Live vs. frozen

[BHReptiles]

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.

The danger comes when you don't heat it all the way and it's fed to your snake partially frozen.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

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.

A partially frozen rodent will start rotting in the animal stomach and it can lead to regurgitation but in some cases death as well.

Again regardless of what one feed's it's all about being knowledgeable and responsible.

[Andys-Python]

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.

You can also over-heat the frozen food and burn your snake. That's been done before too.

Andy -

[PitOnTheProwl]

Feeding frozen is safer.

This is news to me, how did this come about?

Snakes getting chewed up by their food is not either of their fault that the handler is lazy and not doing his/her job.

[satomi325]

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.

Also in addition from what others said, a feeder who's core is still frozen(inappropriately heated) can shock a snakes system since they are coldblooded and could potentially cause death.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[hondaprelude]

Thank you for everyone for all the input.

[treeboa]

Just like mite control this is always a very polarizing topic. The people that feed live will staunchly defend their position and they are right for the most part. The position that responsible feeding of live never leads to accidents is a fallacy too, though. I feed live to my snakes that refuse f/t too and I've been doing this for over 20 years. The caveat of watching to make sure the snake hits the rodent, in my experience only works part of the time. Most of my live feeders over the years would not hit the rodent with me watching, leading me to have to shut the cage/drawer and come back later. Not much of a problem with mice since they tend to chew on snakes out of hunger or boredom which only happens if they are left a long time. Rats attack defensively though, and this can happen in a minute. Also, talking about time, you can't tell me people with larger collections stand there and make sure each snake takes the rodent before moving on while feeding. Yes most accidents with live are because of laziness or ignorance and the same is true of feeding a f/t that's not completely thawed. The fact is though, the dangers of responsibly feeding f/t=0%, the dangers of responsibly feeding live, ? but more than 0%. There no question that feeding f/t is impossible with a larger collection. My collection over the last 15 years has fluctuated between 40 and 100 snakes depending on how many hatchlings I have and for me it's less trouble to feed f/t. I'd rather take the time to do the "zombie dance" for the snakes that need it (not all do) than take the time to maintain a rodent colony and put up with the smell. But to each his own. As far as what is better, the safety and convenience issues are for you to decide, as far as nutrition and the health of your snakes, it makes no difference.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Just like mite control this is always a very polarizing topic. The people that feed live will staunchly defend their position and they are right for the most part.

It's not about defending what one does or does not, everyone can feed what they wish, it´s about educating people about their choices and promoting RESPONSIBLE feeding (regardless of the feeding) versus instigating fear of the big boogy is man.

[Dave Green]

There isn't a right or wrong answer. Weigh the pros and cons and decide what works best for you and your snakes. Problem solved!

[BHReptiles]

It's not about defending what one does or does not, everyone can feed what they wish, it´s about educating people about their choices and promoting RESPONSIBLE feeding (regardless of the feeding) versus instigating fear of the big boogy is man.

^^I agree with this.

I'm pretty sure a lot of us who have answered to this thread support both frozen/thawed and live feeding as long as it's done responsibly. When keepers are not responsible about their feeding methods, then you run into problems like chewed up snakes or killing your snake because you fed it half frozen food. I know a lot of people also don't feed exclusively one thing. Some do, but not all. For me, all my ball pythons eat live because it's what I have available and what I have the space for. My cornsnakes, however, all eat frozen/thawed. Both are fine feeding methods as long as both are done correctly.

As a community, it isn't our job to spread our opinions on what feeding method is best my means of fear. however, it is our job to make sure that new keepers know the pros and cons of both methods of feeding so they can make an informed decision. Trying to scare them is not giving them all the information they need. For example, your method of education (trying to scare them out of feeding live) can be equated to something like this: A person gets into a car accident because they were drinking. Now, you're trying to tell people not to drive cars because it isn't safe and you can get into accidents. Well, yes. You can get into accidents if you aren't being responsible. However, if you are a responsible driver, your odds of getting into a car accident significantly decrease. Do you see what I'm saying?