The Live vs F/T debate

[DVirginiana]

So WHY on earth would you risk the health of your precious ( even expensive ) snakes when they are more than happy enough to eat a defrosted rodent ???

Because they often aren't 'happy enough to eat a defrosted rodent'. Has it ever occurred to you that in a country where it is borderline illegal (correct me if I'm wrong, but that is the immpression I've gotten from other keepers) and widely not accepted to feed live that the babies that don't eat live never make it into the hands of hobbyists? They likely die in petstores and at the breeders' and are considered failure-to-thrive because they are never sold as no one wants or would take an animal that doesn't eat f/t in that environment. In short, it's not astonishing that you've never purchased a snake that will not eat f/t; if you can find large petstores or breeders that have never had a ftt because of food then I will be impressed.

Please stop acting like people who feed live are horrible, lazy people who don't care about their snakes or the feeders. I have been keeping reptiles over a dozen years and in that time have had ONE snake that will not take f/t or prekilled. She was put up for adoption for not eating at a chain petstore bc she wouldn't eat f/t and they were not allowed to feed live there. I tried all the tricks for months until she started dropping a dangerous amount of weight before feeding live. I hate feeding live as it is inconvenient to me and I don't enjoy watching the mice die, and have tried many times to switch her to f/t but with no luck. Would you recommend I let my snake starve herself to an unhealthy weight just so I can TRY and get her on a food item she has never been willing to take, and nearly died refusing?

btw, if you are not vegan (and I do mean vegan, not vegetarian) you have no right to complain about the 'cruelty' of feeding live. If you're personally eating something that suffered far more than the mice that I feed to my snake, it's highly hypocritical of you to accuse me of animal cruelty for doing what I have to do to keep my pet healthy.
Just to be very clear, I have no problem with eating meat. I do it myself. Just using that example to make a point.