It's dangerous for any snake that gets used to eating dead prey to be suddenly switched to live prey that can fight back. You'd be well-advised (if you're determined to do this?) to start with small YOUNG rodents only. For rats & mice, when their eyes are still closed, they do NOT bite back, so if you offer those your snake may learn to constrict efficiently enough to progress to whatever size prey they'd normally require. But there's no guarantee- your snake may still get badly injured in the process- that's real life in the wild too, which is why most of us want to avoid feeding live.Originally Posted by Spanky1962
Veterinary care for injuries is not cheap, nor without pain for your snake, & may have adverse consequences no matter what- ie. antibiotics & surgical repairs are very hard on a snake's body, & not all snakes will survive & or be "as good as new". Besides infections, snakes that are bitten by prey may lose an eye, for example. Scars are not so easy to look at when you know they were preventable.
You should consider how near you are to a really qualified veterinarian that can treat your snake, because FYI many vets don't treat snakes at all. You might want to check out this site first, just to make sure (if you're still determined to feed live): https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661 Remember too that feeding live isn't the most humane thing for the prey animals, & in some places, it's actually illegal.
Reply With Quote