Risks of live feeding

[Stewart_Reptiles]

@Deborah - How long do you leave a rat in with a snake before removing?

5 to 10 min but there is a lot more to live feeding than just the time a prey is left in the enclosure there re a few important things as well that are just common sense.

First I scent the room, I do so by leaving the prey items in the snake room 30 min to an hour before feeding, that entice the snake to eat.

That time should be used to re-hydrate and feed your feeders if you purchased them, I do not do this since I raise my own and I know they are in optimal conditions (well fed and well hydrated)

I select the right size feeder for each animal, and drop it in the enclosure (I hold the feeder by the base of it's tail no tong involved), usually the feeder is caught in mid air or soon at it touches the enclosure's floor, those that are not tagged right away will go and groom themselves in a corner mainly because they are well fed, hydrated and not stressed.

Basically my routine is open the first tub drop rat/mice, repeat, move down to the last tub, once done I go back and check that everyone ate and remove uneaten feeders (if any) that either go back in the rat room or are offered to snakes that are done and cruising for second serving.

A snake that has been gnawed on tells a much different story than just what can happen when feeding live, it tells the story of someone with ZERO common sense, that does not feed live responsibly, those are exactly the type of people that should NEVER feed live.