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Frozen V. Live

L

lauralw225

New member
Hey guys,

So I just got my corn snake three weeks ago and the pet store was feeding it frozen so that's what I got. however, after more research it seems like live is better the corn snake. I was just wondering what your opinions were? want to make sure he is getting the best food possible!

thanks,

Laura
 
yeah that was my fear. plus if the snake doesn't eat I just have a live baby mouse. The nutrients are the same either way? Just want to make sure
 
I think F/t stays good for about a year, after that the nutrients start to break down.

I feed all my snakes frozen. Live would be more convenient for me because I breed my own rats, but F/t is much safer than live and helps my conscience.
 
I'm curious what sources you found that said live was better, since there are absolutely NO benefits to it.
 
Live mice carry parasites. Live mice can bite or eat your snake. It's natural, but still not pleasant for the mouse, to be eaten alive. Or to be hunted, killed and eaten.

Yes, I would feed live to save a snake's life, or even to get a baby eating (although it has never worked for me) but I wouldn't keep a live-only eater.
 
Even if it is technically somewhat better, from being fresher, the risks outweigh the nutritional value. If frozen food was not life-sustaining, we'd all be dead.
 
I have had success feeding live to stubborn feeders, and start a (very) small colony up every April just to have live pinks to kick start those babies. That said, if I have a snake that won't switch to frozen/thawed, it doesn't get to live here.
 
Thanks guys! Very helpful I am going to keep him on thawed. It's my first snake just wanted to make sure I am keeping him as happy and healthy as possible!!
 
Definitely go frozen/thawed! Not sure about that source... maybe it wasn't clear, or was full of it, but I believe live is typically only intended for larger species of snakes that are picky eaters. Namely ball pythons. But I don't feed any of mine live (and I have a ball python as well).

Hope that helps a bit. Best of luck!
 
QUOTE=Kat_Dog;1641207]I think F/t stays good for about a year, after that the nutrients start to break down.

I feed all my snakes frozen. Live would be more convenient for me because I breed my own rats, but F/t is much safer than live and helps my conscience.[/QUOTE]

It depends on how soon they're frozen after death (nutrients begin to break down almost immediately and bacteria will start to colonize), how it is stored (placed in a ziplock bag in the back of your freezer will keep for maybe a month, vacuum sealed lasts muuuuuuch longer) and the thawing process (using hot water can destroy many important enzymes).
I never recommend frozen if you can feed live or fresh-killed. The only reason to feed dead rodents is to prevent injury to your pet. Any rodent with teeth should be killed immediately before feeding. If you object to feeding live rodents without teeth, they can be fresh-killed as well. If you have an issue doing this, buy frozen rodents from a reputable dealer.

AliCat37 said:
I'm curious what sources you found that said live was better, since there are absolutely NO benefits to it.
Click to expand...

Live toothless rodents are the best, freshest option for smaller pet snakes. Fresh-killed toothed rodents are the best option for larger pet snakes. Freezing has numerous issues within the process and can lead to issues. Also, freezing doesn't kill all parasites that are commonly associated with live rodents. Frozen rodents may be a fine alternative to live, but it isn't the best option.
 
Those are good points, but for those of us who don't have a live rodent colony at home, buying live or fresh killed rodents every week for more than just a few snakes would not only cost a lot more, but it's a lot more work than feeding frozen thawed.

Heck, if I could get a live chicken or cow once a week, I'd prefer to eat that than frozen, but that just isn't reasonable.
 
lauralw225 said:
It's my first snake just wanted to make sure I am keeping him as happy and healthy as possible!!
Click to expand...

EXACTLY what we all love to hear from new corn owners!!! Always as questions, there are no stupid questions, only stupid owners who don't bother with the quality of care for their new kiddo!
 
lauralw225 said:
It's my first snake just wanted to make sure I am keeping him as happy and healthy as possible!!
Click to expand...

EXACTLY what we all love to hear from new corn owners!!! Always as questions, there are no stupid questions, only stupid owners who don't bother with the quality of care for their new kiddo!
 
