hmm
There were several mentions of watching closely and making sure nothing bad happens when feeding live. Well...You are not fast enough...simple as that.
Place a mouse in front of your snake.
When the snake strikes, pull the mouse out of the way before it can grab it. Oh yeah, you must also somehow do this while standing there watching the animals with your hands outside the container. Obviously this just isn't going to happen.
The reason I mention this should be obvious but I will explain it anyway...That is exactly how quick the rodent can bite. In the same instant the snake bites the rodent, the rodent can bite the snake.
Sure, you might be able to stop a rodent from chewing your snake like the ones pictured, but that's not the point. It can only take ONE bite.
A quick bite can take out an eye...some of you don't think that's a problem but I sure as hell don't want a $40.00, $50.00, $70.00, $100.00 dollar snake maimed by a damn rodent.
Just as easily as that eye was put out, the tooth could have easily entered the brain or maybe the spine. And anyone who thinks a mouse or rat can't penetrate a snake's skin, with a bite, has never had a mouse bite through a fingernail or seen concrete and sheet metal chewed through by mice.
Yes, there are some instances where snakes won't take frozen/thawed and live needs to be used. In most of these instances a stunned or freshly killed rodent will work sufficiently.
Then of course, you hear the "well, they do it in the wild" argument...
As mentioned several times, above, the life expectancy of a snake in the wild is very low indeed.
I would be truly surprised if one out of every five hundred made it to adulthood.
It is only logical to surmise that some of these die due to bites from prey.
So, to repeat what has been said quite a few times...why risk it.
Is it really worth risking your snake just to watch it kill.
All of my snakes eat frozen/thawed and they have no problems constricting. Just wriggle a frozen/thawed mouse in front of them. They will constrict exactly the same as if it was live. You can't tell the difference. They bite, wrap their coils, search for the head and eat. Exactly the same.
and NO they do not loose the instinct to constrict. They are constrictors.
That would be like birds losing their instinct to fly because we keep them caged. They haven't yet now have they? And think about how long man has been keeping birds. Take your typical parrot...hand feed it as a baby it grows to love and trust you but you keep it's wings clipped for it's own safety and to keep it from ....flying away.
Guess what...when that parrot is twenty years old and you fail to clip it's wings it will fly. Might not be the prettiest flight but it will fly. It will not have "forgotten" how. It's muscles may need strengthening but it will know how to fly. It's a bird it will fly. How many generations have birds been kept in captivity?
A constrictor will know how to constrict. That's what they do.
look at it another way...you bought your snake, you may have even paid to have it shipped to you, you bought it's enclosure, heat pad, light, water bowl, hides, substrate, decorations, possibly even a few books and when it's time to feed you buy prey.
WHY would you want to risk that investment?
What if you had plans to breed the snake to help fund this great hobby.
WHY would you want to risk those investments AND any possible future income?
Now, there was a mention of pinkies and fuzzies which obviously can't do any damage but in keeping with my "why risk it" philosophy, wouldn't it make more sense to get them on frozen/thawed as soon as possible.
Oh yeah, to touch on one more thing...Snakes can't/don't get mites from mice.
Two different kinds of mites.
Simply coincidence that people have mice and snakes with mites at the same time.
