Poll:Live or pre-killed?

Just one more thing... also my fiance... as well as myself, don't want to stare at frozen mice in the same place we keep ice cream and chicken... I don't think I'd ever want to eat if that were the case. That's just a small part... but eww... yea... no.

Ah... the age old debate.
I feed live... and pre-killed... and frozen/thawed.

I basically do what is convenient at the time. If I have many mice in the freezer and don't have the money, or I am too lazy, to go pick up my mice, then I will feed f/t.

Most of the time, however, I go to my work, and get all of the mice that I need live. I bring them home, and start feeding. Anything that is taking pinkies or fuzzies just gets live. They don't chew so there is no risk.
I usually just toss in the live hoppers and adult mice too, but I wait until the snake grabs it's prey. Live mice are never left unattended with a snake. If the snake shows no interest, I will either kill the mouse and leave it in with the snake, or I will take the mouse out completely. That all depends on the situation and the snake (I usually know why there is hesitation from snake to snake and case to case.) There are some snakes that I know won't eat while I watch, so they get a fresh killed mouse.
After a snake grabs it's live prey, I watch to see what kind of grab it has on the mouse. If the head is exposed in a way that the mouse might bite the snake, the mouse is killed while in the snakes grasp. This is done with either a good flick to the base of the skull (if the neck is not exposed) or a pinch and roll of the neck. Both will cause cervical dislocation (a fancy term for neck breaking) and the mouse dies immediately.

There are ways to feed live carefully. You just have to keep an eye on the feedings. For me, it is more convenient because I get my live mice at an incredible discount and I spend alot less time doing my feedings when I cut out the time of thawing over 100 mice. Also, if there are extra mice, I can kill them and freeze them to be used later as opposed to having to throw them away because they have already been thawed.

The only exception to the convenience factor of live for me is pinkies during breeding season. Before everything starts hatching, I buy a couple hundred frozen pinks online. When I buy that way, I save a bit of money. Also, it's nice to have enough pinkies around, in case I need them, and I get anything I am selling to eat f/t before I sell it, for the customer's sake.

I will say however, that I think that any animal that is eating rats should be given pre-killed or frozen/thawed if it is at all possible. Above, I was speaking solely about mice. Rats are the ones that are the cause of all the snake chewing that I've ever seen. I won't keep any boids anymore that won't take pre-killed.

Originally Posted by RedRaydin

Just one more thing... also my fiance... as well as myself, don't want to stare at frozen mice in the same place we keep ice cream and chicken... I don't think I'd ever want to eat if that were the case. That's just a small part... but eww... yea... no.

Right... so a dead mouse is worse than a dead chicken? At least the mice aren't pumped up with steroids for unaturally fast growth, overfed antibiotics to keep them from getting sick and then bleached post butchering to kill off some of the bacteria. They're just frozen mice.

Yea, but a mouse looks like a mouse. At least the chicken is in the form of patties or wings, hence it doesn't "look" like a chicken. I don't need something with fur packed with all it's insides still sitting in my freezer. Sorry just creeps me out. But I see what your saying. Hey I never said I'm not fat or eat unhealthy foods lol.

Originally Posted by RedRaydin

Yea, but a mouse looks like a mouse. At least the chicken is in the form of patties or wings, hence it doesn't "look" like a chicken. I don't need something with fur packed with all it's insides still sitting in my freezer. Sorry just creeps me out. But I see what your saying. Hey I never said I'm not fat or eat unhealthy foods lol.

Easy solution to that.

Opaque tupperware.

As for feeding live.... I breed my own mice. I prekill ALL of my mice, no matter how easy or convenient it might be to toss a live-and-kicking to a snake. I use carbon dioxide, which is humane and quicker than letting the snake take care of things; it reduces the stress on the mouse... which is still a living thing and deserves as humane a death as I can possibly provide, regardless of what it is 'for'.

What if The mouses teeth are broken completly off? Like when its a few days old, eyes opening stage, the teeth are grown but sensitive, what if the teeth are broken off by hand? That would elminate the bite factor.

Wow,.... now your talking cruelty. Reminds me of that horror movie "The Dentist"... ::shivers:: ... I guess that would be ok though lol. Have fun, make sure you wash your bloody hands lol.

This thread again?
That breaking off of mouse teeth business is about the meanest thing I've ever heard of.

Originally Posted by ktran

What if The mouses teeth are broken completly off? Like when its a few days old, eyes opening stage, the teeth are grown but sensitive, what if the teeth are broken off by hand? That would elminate the bite factor.

Well, I'm having trouble believing that you are serious, but...

I imagine that breaking the teeth off would be more trouble than just killing the mice quickly. And it would definitely be much more inhumane. I can't think of any reason that you would need to break the teeth off rather than just pre-kill.

Well put Trev...=)

I feed or have fed all three ways as well and I have way less snakes than folks like Trevor do. No method is "better" than another as long as you, the owner, use that method properly.

My current general feeding is:
Cleo - small rats, pre-killed or F/T
Carmen - small rats, pre-killed or F/T
Jenson - fuzzies/hoppers - live, pre-killed or F/T, depending on what I got

Right now I'm not feeding my rat eaters live, but that's mostly to assuage my worry of an unwanted bite and to be honest, it's just easier for me and the snakes really don't seem to care. =) But I know of plenty of boid breeders who feed and have fed live rats for years without a single problem. Again, use the method you want as long as you use that method properly. =)