Will cutting a rodents teeth prevent risk of live feeding injury?

[dr del]

I'm considering a ball python, but the main thing holding me back is their tendency to skip meals; I can't justify wasting a rat every time he/she refuses a meal.
My proposed solution is to feed live, because if the meal is refused, the rodent can be kept in a separate enclosure and maintained for another day.


I want to know, will trimming a rodents teeth down to the nub prevent live feeding disasters?



Do you personally feed live?
If so, what are your experiences?

Are the dangers of feeding small rats to ball pythons overhyped, or is eventual injury really as certain as it's portrayed to be online?

Let's keep in mind that rat's teeth are much different than our own, their teeth regenerate throughout their entire lives.


It's common place for rat keepers to regularly snip their rats teeth if it has orthodontic issues.

I was going to add to this but I think the answers already given cover almost everything I would have said.

One point that is worth adding though is not ALL ball pythons are picky feeders - far from it in fact. So you may be worrying unnecessarily.

I feed slightly smaller meals ( small rats or even large weaners most of the time ) and I've found this reduces the amount of refused feedings. The biggests parts of this trick is to find how your snake wants its meals presented and to let it defost near the enclosure so the snake knows a meal is about to be presented ( I only feed F/T ).

I'm ok with wasting a bag of frozen/ thawed rats to see if I can find a way the animal will accept the meal than cause pain and distress to animal I'm about to drop in the same enclosure as my snake.