What goes down with killing and constricting?

[Daybreaker]

^ Would it be out of the question to have a solid colored opaque Tupperware container in the freezer to have the mice in? That way no one will have to see them and they will be in their own little enclosed space away from the people food.

[Emily Hubbard]

I just have to say that I really don't think there is any psychological benefit to the snake to eat live. The vast majority of f/t eaters still strike and constrict, therefore they don't really know that it is already dead. Mine eats strictly f/t and she gets into "hunt" mode as soon as I start defrosting and she smells it in the room, and when the prey is dangling from the feeding tongs, she is in full on predator mode and she is SERIOUS when she strikes, often the tail will break off in my tongs she hits so hard. In my opinion, the only time a snake should be fed live is if it absolutely refuses f/t or pre-killed (and some do), or if it is some way more convenient for the keeper, as in they breed the rodents themselves. But it is for sure a more complicated process. Rats are mean. They can bite you, they can bite the snake, even kill the snake if you walked away for a few minutes and the rat got the upper hand.

If your family cannot tolerate rodents in the freezer, then you may fall into the "more convenient for the keeper" category. I am glad my girl takes f/t because feeding live would bother me. I mean, if I HAD to for the snake, I would, but I would rather not. It doesn't bother me AT ALL in a natural setting, I love watching snakes kill things on nature shows, or even in the wild. But to me, nature is a game with winners and losers, and sometimes, the rodent looses. But when you put a rodent in a box with a snake, the deck is kind of stacked. I don't think it is morally wrong for the people who feed live to do it, AT ALL, but for me personally, I would feel like I sentenced an animal to death without it having a fighting chance. I would rather pull one out of the freezer that was killed quickly and painlessly rather than giving it a terrifying death. Just my two cents. It is ultimately up to the individual keeper, there is no wrong answer. My point is, don't make stimulation for the snake your only reason, which it isn't, it's a freezer issue. I am just saying that the snake will be mentally fine if you feed f/t, and the benefits are, in my opinion, far greater for everyone: snake, rat, and you.

[Jabberwocky Dragons]

It will be a little awkward asking my reptile shop that but I will. lol The only thing is I don't want to have to go back every single week. The only GOOD reptile shop is about 20-30 minutes away and I don't want to have to drive all that way for one rodent, when I can get 5 and last five weeks alive. This is complicated. hmmm I don't want the snake getting bitten but I know I will keep my eyes wide when feeding, but those rats can be quick when biting. =( I'll see what I can do.

You can easily and cheaply set up a CO2 chamber to euthanize the rodent before feeding. It is quick and humane. That way you have the benefits of getting 5 live at a time and no freezer occupants but do not have to watch your snake feed live if it bothers you.

[Salamander Rising]

So the other day I watched a video on youtube of a BP killing and constricting a fat mouse. The thing that made my stomach turn and question if I could do this is when the BP caught the mouse and constricted it blood came out of the nose and mouth. I was wondering if this is normal? If it is I don't think I can feed live, like I wanted to. Also, is it normal for the mouse/rat to scream when being attacked (stupid question but I need to be sure).

My moms friend had a boa when they were younger and she said she never remembers blood when feeding the snake.

You could buy a new or used small "cube/dorm refrigerator" and turn the cold all the way up and it will become a 'freezer'.

They also have a separate area inside that is a freezer, already and you could store the frozen rodents in there.

Two of my BPs refuse F/T and I just went through a month and half of misery because one of them had a bad strike and the mouse scratched the ****ens out of the snake.

I had to go back to square one and offer tiny helpless baby mice to 'rebuild his confidence'.

Nothing is more pitiful than an obviously snake who won't eat 'dead' but is terrified of 'live'.

[Inarikins]

They also have a separate area inside that is a freezer, already and you could store the frozen rodents in there.

The only problem with this is that those little compartments can't actually freeze anything. Mine that I had took two days to freeze water into ice cubes and it certainly couldn't keep frozen things frozen. It's bad enough for ice cream, I can't imagine a dead rat in there.

I would make it a dedicated freezer and not just try and use part of the fridge as a freezer. You can buy small chest freezers for about the same cost as a mini fridge. (~$100- $150 new from Target) This will be my route as I am also not allowed to keep frozen rodents in the main freezer (which is silly because we have frozen steaks and such in there as well).

