whats the correct,responsible way to feed your snake a live prey?

[Adam_Wysocki]

I wouldn't recommend feeding your snake in it's vivarium. The reason for this is that snakes can begin to associate the cage being opened with food being made available and can respond aggressively.

That's actually a myth that many people believe to be true. As long as you enter your snakes enclosure regularly for handling, cage cleaning, and giving fresh water, your snake will learn the difference between "feeding" and everything else and be no more or less aggressive than if fed in a separate container. A shy secretive species like a ball python may actually become stressed by being moved into a new container for feeding and refuse food.

You can also try stunning the mouse, simply by taking it by the tail and whacking it against a hard surface.

I can't say that I agree with any type of "whacking" when it comes to rodents. It is cruel and inhumane, and in reality, not necessary.

You can try dangling the stunned mouse in front of your snake and they'll usually figure it out themselves.

This is actually a dangerous practice ... a stunned mouse could potentially "snap out of it" in a very paniced and stressed state from being "whacked" and dangling from tongs and lash out by biting and scratching at whatever is around it ... possibly your snake.

Just my thoughts on the topic for whatever they are worth ...

Somewhere on the site there is a post where I described what I feel is the best way to feed a ball python live prey ... maybe someone can dig it up?

-adam