Laura, I am a little disappointed in the lack of care for your fellow forum members, we thrive on photos!!!
 
ipreventdeath said:
QUOTE=Kat_Dog;1641207]
Live toothless rodents are the best, freshest option for smaller pet snakes. Fresh-killed toothed rodents are the best option for larger pet snakes. Freezing has numerous issues within the process and can lead to issues. Also, freezing doesn't kill all parasites that are commonly associated with live rodents. Frozen rodents may be a fine alternative to live, but it isn't the best option.
Click to expand...

Well, when you have 60+ snakes and pinks are $2 each and adults are $4 each, it certainly is unreasonable to buy that many live mice every week. Considering the parasites that they can hold, and the severe risks of feeding live, and the amount of time it would take to kill 60+ mice every week, it isn't reasonable. There are NO good reasons to feed live that f/t can't meet or beat. While prekilled is nice, it just won't happen when you have more than 1-2 snakes to feed.
 
AliCat37 said:
Well, when you have 60+ snakes and pinks are $2 each and adults are $4 each, it certainly is unreasonable to buy that many live mice every week. Considering the parasites that they can hold, and the severe risks of feeding live, and the amount of time it would take to kill 60+ mice every week, it isn't reasonable. There are NO good reasons to feed live that f/t can't meet or beat. While prekilled is nice, it just won't happen when you have more than 1-2 snakes to feed.
Click to expand...

When I had that many snakes,mi bred my own mice. It was far cheaper than even buying frozen mice. Many parasites survive the freezing process. Parasite prevention comes with buying rodents from a reputable dealer, not whether or not they are alive or frozen. Reasons for fresh, non-frozen feeders were listed. You don't have to pre-kill toothless rodents. If you code to do so, 60+ rodents for feeding time shouldn't take more than a couple hours. Feeding frozen rodents would take roughly that long if not longer.
I had 12 adults that would get fresh-killed adult mice and on average 90 hatchlings during the season that got live pinkies. It really did not take long to feed them all.
 
ipreventdeath said:
Many parasites survive the freezing process. Parasite prevention comes with buying rodents from a reputable dealer, not whether or not they are alive or frozen.
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%. I learned this in parasitology class in college. There are many good reasons to feed f/t, but avoiding all parasites is not one of them.
 
AliCat37 said:
Well, when you have 60+ snakes and pinks are $2 each and adults are $4 each, it certainly is unreasonable to buy that many live mice every week. Considering the parasites that they can hold, and the severe risks of feeding live, and the amount of time it would take to kill 60+ mice every week, it isn't reasonable. There are NO good reasons to feed live that f/t can't meet or beat. While prekilled is nice, it just won't happen when you have more than 1-2 snakes to feed.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%

ipreventdeath said:
When I had that many snakes,mi bred my own mice. It was far cheaper than even buying frozen mice. Many parasites survive the freezing process. Parasite prevention comes with buying rodents from a reputable dealer, not whether or not they are alive or frozen. Reasons for fresh, non-frozen feeders were listed. You don't have to pre-kill toothless rodents. If you code to do so, 60+ rodents for feeding time shouldn't take more than a couple hours. Feeding frozen rodents would take roughly that long if not longer.
I had 12 adults that would get fresh-killed adult mice and on average 90 hatchlings during the season that got live pinkies. It really did not take long to feed them all.
Click to expand...

With the big rodent breeders competing on price and service the cost of feeding FT is so low now that breeding your own is not worth it IMO. Its pretty easy to look at my accounts with Big Cheese and Mice Direct and see what I spent in a year to know that I could not set up a breeding colony large enough to feed my collection at that price. That is based on having a 10'x24' rodent room in the past.
I have never had a hatchling benefit from eating live verses FT except for the fact that he was eating.

You stated that many parasites survive the freezing process. Please educate us on which ones? Are these parasites common in captive bred rodents?
Honestly I ask out of always trying to improve my knowledge as a herper.
 
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