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Poll:Live or pre-killed?
- Thread starter syschinslater
- Start date
syschinslater
wishing more time for 8
good to know thanks
titus
New member
I feel this will always be a hot topic with snake owners. F/T mice/rats have are mostly shock frozen therefore have the same nutrial value as live feeders. I feed all of the above here and there as needed. I have breeding mice that I pre kill for most my snakes buy F/t for when I need them to feed, and feed live for the first 2-3 feedings for hatchlings. My ball python refused to eat f/t for months, I was able to get him to take stuned mice, then move to f/t.
BeckyG
Making it up as I go
tom e said:
Yes.
Mouse Attack
This poster was extremely lucky the mouse didn't do more damage to the snake.
Ryan Harvey
Valley Pets!Best Quality!
I always feed freshly killed mice/rats, other then with my hots...I just love watching them do it..They just bite and back up and let the venom do the work..Just so quick...
Tom Tuttle
Fightin the C
My collection eats frozen thawed or it doesn't eat. :shrugs: Sooner or later they get hungry enough. 
syschinslater
wishing more time for 8
mbdorfer said:
meaning live? lol
Jimmy Johnson
Old Timer
same old same old
this has been repeated many times by many people but I will go ahead and add My Opinions to the mix........
It is easier and safer to use frozen/thawed. If you can get your snakes to eat f/t, there is no real reason to use live.
Now we all understand the need to use live on occasion.
There are several reasons why this may be the case. I will not go into these here. That is for another discussion.
I will just say that the sooner you can get them onto f/t the better.
With smaller snakes, pinkies and fuzzies can be fed without worry, they can't cause physical damage.
As far as weanlings and adult rodents are concerned, unless a person lives in a bubble they would have to know the damage they can cause.
Look at the photos, you see them in every one of these discussions. What more proof could you need or want.
When I have had to use "live" weanlings and/or adults it has worked just as well to kill them and then immediately introduce them to the snake in question. (pre-killed)
They are still warm and with a slight wiggle the snake thinks they are still alive.
And in these instances I have made sure to get these snakes back onto f/t as soon as possible.
When I read that someone feeds their snakes live because that's all they will eat, that just tells me that person isn't willing to take the time to switch them over. The bad part is how little time or effort it could really take.
A snake that is feeding on a regular basis will usually switch over quite easily.
I feed my snakes frozen/thawed and recommend frozen/thawed to anyone and everyone who cares about their snakes.
Fresh pre-killed would be the next best option and actual live, a last resort.
I guess that's it in a nut shell.
this has been repeated many times by many people but I will go ahead and add My Opinions to the mix........
It is easier and safer to use frozen/thawed. If you can get your snakes to eat f/t, there is no real reason to use live.
Now we all understand the need to use live on occasion.
There are several reasons why this may be the case. I will not go into these here. That is for another discussion.
I will just say that the sooner you can get them onto f/t the better.
With smaller snakes, pinkies and fuzzies can be fed without worry, they can't cause physical damage.
As far as weanlings and adult rodents are concerned, unless a person lives in a bubble they would have to know the damage they can cause.
Look at the photos, you see them in every one of these discussions. What more proof could you need or want.
When I have had to use "live" weanlings and/or adults it has worked just as well to kill them and then immediately introduce them to the snake in question. (pre-killed)
They are still warm and with a slight wiggle the snake thinks they are still alive.
And in these instances I have made sure to get these snakes back onto f/t as soon as possible.
When I read that someone feeds their snakes live because that's all they will eat, that just tells me that person isn't willing to take the time to switch them over. The bad part is how little time or effort it could really take.
A snake that is feeding on a regular basis will usually switch over quite easily.
I feed my snakes frozen/thawed and recommend frozen/thawed to anyone and everyone who cares about their snakes.
Fresh pre-killed would be the next best option and actual live, a last resort.
I guess that's it in a nut shell.
Last edited:
syschinslater
wishing more time for 8
hmm...according to the polls, nobody likes magical rats for their snakes, whata drag!
nigel the corn snake
yummy mice!
wait you know that snake is it dead if so i will feel very sad because i absolutely adore snakes.Fenderplayer108 said:Please for the sake of your snake, and the sake of your pocket book when you need to rush to a vet because of something like this..
.
Would you really want your snake to go through this?
.
.
Just my 2 cents.
.
Ryan,
Lifesong Photos
Stock350
Modern Day Cowboy
Im new to owning snakes, but I have been on the computer for about three days straight now researching everything I can about Corn snakes and reading books that I bought. Frozen foods for snakes does lose nutrional value, but not at a rate that anyone should be concerned with. You can keep frozen mice or rats for a few months before they become worthless. Fresh killed or mice that have been knocked unconscience are a good option for snakes, but then again, who knows if the snake will feed that time or not. Right now, I feed Demeter pinkies because they cant injure my snake.
But anyway, I prefer live foods for my snake just because of the simple fact its better for her in my opinion. Unfortunatly, prey can cause injuries and so I will definatly knock the prey out or just feed her frozen thawed foods.
