Why live??

[satomi325]

I feed live because it's easier and cheaper. I also enjoy breeding and playing with them. They're fun to be around, which doesn't make taking care of them seem like a chore.
I breed pet quality rats. 2-3 sold dumbos or dumbo rexes a month will pay for the entire month's worth of supplies, which is about $30.
And because the rats are essentially paying for themselves, my snakes are eating for free (aside from my own time and effort to manage the colony. But cleaning takes about 20 minutes once a week - much faster than thawing out frozen imo)

It's just easy for me to just go to a rack, pick out what I want for feeding day then proceed to go around the rack to feed the snakes. I drop one rat in a tub and move on to the next. When I hear a rat squeal, I know a snake has it coiled. I open that tub and check to see if the snake has a good grip or not. If the feeder is in a position to bite, I just stick a chop stick in it's mouth until it passes. If a snake doesn't eat within 30 minutes, I collect the feeder and return it back to the colony to be saved for the next week. No wasted food. If a snake doesn't eat f/t, I personally wouldn't like to refreeze it. Either way though, none of my snakes take f/t. Perhaps a handful of my most aggressive feeders will MIGHT take it, but for the most part, the 90% of my ball pythons will not take f/t. And it just seems troublesome to feed half f/t and half live when I could just do one way each time.


If someone had, for example, 60+ snakes. Thawing out and zombie dancing 60+ rats would be a pain. It would take hours. I think if someone had only 2 or 3 snakes or something, f/t would be the best and cheapest. But for larger collections, live seems to be the most efficient time and cost wise.

There are pros and cons to both F/T and live. Both can be safe and equally dangerous.
But people should pick which ever method works best for them.



Some responsible live feeding tips:

1) Feed the appropriate size food. I like smaller and more frequent meals than larger and less often. Weanlings and small rats are safe and harmless(to some extent). ThThey're also not as conscious to danger as an adult would be. Adult rats can pack a nasty bite and are much stronger at fighting back, which is why "smaller and more frequent" is the way to go. I feed all of my adults weaned/small rats once a week. And multiple smalls for the big girls. A live medium size would be the max appropriate size for a ball python.

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. This is the reason for most snake killing incidences.

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.

Still don't get how maintaining a colony of live is less of a pita than spending a little bit of time to thaw things out once a week. To each their own.

Takes me 20 minutes or less to clean a 6 tub rack.

In regards to safe and easy, and while I like to avoid argument, no accidents ever happening? Really? So you can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that every time your animals constrict there is no room for a bite or two?

I get that it's what works for you and that's fine, but blanket statements like that are silly.

Nothing is risk free. Even f/t.
However, there are methods to reduce that risk. (examples stated above)

Another question, what about rats fed to quarantine animals? If they refuse to you kill off the feeder and freeze/dispose of it?

Just curious.

Rats can come out of the same stock. But if a QT snake doesn't eat, the feeder cannot be returned to the colony. It has the possibility to contaminate the other rats, thus the rest of the snakes.
Personally, I just set up a small tub in the QT room to leave uneaten rats to be saved for next week. Or I just feed the rat to my ferrets. :\