Am I a bad person!

[ZinniaZ]

I think not a bad person-- but probably you should research and choose another way.

[rabernet]

I want to thank everyone for there comments. I have thought about the CO2 method but I was wondering if he CO2 that is in the rat /mouse lungs going to effect my snakes?

You have CO2 in you - you breath it out every time you breath. So no - it won't hurt your snake

[ama1997]

I feed live I don't like killing anything the snakes in the wild eat live animals. So I feed live animals. Yeah your animal can get bit or worse if feeding live. As long as you watch them feeding live is almost as safe as feeding dead or F/T. So to me I don't see any point in killing the rat/mouse. The snake is designed for catching and killing its food. They have been doing so for how long? Its a snake let it do its thing. Im not getting on anyone for feeding fresh killed or F/T. Everyone does their own thing and it works for them. Anyways thats my thoughts on the whole thing.

[blackcrystal22]

I feed live I don't like killing anything the snakes in the wild eat live animals. So I feed live animals. Yeah your animal can get bit or worse if feeding live. As long as you watch them feeding live is almost as safe as feeding dead or F/T. So to me I don't see any point in killing the rat/mouse. The snake is designed for catching and killing its food. They have been doing so for how long? Its a snake let it do its thing. Im not getting on anyone for feeding fresh killed or F/T. Everyone does their own thing and it works for them. Anyways thats my thoughts on the whole thing.

Not all snakes in captivity have the ability to kill mice and rats as they would in the wild. ALL of the other 'wild' factors have been eliminated which means feeding live because its the 'natural' thing could become dangerous. It can be done responsibly yes, but you should not consider that the environment you have for your snake is 'wild' because it is not. This is captivity and is much different.
As said before, my corn snake couldn't kill a live mouse and would be bitten to death every week, she's very lazy about it so I feed her f/t and fresh killed.
My ball, I don't know. I have to feed him live to get him back on track, then maybe we can see if he will move to f/t because its conventionally easier for me and a tad bit safer for him. :]

[Argentra]

No, low levels of CO2 in the prey will not hurt your snake... but you must be careful of how you administer the CO2.
Start with a trickle and turn it up a tiny amount every few seconds. This (usually) lets the rodents fall into a stupor before they die so they don't really feel anything. Blasting the CO2 will make their bodies react. I have seen this personally at the zoo I worked at when they taught me about gassing animals for prey or to be put out of their misery(small animals of course!).

And I agree that larger rats should never be killed via CD! Their vertebra are to...strong and thick I guess is best, and it's not the quick painless death it is in smaller rodents. Currently I use CD on my mice to PK them for my snakes, but I have all the equipment for a CO2 chamber for the switch to rats.

[ama1997]

Not all snakes in captivity have the ability to kill mice and rats as they would in the wild. ALL of the other 'wild' factors have been eliminated which means feeding live because its the 'natural' thing could become dangerous. It can be done responsibly yes, but you should not consider that the environment you have for your snake is 'wild' because it is not. This is captivity and is much different.
As said before, my corn snake couldn't kill a live mouse and would be bitten to death every week, she's very lazy about it so I feed her f/t and fresh killed.
My ball, I don't know. I have to feed him live to get him back on track, then maybe we can see if he will move to f/t because its conventionally easier for me and a tad bit safer for him. :]

I'm not saying keeping my snakes in a tub is like being in the wild. I'm saying that snakes are designed to catch and kill their food. For the most part most snakes know how to do that. Yeah there are ones that don't for whatever reasons. And yes they have to be fed whatever they will eat to keep them alive and healthy.

I have bred corns and If the babies are started out on live then for me 95% of the time they had no trouble killing their mouse/rat. I don't know what if anything the snakes get out of hunting for their food. I would think it benefits them in some way even just a little. Yes I feed live I have also had a few little bites here and there. Nothing to bad and I know it can be bad.

Some will say killing a mouse/rat is wrong or whatever. Even if you feed live in a way your still killing the rat/mouse if you think about it. Or at least assisting a bit. I guess what I was trying to say was. The snakes are designed to catch and kill their food. So why not let them? If they will take live.

[Argentra]

I have bred corns and If the babies are started out on live then for me 95% of the time they had no trouble killing their mouse/rat.

All I will say to this is: hatchling corn snakes take newborn pinky mice...there is no threat or danger to them with pinks, and they are rather easy to subdue.

If anything, it's being said that adult mice and especially rats are better offered as FT or PK, even better when the snake is a lazy one and either isn't sure how to kill the rodent or doesn't want to.

[blackcrystal22]

All I will say to this is: hatchling corn snakes take newborn pinky mice...there is no threat or danger to them with pinks, and they are rather easy to subdue.

If anything, it's being said that adult mice and especially rats are better offered as FT or PK, even better when the snake is a lazy one and either isn't sure how to kill the rodent or doesn't want to.

I agree with both of you. I don't think its wrong to feed live but when the snakes are in need of adult animals to eat, it can get dangerous.. I would think more so with rats because they're bigger, smarter, and have much worse of a bite. :[

I'm feeding my corn today and I could swear she knows it.. shes been out wandering all day.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

One of my friends snakes died from a rat bite.

I know someone that fed a F/T to his snake and the snake died!

Does this mean people should not feed F/T?

The bottom line is to feed what works and what is convenient to the owner, but to do so RESPONSIBLY.

There is no Live vs F/T debate.

I feed over 100 of preys each month and none of my snakes ever sustained any injury.

Usually when there is a problem and a snake dies, it ultimately comes back down to the owner and his methods.

If done responsibly both live and F/T can be done safely, if done irresponsibly both can be dangerous.

[Venenito_X_Remedito]

Honestly, in my opinion, I don't think you're a "bad person".
Nobody WANTS to kill another animal, but you were looking out for your snake. Ball pythons need mice/rats to survive, it's part of the food chain; natural.
Though I also think, if you are going to pre-kill them, you may want to try one of the other methods. I do agree with some other people that the way it was done was not... the best.
Many people are giving you are hard time about it... Take it to heart, but don't take it too personally. You did what YOU thought was right, though now you know it wasn't the best choice.

I buy mine pre-killed/frozen.
I don't think I could kill one of them myself, but I understand why other people do it.
And the best method, is, obviously, the one that causes the mouse/rat the least amount of pain.

Like I said, this was all in my opinion, I don't want to cause a fight on the thread over it