Never Again!

[llovelace]

I feed live always have with my balls, yes they will have less than optimal strikes, which can lead to them being bit. I have never had a serious bite from a rat. There were some close calls, but thanks to having chop sticks on hand, any possible injuries were avoided.

[PrettyInInk87]

I don't feed live for that exact reason but also don't feed live because I just don't like watching a poor defenseless mouse or rat killed. It's just me... I'd rather someone else do the killing. When you thaw your frozen rats just make sure to keep it under a heat lamp just a tad bit to warm the mouse up, dangle it, make lots of movement, and watch your ball eat. My ball never had a problem with frozen/thawed mice but then again, every snake is different. I honestly think that any snake (with lots of persistence, time, and patience) will take frozen/thawed mice or rats.

[DemmBalls]

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.

This makes no sense. If you weren't supervising it could have gotten much worse. It doesn't sound too bad though. Good luck.

[Thepythonman12]

I don't feed live for that exact reason but also don't feed live because I just don't like watching a poor defenseless mouse or rat killed. It's just me... I'd rather someone else do the killing. When you thaw your frozen rats just make sure to keep it under a heat lamp just a tad bit to warm the mouse up, dangle it, make lots of movement, and watch your ball eat. My ball never had a problem with frozen/thawed mice but then again, every snake is different. I honestly think that any snake (with lots of persistence, time, and patience) will take frozen/thawed mice or rats.

I don't have to much of a problem with the mouse being killed,Thanks for the helpful tips.

This makes no sense. If you weren't supervising it could have gotten much worse. It doesn't sound too bad though. Good luck.

I was just trying to state that no matter what,feeding live is risky and whether you are watching or not your ball python can still get bit. Of course if you are there you can stop any real flesh tearing damage,but it only takes a second for a decent sized rodent to sink in it's teeth. Besides i was nervous and a complete wreck as i wrote this so if there are any spelling errors or things of that nature you can't blame me . Thanks for the help.