rats he had been eating. I got the mouse on the tongs and I could no more than put it in the box before he struck it.

Are there potential dangers in feeding live? Sure.

Would I rather feed f/t? Eh, doesn't really matter to me now.

The important thing to me is that he eats. Sometimes you just gotta try different things.

Why would you take snake eating rats and swap them to mice...kinda backward isnt it?

[kc261]

Why would you take snake eating rats and swap them to mice...kinda backward isnt it?

I'm pretty sure I remember Nick's thread. I believe he couldn't get anything but adult rats in his area, which were way too big for his young BP.

[singingtothewheat]

You know, I prekilled almost everything for a long time. One of the things my snakes seem to enjoy the most however is the kill. When I was feeding prekilled they rather lazily took the mouse, might or might not have wrapped it. When I give them live food it's a whole different deal. My snakes become immediately engaged, going into hunt mode. While snakes are not dogs nor do they have the need for "regular cardio". I think it has to be good for them mentally and physically to become their true selves. I've not ever had an injury. This forum and the folks who feed live actually brought me to my decision to do this and I'm glad I did.
Now, if I ever have a mouse / rat cause an injury I may rethink that.

[nickdolin]

I'm pretty sure I remember Nick's thread. I believe he couldn't get anything but adult rats in his area, which were way too big for his young BP.

Yes it is backwards, and yes, he is right, adult rats is all I can get so that's way too big... lol

[don15681]

If you feed your snake live, watch the feeding, if the snake grabs the mouse or rat incorrectly and has a chance of taking a bite. I use something long to put in the rodents mouth until the snake kills it. ( 18 inch tongs ) once you have a good feeding response and decide to go F/T, do a few freshly kill before the F/T, this sometimes helps to switch them over. Good luck and welcome back!