Feeding live mice and rats is dangerous... Wives tale?

[JASBALLS]

If this helps, I feed live every week ... on average, over the last 10+ years I have gone through approximately 400 live rodents per week (this year I'm feeding over 700 live per week, 10 years ago it was 100 - 200 ... so 400 is an average over the last decade) ... I feed every week out of the year ... so if you figure; 400 rats per week x 52 weeks per year x 10 years ... that's 200,000+ live feedings over the last 10 years and that is a conservative estimate ... with all of those feedings, I have never had a single bite, scratch, or mauling.

Hope this helps.

-adam

WORD!! I would never feed a DEAD rodent to my snakes. They are not Voltures you know??

[Sparky1]

Live all for it never a problem, never a delayed feeding response. I did try f/t under advice recieved from this form. HATED it, never again.

[tjteach14]

I am a youngster at this game...but I have fed live from the get go. I have recently started feeding larger rats to by various Bp's with no problems. As a little precaution I do "thump" my rats to stun them prior to droping them in...they are alive, just not as rowdy.

[BChambers]

I feed primarily live, and never had a problem-because I supervise and remove the rodent if it isn't eaten within about ten minutes.

When I owned a reptile shop, I had several snakes, including balls, brought in over the years with horrible, disfiguring injuries from being gnawed by rodents. Some of these snakes died or had to be euthanized. This was ALWAYS the result of leaving prey in with a snake unattended. Often for 12 hours to several days!

Rodent injuries do happen but they are always the fault of the keeper.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

If this helps, I feed live every week ... on average, over the last 10+ years I have gone through approximately 400 live rodents per week (this year I'm feeding over 700 live per week, 10 years ago it was 100 - 200 ... so 400 is an average over the last decade) ... I feed every week out of the year ... so if you figure; 400 rats per week x 52 weeks per year x 10 years ... that's 200,000+ live feedings over the last 10 years and that is a conservative estimate ... with all of those feedings, I have never had a single bite, scratch, or mauling.

Hope this helps.

-adam

Priceless.

You know, with over 200k live feedings, if he has never had an issue.... that says an aweful lot. I will play those odds any day of the week.

Tosha, you are breaking the rules. you are not talking about first hand experiences... you are talking about rescue turn ins. There is no telling what really happened there... The person may have said "I was feeding my snake, and the rat attacked!" what they didn't tell you was that the rat was probably in the tank for 2 days... or that it was a large rat with 100g snake. Please, first hand experiences only.

Franky, I am not trying to say anyone is doing anything wrong, or that one way is better than the other. I mostly feed f/t because that is what works for me. The point of this thread is to show that if you follow the rules, there is NOTHING wrong with feeding live. So far this thread has shown just that. the only person who has clamed injuries so far was talking about what happened to someone else... without knowing the facts of what REALL?Y happened.

[Hardwikk]

My Hognose snake (my other snake, a checkered garter, doesn't eat mice) has never been hurt by a rodent because the rodents I feed him are already dead .

[Hardwikk]

WORD!! I would never feed a DEAD rodent to my snakes. They are not Voltures you know??

Snakes aren't scavengers by nature, but it's safer to feed dead rodents than live ones. Most people here who feed live rodents to their snakes know what they're doing, but feeding dead has no risks (unless your snake won't eat it) while feeding live, no matter how safe you can be, has its risks.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Snakes aren't scavengers by nature, but it's safer to feed dead rodents than live ones. Most people here who feed live rodents to their snakes know what they're doing, but feeding dead has no risks (unless your snake won't eat it) while feeding live, no matter how safe you can be, has its risks.

What are the risks? what are you basing this on? Have you ever had a snake injured while trying to kill a rodent?

[JASBALLS]

Snakes aren't scavengers by nature, but it's safer to feed dead rodents than live ones. Most people here who feed live rodents to their snakes know what they're doing, but feeding dead has no risks (unless your snake won't eat it) while feeding live, no matter how safe you can be, has its risks.

Your right! Dimwits should not feed live rodents to there snakes!

[OhBalls]

I bought a normal ball yeaterday....i was saving for a spider (from the same place) and going to get said spider....

i WATCHED a rat literally eat a hole onto this snake

i now own a normal, ingured ball that I did not have the heart to leave....with a hole in it's head ( i would show photos but he's resting comfortably and I think he's had enough stress for awhile)

I have always fed live...had a nibble now and then but nothing that the next shed didn't take cae of

funny you should post this...i honeatly think that the conditions the feeders are kept in plays ALOT into what happens to the snakes...especially depending on the circumstances on how the rodent was kept....

do i think this rat would have eaten a hole in this snake had it been fed and watered properly? no, probably not

i feed live...will the snake be bitten like that again?...highly doubt it...but then again, my feeders live "better than I do"....my animals always come first....

you just cannot have a cut any dry answer without taking into consideration facts from each circumstance.....not possible

I'll be glad to post pics when he feels safe enough to poke his pretty little face out