First snake - when to switch to f/t food?

[Daybreaker]

Thanks for the feed back.

I have looked at all the business in my area that deal in rats and mice and none of them sell FT. They only deal in live. Lucky for me they are all clean well run stores. The only bad one just went out of business. I have seen the breeding rooms first hand and was impressed. One of the stores is only a mile away.

So if I go FT I will need to kill my own to keep cost down unless I want to order big quantities (the girlfriend would not like a freezer with a ton of rats in it). Pre killing is not a big deal for me. Keeping a few live on hand is not a problem for me either. I have no desire to raise my own for 1 snake. With the places available to me I should always be able to get what I need on short notice.

I'm mainly concerned with the safety of my snake. I have read that sometimes a snake can get hurt by live food. Now is probably not a big deal but when she is bigger a rat can do some damage.

If your snake does convert to p/k and f/t you can buy some f/t in bulk from online suppliers. I personally feed 32 out of my 34 snakes f/t and it's much more convenient for me and my preferred feeding method. IMO feeding live over frozen isn't "better" nor significantly more nutritious. You can keep some f/t in the freezer in a opaque tub or brown bag so your g/f doesn't have to see them and they're not right next to your food. Snakes can be injured by live feeding of larger feeders which is why you always need to supervise feedings: that way if the snake strikes and wraps the feeder where it can still bite your snake you can intervene. If feeding live anything bigger than a ~medium rat can cause damage so most people feed their adults live small rats.

[Mike41793]

In my opinion pre killed is the best. Its safe for the snake and its the FRESHEST meal you can provide. When you.get frozen you have no way of knowing how long the mouse/rat has been in the freezer. Not trying to insult anybody but as a snake owner you have to be willing and able to provide a.fresh kill to your pet

F/t, live, and p/k are all safe. All of these methods have their own risks associated with them. P/k means the animals already dead. So youre wrong in saying its the freshest. If you want to feed the FRESHEST, then live would be it. Youre right, you dont know how long the rodents have been frozen, thats why you buy f/t from someone you trust. Not trying to insult you, but the snake doesnt need a "fresh kill".

[DooLittle]

I don't think that live is easier if you only have a few snakes. I like being able to buy and store food for a few weeks or months in advance. I've kept rats and mice as pets before and I really wouldn't like having to keep/breed my own feeder rodents, LOL. They're kind of messy and smelly if you aren't really diligent about cleaning. I'm also not totally comfortable with pre-killing rodents on my own yet, but that's a personal thing.

I can see how it's economical for a large collection though.

I don't pre-kill. They eat live. And if they don't eat, rat goes back in tub for next time, no waste. I hate the time consuming process of thawing and heating f/t, and waste if they don't eat. Live is just easiest for me.

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[Gerardo]

F/t, live, and p/k are all safe. All of these methods have their own risks associated with them. P/k means the animals already dead. So youre wrong in saying its the freshest. If you want to feed the FRESHEST, then live would be it. Youre right, you dont know how long the rodents have been frozen, thats why you buy f/t from someone you trust. Not trying to insult you, but the snake doesnt need a "fresh kill".

i meant the freshest safe food. But you are right that they dont NEED fresh killed food
As long as its safe for the snake and works for you there is no wrong way to do it. Pre killed works for me and my BP.

[jwill226]

Her first feeding with me went great tonight. I fed her live and she took it about 30 seconds after seeing it. So im happy. I think next week i will try fresh killed and see how that goes. My. Only worry is it seemed to be the movement that got her attention.

Thanks again for everything.

[Zombie]

Her first feeding with me went great tonight. I fed her live and she took it about 30 seconds after seeing it. So im happy. I think next week i will try fresh killed and see how that goes. My. Only worry is it seemed to be the movement that got her attention.

Thanks again for everything.

That's where the zombie dance comes in Just use some tongs and wiggle the rat around. Just be careful to not hit her with it, might make her defensive and not want to eat

[jwill226]

I tied to get her to pay attention to the mouse while i held it with tongs and she ignored it and was trying to get out of the plastic box i put her in for feeding. I fed her out of her home so i would have easier access if something went wrong. Once i put it down the mouse walked over to her tail she turned around, set up an struck catching the mouse behind the front legs in the side. Once she was ready she worked her way to the head and took it proper.

Next week i will give the pre killed a shot.

I left her for about 15 minutes after she got done before moving her back home. She is sitting in the open on the hot side near a hide and seems content. Was that the right thing to do?

[Zombie]

I tied to get her to pay attention to the mouse while i held it with tongs and she ignored it and was trying to get out of the plastic box i put her in for feeding. I fed her out of her home so i would have easier access if something went wrong. Once i put it down the mouse walked over to her tail she turned around, set up an struck catching the mouse behind the front legs in the side. Once she was ready she worked her way to the head and took it proper.

Next week i will give the pre killed a shot.

I left her for about 15 minutes after she got done before moving her back home. She is sitting in the open on the hot side near a hide and seems content. Was that the right thing to do?

Feeding in her home will cause less stress. When u try FT or PK, try feeding in her home. Make sure when you wiggle the prey, to move it around back and forth, similar to how it would move naturally.