very good article on Frozen vs Fresh Killed feeders

For me, the author lost any credibility with this line...

Don't believe me? Go to your doctor and tell him you intend to raise your new baby on nothing but frozen foods from birth to adulthood and see what he says. Be prepared for a visit shortly after by child services.

I grow and freeze as many of my own vegetables as possible, and the majority of the red meat in my house is venison, hunted and butchered by my SIL and then immediately frozen by me...if I were to tell any doctor that was what I feed my family, they would applaud.
Most fresh frozen foods have NO additives, which make them about as healthy as one can get. Time in the refrigerator or on the counter is what causes nutrient loss when passed peak. If quickly frozen right after butchering, or in a mouses case, dispatching, the nutrient content should be well preserved.
Additives and preservatives mainly deal with textures.

Originally Posted by Shiari

This is why I don't feed live mice.





While admittedly poor Ratbait there is also blind, he was bit in the face after missing a strike on a live rat. Last week when I fed my snakes, one of them struck the mouse on the back end and coiled it, leaving the head entirely free. If that had been a live mouse it would have bit the hell out of my snake.


ceduke witnessed a ball python get the top of its skull ripped off by a rat after it missed a strike.

The vet I took my turtle to relayed a story of a kingsnake bitten through the skull by a mouse it missed a strike on and it had to be euthanised.

So no, the only 'pro' is NOT convenience. There's also the bloody safety of my pets!

The article isn't saying feed them live, he is saying buy them or breed them live and kill right before feeding for best nutrition....

My mistake, I misread.

I do not think it would make any difference nutritionally, however. Pretty much every piece of meat I've ever eaten was frozen at one point.

Originally Posted by Shiari

My mistake, I misread.

I do not think it would make any difference nutritionally, however. Pretty much every piece of meat I've ever eaten was frozen at one point.

That is so true of most people, with me it depends on the cut. I like my steak fresh unfrozen, so I buy the same day I plan on cooking them.

This is not a very good article- this is an opinion piece. I agree with other posts that there is no evidence supporting his claims at all. This would obviously never fly as a research article.

Shiari that breaks my heart Poor guy...

First, the author of that article seems like a rather angry, resentful individual. Second, and I don't mean to generalize, but some people on this board consider articles like the one that started this thread, rhetoric, hyperbole or anecdotal.

Yet others are quick to slam academic articles as boring, too long, filled with charts and graphs, etc.

It can be rather amusing.

This article is interesting and brings up a lot of good points, but for many of us is unrealistic. It seems that many of us are doing just fine with feeding f/t mice.

I did learn a lot about thawing methods though, so the author made good points on that topic, even if I did feel like I was being yelled at.

Sn8kman, what makes you ready to accept what one person says, and dismiss another? You read this article on frozen feeders, and refer to it as rhetorical, hyperbole, and anecdotal, and then you even manage to characterize the author as angry and resentful. How do you know this? And yet the article on UV light, which I said was boring and unhelpful, you consider "science" because it is written in a scientific format at a university? You called it "relevant" and "useful". It is written by a college student, which I could speculate was only trying to gain a decent grade, and may not have really had any interest in whether snakes could benefit from UV light or not. On the other hand, the article on frozen mice was written by a breeder with thousands of snakes and decades of experience who truly has the well-being of his animals in mind. His article was posted on his reptile business website, and was obviously his opinion placed there to help educate other snake enthusiasts. Certainly, he may be wrong. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with him. As a matter-of-fact, I agreed with you in that I don't see a problem, so I will continue to feed frozen. Our diverse opinions/knowledge is what makes this site so great. I just don't see why you characterize Sean (the frozen mouse author) as angry and resentful, while you consider UV light for snakes to be "relevant", (because it's scientific?).

Dude, read my post again, you obviously misread it.


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I'm sorry. I don't see how I mischaracterized what you said. I certainly do not wish to do that. We may not agree on everything, but I respect your opinion, and am trying to discuss the issues, not argue. Can you be specific? Thanks.