No, the majority of Ball Pythons in large and small collections are on live. If the new owner requests the snake be on f/t, then the breeder will start to switch the snake over.

All of my babies were started on live last season and they all will be started on live this season. They don't recognize f/t prey as food. It doesn't smell like food, doesn't have the proper heat signature and doesn't move like food.

You wouldn't refreeze chicken that had been sitting around on your counter all day exposed to room temperature air, bacteria, and who knows what else. There's no reason to refreeze a prey item. Refreezing, then thawing again breaks down the cell walls even more, which will result in an exploded rodent. It's not pretty nor does it smell good AT ALL. Even the snake is usually turned off of it.

I feed live because if one of my snakes doesn't eat, which is a rarity, then I can give that mouse to another snake. If no one wants it or needs it, then that mouse can be placed back into its enclosure to be fed, hydrated and have buddies until next feeding day. With frozen, you can't do that. If a snake doesn't eat, that rodent needs to be tossed out. I abhor wasting a life, therefore, I will not feed frozen to my Ball Pythons.

Now.. my boa, who would eat a piece of wood covered in fur if I offered it to her, eats frozen/thawed rabbits. They are thawed over a period of 2 days in the fridge to ensure they don't go bad, and then warmed up/washed off in the sink or bathtub of hot water.

The vast majority of breeders that I know of feed live to their collections. It is just as safe, if not safer, to feed as f/t when done properly. You can easily kill a snake if a f/t prey item isn't fully thawed or is cooked. I've been keeping Ball Pythons since 2004 and have fed live since then. My snakes have never been bitten, but have been scratched about as many times as I can count on one hand. They have a tough epidermis for a reason, and any scratches go away in a shed cycle.

To feed live prey properly, all you have to do is pre-scent the room for 20-30 minutes so the snakes know what is going on. I put the rodents in a tub w/ water bottle and food inside my snake room and turn the light off. I come back in about 30 minutes and all of the snakes are in their hides or the back of their tubs "lurking". This means "feed mode" is turned ON and they are ready to eat.

I go in the same order every single time I feed, since the snakes recognize a routine and will get used to it. I have a flashlight that I carry in my mouth just so I can see what I'm doing, but there's no other light. I grab a mouse by the base of the tail securely, open a snake's tub and drop the mouse in on the opposite side the snake is on. The mouse usually doesn't hit the floor. I feed in the snake's home tub because I'm not about to reach in and get a snake that is in feed mode. I'd rather not get bit!

So anyway, there's a book on why I feed live.