Live or Frozen?

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Title says it. What do you feed? Live or frozen? I dunno why, but it really *ticks* me off when people say "Oh its not gunna happen to my snake" and "its natural". 1) Its bound to happen to a snake weather a bite is major or minor, 2) Its also natural for them to be crippled and killed by a mouse attacking as well. Lets see if this poll changes anyones mind...(Sorry for all you live feeders out there, I didnt mean to offend anyone).

[reverendsterlin]

lol frozen, except for venomous(mostly) and thats to cycle such through. Not a scientific thought but oh well

[nouserpif]

What about crickets? who the he77 feeds frozen crickets?
lol, jsut kiddin

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Haha lol nouserpif, ive seen freeze dried crix and mealies, and ive never understood how someone could get a lizard eating some! Thats wierd. Yeah this is for feeder mic for snakes only. I should have put that on the title.

[burmer]

Frozen most of the time. If not frozen then fresh killed, never live.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

This is what I like to see!!! Look at those statistics, 91% already! I like it. (Again, this is not intended to offend anyone that feeds live)

[krrc]

I'm not sure way your worryed about offending people that feed live. most of the people on this site I have talked to that do only do so because the have a sturborn feeder. frankly who cares id they are offended their putting their snakes life and or well being on the line every time they feed live. just my .02 :)

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Yeah, I know. I just dont want someone thinking Im calling them stupid or something because I dont like what they do..Dunno, just trying to eliminate problems before they occur. :)

[mykee]

You know, in your perfect little world, all snakes eat f/t or f/k. I have been feeding 1/2 of my BP collection live, restrained and NEVER a problem. You should all count your lucky stars that you have BP's that ALL eat dead. As for feeding live, I know of three well-known breeders that feed live, so think before you start ripping on people. Ignorance is contagious.

[jay76]

I've tried both personally, and my snakes will take either... usually I'll feed thawed or stunned, but if I'm in a rush I'll give them a live one and supervise it. Of course, I'm still feeding pinkies, and I've never heard of a pinky injuring a snake. When they're out of pinky stage it'll be prekilled all the way of course.

[Lisa]

we mainly feed frozen, and our feeder mice and rats get killed quickly and humainly (no reason for them to suffer either). Right now we're working on getting our viper boa's over to dead but it's a slow process. Often they don't want to eat live nevermind dead.

[drewlowe]

with frozen versus live you are forgeting a big part of why to feed frozen instead of live or fresh killed. Not only do you have to worry about them attacking your snake you also have to worry about Parasites, Bacteria, and Mites. I used to feed my leopard geckos and corn snakes live until my leos got worms twice, and my corn snakes had little bugs in thier enclosure. The bugs thank god where not mites but they were brought in by the mice they were eating. The leos took a big hit with the worms it made 2 of them very sick. But luckly i noticed the change quickly and took them to the vet for treatment. Ever since then i refuse to feed live or fresh killed. Even with fresh killed you don't know if they have parasites or bacteria. Hopefully people can learn from the lesson i have learned.

[killaclown]

My snakes only eat live so i feed them live plus I buy them live. My mom would not enjoy me killing or thawing a mouse in the microwave

[unknownclown]

Um wouldnt they explode in the microwave?

[Tinytim12333]

yes they would

[djc3674]

I have a 6ft Columbia Boa and have never had a problem with the rats attacking my snake....what chance do they have? my boa is a pig and never refuses to eat. I do normally stun them first and hold them up above him so he gets the head first. But sometimes I let him attack his prey the good ole fasion way. Supervised ofcourse! (sorry to those who dont like feeding live...too bad!) I'm really not too keen on keeping frozen rats in the freezer next to the tater tots..then having to thaw them out. Much easier to go to the pet store which is 2 miles from my house..and pick out a nice live jumbo rat. btw...i am awaiting a baby Hogg Island boa..anyone interested in a Hogg...go to www.pmherps.com He has '03 hoggs for sale born end of April..BEAUTIFUL!!!.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Originally posted by mykee
You know, in your perfect little world, all snakes eat f/t or f/k. I have been feeding 1/2 of my BP collection live, restrained and NEVER a problem. You should all count your lucky stars that you have BP's that ALL eat dead. As for feeding live, I know of three well-known breeders that feed live, so think before you start ripping on people. Ignorance is contagious. This is why I kept saying that my posts were not ment to offend anyone. I really dont care whether you feed live or frozen, I was just curious as to the statistics of it on these forums. As to the risk, it happens. Theres no way you can prevent a rat from attacking unless you stun it, and even with that there is a small chance. ANd you should count YOUR lucky stars that your snakes are still alive and well. As to Djc's post, if the snake gets the rat towards to back or something and NOT by the head/neck, the rat can jerk itself around and get the snake on the neck. Not good. Alright I'm done ranting.

[drewlowe]

killa clown how do you know your snakes wouldn't eat frozen/thawed mice have you tried. I though the same thing as you (that my snakes are used to live) But the first time i tried sure enough they ate them with no problems. Give it a try it cant hurt anything. It can only benifit your snakes health.

you wouldn't warm up a mouse in the microwave. lol. You put them in a plastic bag and soak them in hot water. and you can buy already frozen mice or you can kill them yourself and freeze them for a few hours. or however long you need to. And feeding them f/t is not for our benifets its for the snakes. And to kill a mouse is so easy, I thought i wouldn't be able to do it but all it takes is one firm flick to the back of the neck and they twitch around for a bit and then they are off to dream land.

[SD-SNAKE]

some of my snake will eat (pre-killed) because there feeding response is that good others will only eat live. I raise my own rats. I thank mykee for his truthful comments. take care fellow herpers Nick

[tai_pan1]

I feed both. I raise my own mice, so I don't worry about parasites. My two garters will only take live pinkies or live worms. I have a stubborn corn who went three months without eating. It got to the point where I had to force feed her. I finally tried live for her and it's the only reliable way for me to get her to eat. My other 4 corns all take f/t, but I wouldn't hesitate to feed them live if I needed to. I know there are concerns about the "health and welfare" of snake who are fed live, and that there is a possibility that things can go wrong. There is also a possibility that an engine can fall off an airplane and land in your living room. It has happened, but the possibilities are extremely remote.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Mike

[Emily-Fisher]

PRE-KILLED! It's only logic to take care of a snake that you love rather than killing a snake that you love! Pre-killed and fts are the only way.

[djc3674]

there wasn't any offense taken. I guess it's a matter of opinion and choice as to how people want to feed there animals. I agree if the snake doesnt bite him correctly, the snake can definately get bitten. I do supervise w/ a stick in hand so I can keep the rats head away from him if he doesnt get him correctly. But as me for me "counting my lucky stars"?? Give me a break, boas are killing machines w/ tough skin, nobody pre-kills there food for them in the wild and hand feeds them. As far as leaving live prey in the tank and walking away...NEVER. I saw the pic of that BP that was practically eaten by its prey. BP's do refuse to eat sometimes and that will happen when the rat gets hungry. My boa however, eats everytime, right away, the rat barely has time to blink and its in the coils of a 6ft Killa!

Later,

djc

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Originally posted by djc3674
"counting my lucky stars"?? Give me a break, boas are killing machines w/ tough skin, nobody pre-kills there food for them in the wild and hand feeds them. Very very true. But, they also get killed by rodents in the wild as well..It happens I guess, I just dont want it to happen to my snake. I guess it is opinion. I would just feed live or FT any day. I dont understand why people would feed live if they know for sure that their snake will take F/T. Yep.