That is just my two cents.
Wayne
US Army
Fort Riley, KS
But anyway, I prefer live foods for my snake just because of the simple fact its better for her in my opinion. Unfortunatly, prey can cause injuries and so I will definatly knock the prey out or just feed her frozen thawed foods.
That is just my two cents.
Wayne
US Army
Fort Riley, KS
danielmcginty
New member
In the UK its actually against the law to feed live prey to your snake.
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/pets/herp-faq/part3/section-3.html
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmenvfru/52/4090727.htm
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/2005/...be62_4590a85f-bc72-475e-82a8-b5738c589fef.pdf
Not illegal at all, if necessary for the welfare of thereptile and no intentional cruelty involved, and not in public
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmenvfru/52/4090727.htm
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/2005/...be62_4590a85f-bc72-475e-82a8-b5738c589fef.pdf
Not illegal at all, if necessary for the welfare of thereptile and no intentional cruelty involved, and not in public
Fenderplayer108
MC Reptiles
nigel the corn snake said:
Yes, I know that snake. It's a good friend of mine who got this snake in a rescue. It was very messed up when it was recieved. She payed almost 4,000.00 in vet bills. Now, the snake will only eat once a month, has large scars, and always has a swollen eye.
danielmcginty
New member
diamondlil said:
Wow, I have been told for years by different people that it was. Really interesting links. Cheers
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
No worries, I had a snake I had to feed live to, and was threatened to be reported for it. So I did about 5 minutes reseach and found those links.
RedRaydin
Jason DeFreitas
You've heard from me on this topic before
My comments on this are quick and simple but I thought I'd chime in since I'm in the 10% of people who do feed live (that's rounding).
I have fed live since mine was a hatchling. It is on six months now and feeds two live fuzzies every seven days no prob. The snake attacks immediately and constricts until the mouse is dead. I do watch the viv and make sure it dies just as Chibitamalove had said he does.
I do realize fuzzies are small and can't cause significant damage. Fine. Maybe as the prey increases yes I understand what could happen.
However, on that thought. Snakes are adaptive in captivity as well as in nature. If taught from the beginning to feed live and they kill effectively then I don't see a problem. I know friends that have had boa's and fed live for years with no repurcussions. Lucky? Maybe... but I believe it can be done so long as you don't start off with thawed or pre-killed.
Also, for those of you who say your passionate about mice. I don't have it in me to pick up mice from my pet store, come home, and slam them against a wall or suffocate them, or kill them in any way. Yes it may be easy, but that itself is cruel. At least when I feed the mice to the snake, I know that that is just the course of nature and the food chain itself in action.
My pet stores around here only sell live unless I'm lucky and petco has some pinkies that are frozen. But they do not have anything above the size of fuzzies that are frozen. So therefore what do I do when it comes time to feed larger prey? Those of us who feed live may not have many options and have our reasons for doing it this way. While this is a heated topic I think we all do need to respect how we each go about doing things. I feel like some people who have taken a very heavy stand almost talk down to those of us who feed live, and that isn't really too cool. Like I said I respect those who go about and started feeding off thawed, prekilled, etc. I just think those of us who do not, should not have to feel like we are ultimately hurting our snakes in the end. We all feel like we take very good care of our snakes and would never hurt them or put them in harms way.
My two cents...
My comments on this are quick and simple but I thought I'd chime in since I'm in the 10% of people who do feed live (that's rounding).
I have fed live since mine was a hatchling. It is on six months now and feeds two live fuzzies every seven days no prob. The snake attacks immediately and constricts until the mouse is dead. I do watch the viv and make sure it dies just as Chibitamalove had said he does.
I do realize fuzzies are small and can't cause significant damage. Fine. Maybe as the prey increases yes I understand what could happen.
However, on that thought. Snakes are adaptive in captivity as well as in nature. If taught from the beginning to feed live and they kill effectively then I don't see a problem. I know friends that have had boa's and fed live for years with no repurcussions. Lucky? Maybe... but I believe it can be done so long as you don't start off with thawed or pre-killed.
Also, for those of you who say your passionate about mice. I don't have it in me to pick up mice from my pet store, come home, and slam them against a wall or suffocate them, or kill them in any way. Yes it may be easy, but that itself is cruel. At least when I feed the mice to the snake, I know that that is just the course of nature and the food chain itself in action.
My pet stores around here only sell live unless I'm lucky and petco has some pinkies that are frozen. But they do not have anything above the size of fuzzies that are frozen. So therefore what do I do when it comes time to feed larger prey? Those of us who feed live may not have many options and have our reasons for doing it this way. While this is a heated topic I think we all do need to respect how we each go about doing things. I feel like some people who have taken a very heavy stand almost talk down to those of us who feed live, and that isn't really too cool. Like I said I respect those who go about and started feeding off thawed, prekilled, etc. I just think those of us who do not, should not have to feel like we are ultimately hurting our snakes in the end. We all feel like we take very good care of our snakes and would never hurt them or put them in harms way.
My two cents...