Never Again!

[Thepythonman12]

I will never feed live ever again,it is either pre killed or f/t for now on. I feed live and i always thought hey if i keep a close eye on things nothing can go wrong at all,if something does happen i am right there to stop it from bitten.

Well trust me when i say the supervising is really no better than leaving the live mouse in there with your snake. When a mouse does bit it will be to late to pull the mouth off you do not understand how fast it happens,almost instantly after the strike if the mouse wants.

My bp had what seemed to be the perfect strike,but it was not,and the mouse tried to bite her almost instantly after the strike,but luckily i pulled the mouse head away just in time before any real damage could be done. She has a little tiny mark on her head,the mouse bit but did not get enough time to break her scales and do real damage(should i still but neosporin on),i was so scared you don't understand,i was actually about to just completely stop the feeding and just through the mouse in the fridge,but she was hungry so i let her continue to eat.

I only see a mark were he tried to bite her and that is about it. Should i put ointment on it still or no? Should i do the whole betadine and neosporin/paper towel thing?

I will not be feeding live ever again seriously, i felt like a little school girl,i think i even screamed,my heart dropped down into my stomach lol i was so scared.

[Byrdie]

That's why i don't feed live it scares me that my babies could get hurt but if it's not a huge gash i doubt neosporin would be needed might just stress him more putting it on his head but good luck!

[Byrdie]

BTW I'm no expert so take what i say with a grain of salt

[Maverick67]

Scratches and small bit marks are a risk you take while live feeding. I feed live and have run into biters on more than one occasion. You can stop them before any real damage is done. I have a pair or pliers handy for just such an indecent. I quick stiff whack will fix a biter real quick. Not trying to be cruel but given a choice between my snake and the rat the snake wins hands down.

[SlitherinSisters]

Eh. Until you have an albino you never realize how much they get bit-per a friend of mine. Even the times you think your snake didn't get bit while feeding live, it's quite possible it actually did. It was after I spoke with my friend and I saw his albino that I started paying attention and noticing the little marks/indents here and there on my own snakes after feeding.

The bite your snake received doesn't sound like anything to worry about. Even if it drew blood neosporin isn't necessarily a half to do thing. If you have a spotless tank/tub with clean newspaper/paper towels it will heal just fine. If it were a more major bite that took a chunk off, then I would put some neo on. I've never had a bite that bad, and only one bite that drew blood in the nearly three years I've been feeding live, and that was with a medium sized rat. Even though it drew blood it was pretty minor and was healed within two days.

IMO feeding live has its dangers sure, but a bite isn't going to kill your snake, nor is your snake going to be chewed to death if you supervise. Minor bites happen all the time, but the snake usually has the advantage of scales and being very flexible. Not to mention the rodent has a pretty hard time getting a good bite when it's being squeezed to death. Just my two cents on the matter.

[Thepythonman12]

Thanks really helpful, i feel like this is all my fault,well it is. Thank god nothing to serious happened. I checked her head again and it is back to normal(Oh she's such a tough gal ) I am so happy i caught it early,or this could have been really bad i guess,well maybe not because she constricted pretty hard ounce the mouse bite (the eyes even started to pop out a lot eww lol).

This was a wake up call for me though,i am going pre killed or f/t for now on.

Would it be something wrong with me feeding Pre killed one week and then F/t the next week?

[mpkeelee]

if you want to switch to F/T offer only that. it may take 2 or 3 weeks for them to take it but they will. and a lil zombie dance may be needed. i just hope your snake isnt too big and hooked on live to switch now. its always easier to switch at a younger age. i prefer F/T just cuz i can keep them in the freezer until ready and dont have to worry about making a trip to get live. and feeding is easy

[Thepythonman12]

if you want to switch to F/T offer only that. it may take 2 or 3 weeks for them to take it but they will. and a lil zombie dance may be needed. i just hope your snake isnt too big and hooked on live to switch now. its always easier to switch at a younger age. i prefer F/T just cuz i can keep them in the freezer until ready and dont have to worry about making a trip to get live. and feeding is easy

Zombie dance lol? Yeah my snake is about 6-7months and she does not play with her food,i actually feed her a F/T before and she took it no problem,i just hate to unthaw and she seemed more happier on live,but no matter the case she is going on F/T or pre killed whether she likes it or not.

I will try next week and if she takes F/T i will buy a freezer and buy from rodent pro and store them in there.

[OhhWatALoser]

if your snake will take frozen, i don't see why you would not feed frozen.

some snakes will not take frozen though, my pastel, albino, spider will not take frozen, only live so that what I feed them, bites are pretty rare (even on the albino), but they happen, they heal.

[Thepythonman12]

if your snake will take frozen, i don't see why you would not feed frozen.

some snakes will not take frozen though, my pastel, albino, spider will not take frozen, only live so that what I feed them, bites are pretty rare (even on the albino), but they happen, they heal.

Yeah that's a good point but it was mostly because they would always come 3or more in a pack from pet co and no one here in my house wants dead rodents in the freezer,plus live at the time seemed so much more easier. She also seems to prefer live,she takes it off the back,she has a good feeding response with F/t too but i have to shake it around and stuff.

But i guess i was being selfish and lazy,but now i am switching over and will buy a mini freezer to store my rodents in.