Another feeding question... kinda.

[Inarikins]

So the place I've been getting my rat pups since I switched Aradia to rat pups is out of them. :/ They are also out of mice of the same size. They have live pups so I thought I would go with that instead of spending $12 on mice at Petsmart. Hopefully they won't run out of live pups before they get in more F/T ones now.

Should I let her eat live one(s) or should I go through the trouble rigging up a CO2 chamber? Those are going to be my only two options. I don't think I can humanely separate the vertebrae or whatever and I'm definitely not going to do anything less humane than CO2. Will a few weeks (!!!) of eating live make her imprint on them enough or should I be okay going back to F/T afterward? She's only refused once since I got her and that was just stress from being moved into a new environment and I offered when I probably shouldn't have. (Also her weight seems to have stabilized at above 200 grams! Little girl's doubled in weight since I got her, yay.

[SRMD]

I am no expert on feeding but i think its once you go live you need to be willing to stick to live,
but i would wait for more people to weigh in

[don15681]

you could feed live and hopefully the snake will switch back. but once you get the snake on what you want it to feed on, very wise to stick to it. have the petshop kill it for you and take a small cooler with you.

you should stock up on some, as rodents in my area become harder to find during the summer months.

[Kaorte]

I've fed live to some of my snakes and they have switched back to f/t with no problems. It really depends on the snake. If they are an aggressive feeder then they will probably have no issue switching back and forth.

[DooLittle]

I don't know for sure how long it takes to imprint. I do know switching back from live to f/t can be a pain. Some of mine get live, some p/k. Other posters idea about having pet shop kill it and taking cooler is a good idea.

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[Inarikins]

Well I ended up getting just a live one. Only problem is, it's way too cute. ._.

[Inarikins]

But it was a good strike so I guess that's all that really matters.

EDIT: Not only was it a good strike but I just watched her pull away so she could get in a better position for swallowing it and she bit it right in the face! No wonder the little thing squealed!

[AK907]

But it was a good strike so I guess that's all that really matters.

EDIT: Not only was it a good strike but I just watched her pull away so she could get in a better position for swallowing it and she bit it right in the face! No wonder the little thing squealed!

It takes a while to become desensitized to the idea of feeding live. I don't particularly like the idea of them suffering or hearing them squeal, but I realize it is nature. Animals eat other animals, painfully most of the time. My wife still can't watch and feed off thousands of rats each year. If you're concerned about having to p/k a rat by means of something other than CO2, look at it this way, a quick snap or thump is probably going to be a lot less painful than being strangled to death by your snake.

I can't say you won't have an issue switching back since every snake is different, but meal or two shouldn't be an automatic deal breaker.

[Inarikins]

I was okay with feeding live. I just also happen to find rats rather adorable and have said that the F/T ones I feed off are cute. I guess I just have a lot of compassion for animals, which isn't a bad thing. But between feeding my snake and keeping alive a rat pup, I'd rather feed my snake.

Being constricted by a snake is probably still more humane than me trying to break its neck and just leaving it paralyzed and in pain instead of dead on accident. I considered doing it, but I know Aradia, even though this is the first time she's eaten live prey, has the instincts and drive to know how to do it properly.

If she gets stuck on live it isn't the end of the world, but she's still young enough to probably switch back over without much trouble. She certainly was ready to eat when I dropped in the pup, though.