Hey everyone,
I happen to know Maria and her husband on a personal level and would like to point out that her advice on snake husbandry is undoubtedly the soundest advice I have come across on the net. Her attitude towards feeding live prey should be taken into serious consideration and does not necessarily reflect a "holier than thou" attitude. Believe me, she genuinely cares for these animals and devotes a lot of her time and money to her rescue efforts. Aside from the humane aspect (and I understand that we all draw the line somewhere), feeding live prey is dangerous. I have seen so many snakes get injured and killed by live prey, it just doesn't seem worth the risk. Some people whack (stunning) the rodent against a hard surface before feeding it off . . . why not just defrost a pre-killed one? Even difficult feeders (like my boa) can learn to eat frozen/thawed. Some people may argue that it is natural for the snake to eat live food . . . well then why not expose them to other natural conditions such as cold temps and predators? As our pets, these animals are kept in a controlled environment and we should do everything we can to keep them safe and content. Check Maria's forum out . . . you can post comments and she is always around to answer questions. Here is the link:
http://www.snakebabe.com/cgibin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi
I am sure that once you get to know her, you will realize her genuine passion for these animals and really start to appreciate her activism!
~Mischief~