[MikeJuggles]

It will be a little awkward asking my reptile shop that but I will. lol The only thing is I don't want to have to go back every single week. The only GOOD reptile shop is about 20-30 minutes away and I don't want to have to drive all that way for one rodent, when I can get 5 and last five weeks alive. This is complicated. hmmm I don't want the snake getting bitten but I know I will keep my eyes wide when feeding, but those rats can be quick when biting. =( I'll see what I can do.

You could buy live, and then kill the rodents yourself. It doesn't have to be gruesome or traumatizing for you. You just put your rodent in a sack and then WHACK it really hard on a counter top, or the ground. It dies instantly, and your snake has a fresh meal.
I have been buying frozen, but was considering doing this.

[spaceace]

mine will only eat live. in my opinion, it's what they do best... kill and eat

i feed mine mice and gerbils and the odd rat. some bleed, some don't, some squeal and some don't. last feeding, i could hear a faint cracking sound... i assume it was the gerbils bones but don't know for sure. some feeding are not for the faint of heart

[DooLittle]

I have never seen blood. They do usually let out a short little scream. You do have to watch when feeding, but we have never had a problem. It's amazing how fast the snake is. You worry about them, but they really do know what they are doing.

[Godiva]

Is your family vegetarian? If yes, then I suppose they can still have their argument. Otherwise, they likely already have prekilled animals stacked up in their freezer. It really is convenient to feed frozen. Here is a nice site: Frozen Feeders
. If they will not take the frozen, putting it under a hot lamp for 30 seconds to get it above root temp and using tongs to dance the mouse/rat 2 inches in front of him or her should do the trick.

Though this is an extreme case that many are familiar with it doesn't hurt to be reminded of the real dangers (other than mites...mites which may carry IBD) portrayed in this horrific post.

I strongly suggest you do feed frozen. It may be natural for them to eat live but being captive is not natural so rules do change.

"If you want a rush try holding a thawed prey item in front of that animal in a pair of hemostats or tongs. The snake/reptile will rip the prey out of your holding utensil. It never fails to give me an adrenaline rush."

[AmysAnimals]

I just have to say that I really don't think there is any psychological benefit to the snake to eat live. The vast majority of f/t eaters still strike and constrict, therefore they don't really know that it is already dead. Mine eats strictly f/t and she gets into "hunt" mode as soon as I start defrosting and she smells it in the room, and when the prey is dangling from the feeding tongs, she is in full on predator mode and she is SERIOUS when she strikes, often the tail will break off in my tongs she hits so hard. In my opinion, the only time a snake should be fed live is if it absolutely refuses f/t or pre-killed (and some do), or if it is some way more convenient for the keeper, as in they breed the rodents themselves. But it is for sure a more complicated process. Rats are mean. They can bite you, they can bite the snake, even kill the snake if you walked away for a few minutes and the rat got the upper hand.

If your family cannot tolerate rodents in the freezer, then you may fall into the "more convenient for the keeper" category. I am glad my girl takes f/t because feeding live would bother me. I mean, if I HAD to for the snake, I would, but I would rather not. It doesn't bother me AT ALL in a natural setting, I love watching snakes kill things on nature shows, or even in the wild. But to me, nature is a game with winners and losers, and sometimes, the rodent looses. But when you put a rodent in a box with a snake, the deck is kind of stacked. I don't think it is morally wrong for the people who feed live to do it, AT ALL, but for me personally, I would feel like I sentenced an animal to death without it having a fighting chance. I would rather pull one out of the freezer that was killed quickly and painlessly rather than giving it a terrifying death. Just my two cents. It is ultimately up to the individual keeper, there is no wrong answer. My point is, don't make stimulation for the snake your only reason, which it isn't, it's a freezer issue. I am just saying that the snake will be mentally fine if you feed f/t, and the benefits are, in my opinion, far greater for everyone: snake, rat, and you.

Thanks for your input. I used to own five rats. They are not mean. They are one of the sweetest animals you can own. To me, they are like miniature dogs. But I can see where they would want to bite the predator as it's trying to attack. I can't see it wanting to bite a human though. The only time I have EVER been bitten by a rat was when I was a child and didn't know any better and tried to take one of a female rats babies from her and she bit me. Yes, I still have the scar but that didn't stop me from loving these animals.

I have no problem feeding the snake rats because I know it is what they eat and I know it's the circle of life.

I have time to figure out what I am going to do though. The reptile store said they pre-kill. But I don't want to keep going back.