Quick Question on Live Feeding

[adamanteus]

I've seen similar graphic pictures of a large Reticulate Python that had most of it's face chewed away by a rat that was left in with it overnight.
It's weird that the snakes don't retaliate.... hungry or not, that's got to hurt!

[crzy_kevo]

i was thinking the same thing james

[NetBSD]

i dunno why the snakes dont defend themselves, i have only seen this in BP's myself and maybe its because of how laid back they are? all i know if that when i feed live im right over the tank with the tongs holding the rats head away from the snake when it coils around. cant wait till i get some frozen rats to try and convert my BP's over

[crzy_kevo]

you could try breeding them

[adamanteus]

No criticism intended on you, Mark.... merely an observation that some snake seem to lie back and allow themselves to become supper!
I know sometimes feeding live can be the only option.

[infernalis]

When I first got my Pueblan Milk, the lady at the store told me he only ate live, so thats what I fed him.

About two months after getting him, He grabbed his mouse wrong, and the mouse bit him in the side.

Oreo went off feed for two and a half months, refused to eat anything.

When I finally got him to eat, I would pre-kill the mouse first, and that seemed to work out, Then when I ordered my first big box of frozen rodent, I got 200 frozen mice adults, Twice a week I put 2 thawed mice in there and by morning they are always gone.

Carmella my Eastern milk, she was covered in bite scars from the wild, and she instantly took to frozen.

F/T is the only way to go period

Even the BP likes them, however they need to be warmed up and shook in front of him to get his attention

[Topaz]

Even the BP likes them, however they need to be warmed up and shook in front of him to get his attention

Our larger BP will only eat if you leave the rat on newspaper in is enclosure. The other BP will only eat if you wiggle the mouse as if it were alive (she'll only take it if you make it look like it's on all fours and doing the jerky motions that mice do.) She won't strike at it any other way.

I have to say it's very refreshing to find a reptile forum that's not bashing for feeding f/t. I've even been CUSSED at for it, and have been told I did not do my research on the animals and I don't take care of them right.

[infernalis]

Those people are out of their minds, I wouldn't waste my time with them.

[reptile3]

wow, I did live for a month,then switched to f/t. George did strike & constrict the live prey! and then when I put his f/t on his hide, he is more than happier to look around, smell & go to town!

i am all for f/t!! it's easier, & I won't have to worry about a rat biting my snake!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I eat meat...but I don't eat a cow or pig while it's still alive

But neither do they. And sadly, the cow or pig that you do eat was most likely given a far more gruesome death than the one that a prey item is given by a predator. many people ignore or overlook when this fact, but it's true. Many slaughterhouses slit an animals throat and begin dismembering it while it is still alive. Yes that paints a horrible image in one's mind, but it happens to hundreds of thousands of animals daily. And don't even get me started on the animals bred for the fur trade and skinned alive for their fur. We, as humans, are the monsters. Predators, on the other hand, are designed to kill quickly and efficiently. When a snake hits a rodent and constricts it, it is squeezing so tightly that all bloodflow and breath stops completely. This means that within seconds, the tiny animal becomes unconcious and is no longer physically aware of what is happening. Sure, it's probably terrifying for a split second, but it's nature and it's far more natural than what we do to the slaughtered cows and pigs we eat.

There is nothing cruel or inhumane about predation or the observation of it in captivity... the snakes give a better, harder, faster more attentioned feeding response meaning they obviously prefer that to f/t, and the fact is that even though it is not natural for us to keep them, breed them... etc...we still try to re create what they would be used to as much as possible... and well, eating live prey is one of those things.

It's hard to swallow, but some people just like watching a predator do what it's made to do. There is a family that regularly comes into my store. They have a daughter and a son between 4 and 5. They have a ball python in a 100 gallon tank. They are wonderful, very nice people, I had the "have you tried f/t" talk with them, but they kindly told me that they opt for live because feeding time is like a family event and they enoy watching the snake hunt down the mouse in the tank and they watch the whole thing, the kill, the swallow, etc. They do not get some sort of sadistic enjoyment from it, they just are fascinated by how specialized and efficient snakes are at dispatching their prey. In my opinion... that does not make them weird, or evil, or bloodthristy, just curious and observant. People that are so squeamish about things eating other things, are usually ones that have already alienated themselves from the natural world, at least enough to say "OMG, it eats CRICKETS??? that is HORRIBLE AND CRUEL!!!" (i always just smile politely at those people and tell them that they are crunchy, they should try one.... and then shake my head later)


As for ME, I feed 99% frozen thawed. If someone brings me some live feeders, or if I happen to find them cheap at a show, then yes I do feed live, or especially when I have someone over who has never witnessed a snake eat, it's a very good way to educate people about that aspect of a snake's life. Unless I am sure there's not going to be any problems... I flick the back if the rodent's head prior to feeding to knock them out. I have not yet had a snake injured by prey. I am not sure how anyone could be as neglecting as the photo's of that poor snake chewed to bits. If the snake is picky and it HAS to be alive and alert.... I hold the rodent by the scruff with my tongs and present it head first.

I see nothing wrong with it, I see nothing wrong with the people who choose to feed live PROVIDED they supervise the feedings closely or whack the rodent first. There are always going to be idiots and sadists. But that does not mean that we can point fingers at the respectful people in the hobby who know what they are doing and how to do it. And what about the people who have a few hundred snakes and breed their own food? I know if I did it that way and had that many snakes... that I would not have time to kill, freeze, and then thaw all the rodents necessary. Sure, kill and freeze the excess and sell them or save them for a time when the colonies are thin, but there is no point in taking unecessary steps between snake and prey and you have that large of a collection.