Great article SoCal!

I totally agree with the vegetarians dying off. You ever seen a vegetarian? They're all gaunt and yellow (Ron White reference, just a joke).

It's not that I can't stomach watching my snake pwn a mouse. I just don't think it's neccessary thus far. I do agree with you in that there is nothing fresher than live. However, I have no evidence that shows that it's better than f/t.

Of course there are many ways to observe the health of a snake. Shedding, defacating (checking urates for the right consistency and if there's moisture in the stool to observe dehydration), and eating. I would also take the BPs activity level as a BIG determining factor in health. Mila is active when she needs to be (night, dusk, etc.). If that were to change (other than being in shed or digesting), I would become very concerned.

I found that article. I found it very informative. My problem with live was that I was prekilling the food and sometimes my snake wouldn't eat. But, if it's best for her health, I will consider it. But, the article failed to state (in regards to the bacteria and salmonella that could be in f/t) that those bacteria and salmonella are equally as likely to appear in live.

Another reason that I feed f/t is that I know where I'm getting my food source from (I would urge all snake owners to research their food source prior to buying). My f/t ARE freshly frozen. I don't keep any frozen prey item longer than 20 days.

"Attempt to minimize the exposure to room temperatures. Thaw as quickly as possible, and offer immediately to your snake. Remove uneaten rodents quickly from the cage, in thirty minutes or less. many keepers will use the microwave oven to quickly thaw rodents. We don't recommend this for several reasons: It's easy to overheat the rodent and burn your snake. It's easy to accidentally cook portions of the meat (which reptiles cannot digest properly). It exposes your microwave oven to the same potential diseases as discussed above. many keepers will place the rodent inside a Ziploc bag and thaw in warm water. This greatly increases the rate of thawing and is the preferred method."

I totally agree with this statement and it's how I've been feeding my f/t the whole time. Do NOT nuke any prey item. I make sure the prey items I've thawed out are body temperature prior to feeding.

I don't know everything. I'm not claiming to. I'm not a veternarian either. From the looks of it, us herps seem to have more knowledge than alot of vets out there! But it's still no substitute. My snake's health is the important part. And I'm glad for your input and that article, SoCal. If Mila's attitude, demeanor, or health changes, I can now include this as a possible cause if she's asymptomatic.

Here's one of my problems with live feedings, I'm sure most of you are smart enough not to leave a live rodent in one of your reptile's cages unattended. But, here's a pic of what could happen (I'm sure alot of people have seen this picture):

http://www.proexotics.com/graphics/b...ive_prey_1.jpg
http://www.proexotics.com/FAQ2.html

(this site is not my only source of information but it is a good one. I'm not that stupid, although my girlfriend might disagree. It all depends on where you get your information.)

I mention high quality frozen rodents for a reason. Years ago, frozen rodents were more difficult to find. I can remember receiving full size trash bags of frozen mice, various sizes, perhaps 1500 in the bag, and it certainly looked less than appetizing. Convincing our snakes to eat such ugly mice was not quite as simple, and the smell was terrible. No one wants their snake eating rotten meat. "Feeder Suppliers" sold mice and rats that had been refrozen two or three times, or rodents that were wet when they were frozen, and the resulting thaw was one gooey, unusable mess.

The store down the street is run by a friend of mine. I know he breeds his own feeders and keeps them VERY healthy. He wouldn't sell me something that's been frozen twice over or frozen for an extended period of time. I give every prey item a good exam before offering it to my snake (everyone should do this). Look at the item before you buy it and after you thaw it. Make sure it's pink, DRY, and warm (not nuked). It should still look like a healthy mouse/rat even though it's dead. You'll know a bad one when you see it. You shouldn't see any dependant lividity (blood pooling in the abdomen or any other portion of the body), this would imply the item was dead for HOURS before it was frozen. The joints should move readily. There shouldn't be any rigamortis in a prey item. Uneaten prey items should be removed immediately and I wouldn't refreeze anything that was allow to get to room temperature more than once. If she doesn't take it at the second offering (which has yet to be an issue), she ain't gettin' it!

On a side note, I'm a Medic Firefighter in VA (if yall couldn't tell by the pic). SoCal, I took a patient in the medic THIS morning for vomiting since 8pm last night. They sedated him and intubated him after I dropped him off. A friend of mine that works at the hospital said he coded (lost pulse and stopped breathing) TWICE after we left. HE WAS A VEGETARIAN! How weird is it that that would happen while we're talking about this?

Yall have a good week!