live or frozen mice?

[bjfoste1]

Do you guys feed live or frozen mice? I know the animal stores say you should use frozen mice and thats what I have been doing for the past couple weeks (since i just got my baby python). But I would love to see my snake dominate a live mouse at least a couple times through out his life. So im just wondering...

[Moriar]

as of right now i feed live but i may change to frozen/thawed when they are onto bigger prey that can really potentially do some harm to my beloved ball pythons. its really up to you on how you feed your animal, just make sure which ever way you do decide to do it, do it as safely as possible for your animal.

[slowEF]

I Feed All Of My Bp's Frozen Rats. They All Seem To Be Taking Them Rather Well, I Had To Switch One Of My Norms And A Pastel To Frozen From Live And They Didnt Miss A Beat. It Really Takes The Worry Out Of The Feeding For Me B/c A Dead Rat Cant Bite Or Scratch My Babies, And It May Also Be Slightly Healthier??

[rabernet]

I've always fed live, I've never fed pre-killed or f/t. I have 17 ball pythons. None get larger than a 4-6 week old rat (the equivalent of 2 adult mice). I've never had a bite or scratch on any of my snakes in over 2000 live prey being fed off.

I do not encourage switching to live just for the thrill of watching your snake dominate a prey item. It's up to each individual keeper to decide what's most convenient for them.

[juddb]

I feed live because i breed rats and its hard for a small rat to bite. Dont get me wrong they can and will if they have a chance but mice are able to bite pretty easily where as rats have a hard time and are usually trying very hard to breathe and not worried about biting. I hope this makes sense.

[bjfoste1]

why do the people at the pet store recommend frozen mice then??? I would defiantly rather do live.

[SatanicIntention]

Because they want to sell their product most likely. I guess f/t can be more convenient if you have 1-2 snakes, but if you have 40 snakes, some of who each 3-4 mice at a time, that would take flippin forever. It takes me only an hour to feed all of mine with live.

If live is more convenient for you, and you know the proper way to feed live, then go for it. Your snake would probably appreciate the mental stimulation

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I know the animal stores say you should use frozen mice

There is no "You should feed F/T" what you should feed is what work for your BP and what is convenient for you.

dominate a live mouse at least a couple times through out his life

should not be the reason behind switching if you switch it should be because it is more convenient for you to feed live and not for the thrill.

Keep in mind if you switch your BP back to live you might have a hard time switching back to F/T so make sure it is really what you want to do.

Why do the people at the pet store recommend frozen mice then???

Could be one of those people that oppose to live feeding.

[jeffjr464]

i'd have to say the only thing with feeding live is DO IT RESPONSIBLY, don't leave prey unattended with your snake,ever, ever ever ever

[WingedWolfPsion]

My preference is to have all of my snakes eating f/t rats and mice. Even though I am raising my own, I will kill and freeze them at the proper sizes, and give them to the snakes thawed (just as soon as they will all accept them that way). I feel it's more humane for the rodents, that the previously frozen rodents may be easier to digest, and that if the snakes are ever sold it will be much easier for their new owner as well.
Virtually any snake will take a live prey item, but many have to be taught to accept f/t. If they're already used to it, then there are far fewer problems in the long term.
You can stock a year's worth of rodents in a freezer--it's not always that easy to find live ones of appropriate size. And a VERY little amount of math shows that unless you are raising your own rodents, buying live ones is just horrible on the pocketbook.

Freezing for at least 6 months will kill most parasites--another potential problem from feeding live prey.