Feeding Live Rats

[XXlizaXX]

Hi!

My pastel was eating F/T but he started refusing them. I tried a knocked out rat and he took it once but refused after that. The next week I was scenting his cage with the rat in the box and he managed to get it open and he ate that rat up so fast with no problems.

I hesitate to try knocked out again because he refused it before. I have heard horror stories about feeding live, and this is the first snake I have had that refused F/T. I guess I'm just looking for advice on how to properly feed live, and also on how to get him back on F/T. Thanks everyone!

[satomi325]

Some responsible live feeding tips:

1) feed smaller and more often rather than larger and less often. Larger prey is more dangerous. I feed all of my adults weaned/small rats once a week. And multiple smalls for the big girls. A medium size would be the max appropriate size.

2) keep the feeder well fed and hydrated. They're less likely to see your snake as food. Hungry rats are dangerous rats. They will eat your snake if left unattended for extended periods of time.

3) don't dangle the live feeder. This puts them in panic mode. A freaked out feeder is a dangerous feeder. Gently place the feeder into your enclosure. Calm feeders are good.

4) monitor your feedings and keep a tool, such as tongs, on hand to assist your snake in case the feeder tries to bite down. I use a chop stick to stick in the feeder's mouth if its in a bad position.

5) don't keep the feeder in with your snake longer than 30 mins max or so. Some people have a shorter time frame. If he doesn't eat within that time frame, take out the feeder and save it for next week.

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[4Ballz]

^^ agreed.

However, I do dangle mine with my smaller snakes (average strike is full on face grab) and my snakes control the whole situation.

My largest rat is never over 70 grams at the moment.

I use a screw driver to possibly block the rat from biting (if it were able to).

I watch every snake until the rat is passed (not breathing).

Never feed your snake an adult live rat.

A well fed rat is also not as aggressive

[AK907]

I have heard horror stories about feeding live

Those "horror stories" are from irresponsible breeders leaving live feeders in with their snakes for extended periods of time unsupervised. With proper supervision, feeding live should pose very little threat to your snake. It is all about using common (or not so common these days) sense. The proper way is to offer an appropriate sized, well fed prey item and monitor the feeding closely. If the feeder tries to bite (actually very rare for rats to bite out of aggression) or if the snake makes a bad strike, you must intervene. A lot of us keep a pair of tongs or similar object to put in the feeders mouth if your snake makes a bad strike and the feeder could possibly injure your snake. You also must be prepared to "thump" the rat if needed in the case of a bad strike. By thump I mean a stiff thump to the noggin' to knock out/kill the feeder. This is all part of being a responsible owner.

I have personally fed tens of thousands of live rats to our snakes over the years and I have had ZERO significant injuries. The only "injuries" we have had are a single small bite and some light scratch marks, neither of which broke the skin nor required any medical care.

So yeah, just use your head and you'll be fine.