Live vs. frozen

[hondaprelude]

I want opinions on this I have three ball pythons and two of them eat anything you give them but one of my pastels was being very picky I got her from Ben Siegel reptiles so she was on live rats. All my local pet stores had were frozen mice and I tried pinkies fuzzier and small mice and she wouldn't eat anything so I then tried a live rat fuzzy and she ate it in a hurry so I'm excited about that. There is a reptile expo near me on Sunday and I'm going to see if they have frozen mice and see if she will eat those so that I can get all my balls on f/t. I have read and it seems like rats are better for the snakes then mice but is it better live then frozen or vice versa. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[treeboa]

Feeding frozen is safer. Mice chew on snakes more than rats, but just the other day someone posted a pic on Facebook of a Ball that was attacked by a rat and it was really bad. If you can get your snake to eat frozen it's safer for her and more convenient for you. It's easier to stock up, then just go to the freezer and get one out.

[Konotashi]

My BP I had in the past refused to touch f/t, but I was scared to put live in there with her. I compromised by getting live, killing it, and feeding it immediately after. She preferred when I tugged it a bit to simulate it being alive and fighting.

[sho220]

Feeding frozen is safer. Mice chew on snakes more than rats, but just the other day someone posted a pic on Facebook of a Ball that was attacked by a rat and it was really bad. If you can get your snake to eat frozen it's safer for her and more convenient for you. It's easier to stock up, then just go to the freezer and get one out.

Feeding live is just as safe as f/t if done right. And what's more convenient depends on the individual keeper. For a small timer like me, f/t is the easiest and more convenient route. If I had a large collection, I'd definitely do live feeding as having to thaw 50-100 rats or more would be a major pita.

[satomi325]

There are pros and cons to both F/T and live. F/T could be equally dangerous.
But you should pick which ever method works best for you.

I feed live and haven't had any issues. Live is way way way more convenient for me. There is no way I would do F/T with my snakes. It would take hours to feed them all if I had to do the zombie dance to each one of them.

As long as you're being responsible and vigilant, live shouldn't be a problem.
Also, mouse pinks are too small for a ball.

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). They'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 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/'attack' 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.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Feeding frozen is safer. Mice chew on snakes more than rats, but just the other day someone posted a pic on Facebook of a Ball that was attacked by a rat and it was really bad. If you can get your snake to eat frozen it's safer for her and more convenient for you. It's easier to stock up, then just go to the freezer and get one out.

Safer?

How many accident have you experienced while feeding live? How severe was the damaged inflicted to your snake?

Any feeding if done responsibly can be done safely, I feed a few live prey each year (several thousands) and have done so for a few years and have never experiences in of the horror stories posted online, yes there are pictures out there however there is always have a back story to them that has nothing to do with responsible feeding.

We should promote safe feeding by teaching owners to be knowledgeable about their options not by scaring them.

On the side not improperly feeding a f/t rodent can be dangerous too

Now back to the original question.

There is not better than the other it's about what works for your snakes and for you, gram per gram it's all the same, the difference is that it is easier to feed rats as only one is required whereas with mice multiple ones will be required for larger animals which also means it will get more costly.

So what are your options? Well you can either persist and switch that animal to mice (tough love required) if that is what you want to do and what is available to you or you can keep her on rats as well.

You should not have any problem finding f/t mice and rats at the show, just remember switching is tricky in most cases and trying to switch from life rats to f/t mice can be even trickier, usually it's a one step at the time thing, you go from one prey type to the other mice to rat and once the animal is consistent you go from live to f/T.

[hondaprelude]

Thank you all for your input I'm going to see if she will eat a frozen rat and see if that makes a difference just for the simple reason that it is easier to stock as right now I don't have the room for and cage for the rats. I just didn't know if there was any nutrition loss from being frozen vs. live. If she will not feed on frozen I will switch to live. You all have been such a great help.

[bcr229]

I'm not aware of a nutrition loss in frozen versus live feeders. If your little girl is already eating rats then don't try to switch her to mice, it's much more economical when she grows up to feed rats whether they're f/t or live.

[Konotashi]

What are the dangers of feeding f/t? Not trying to argue at all - I just had no idea that feeding f/t could be dangerous at all.

[satomi325]

There is very little loss of nutrition. Not enough to make any significant difference.

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