Poll: How do you feed? Live, F/T, Stunned

[51-50 Python]

i know this type of thread always comes up but i just wanted to get a percentage of how most poeple feed.. Some prefer live.. F/T.. or just stunned before an eating.. i personally use live feeding and have never had a problem with it.. some people use F/T mice or rats because they've had a problem with their BP's getting injured from a bite but i know this only happens in very rare cases

[PROZAC]

i have tried feeding my BP frozen but just wont take it but as soon as i drop a live one in there its quick rat never hurt the snake

[edie]

I feed f/t
I have fed live to snakes that refused f/t because all in all I want the snake to be healthy. I have been able to successfully switch all 12 of my snakes over to f/t and they take them with no problem.
I think f/t takes a little more patience and creativity to get the picky eaters to take for you.

I have had a snake take a couple bites from rats (I've only fed 2 snakes live because they were not accepting f/t, and only one was ever injured), so this is also part of my reasoning for feeding f/t, that and its cheaper and I don't have to deal with breeding and taking care of tons of rats/mice, I have too many snakes to go buy live animals once a week for everyone.



If I did have a rat/mouse colony then I would feed stunned, unless the snake would only take fully live rodents.

Thats just what I would do though, not saying its the right way!

[rabernet]

I feed live, and in over 3000 live prey being fed off have never had an injury. But I also do not feed larger than small/small rats to even my biggest girls.

I am completely opposed to stunning prey, as I find it cruel and un-necessary. Ball pythons are perfectly designed to quickly dispatch their prey without any assistance from us. It's up to us to make sure that we aren't feeding larger than what they need, to minimize the risk.

As I said, I've never had an injury, not even a scratch in 3000 live prey feedings. Even if I'd had just ONE instance, that still makes the risk only .0003% risk of injury just based on my sampling.

[firebellied]

I've always fed all of my herps with F/T....Never had the need or inclination to feed live (Thank God!).

[Ophiuchus]

I generally prefer live because it gives the snakes more exercise and stimulation. But for my house snakes, I'll probably switch over to F/T just because its cheaper and I'm getting so many (3 more on the way).

[FireproofGorilla]

f/t all the way. All of my reasons for that are in another thread "How Frequently Do You Feed Your BPs?". There are pros and cons to each side of the coin. I find fresh f/t to be the safest course of action and just as nutritious. But, do have the live feeders talk to you as well and get their views. I would recommend f/t.

[Karbon]

F/T for me. Not knocking anyone who feeds live though. You do what you have to for your snake to be honest!

I like F/T because it doesnt put the snake in danger of being hurt and I can store the mice in the freezer and not have to go to the store every day I need to feed the mice. I only have two snakes. If I had a big collection I would more than likely setup a mouse breeder rack or something.

Both my snakes love F/T. Both of them pretty much instantly strike and start to swallow the F/T's every time. Never had an eating problem with either of them.

[Texas Dan]

I'm surprised these threads don't get locked.

[Texas Dan]

I've always fed all of my herps with F/T....Never had the need or inclination to feed live (Thank God!).

You're not allowed to feed live anyway right?