Whacking/Live feeding/etc.

[ChristinaM]

Ok, yes I'm aware these topics have been discussed many times. I have been browsing through previous posts for the lat hr/and a half. But I have yet to find a really really good post on the questions I have.

1. does anyone have a little video, or anything like thing of how to whack?

2. is there something wrong with feeding live young rats ( ie. pinkies or fuzzies )? I am aware of the dangers of feeding live older prey, I have seen the pics of snake damage done by prey. But a fuzzy or pinkie, I don't see how it could harm the snake.

Is it just an ethical choice, of the length of time the prey suffers, or can even small babies cause damage to the snake?

3. If one does feed live, and stays to make sure the snake kills, eats, etc. and the prey cannot damage the snake, is there still risks to the snake from feeding live?


Alot of this is stemming from, my momma rat just birthed her first litter last Thurs.

Last night was feeding night for 2 of my snakes.

I fed my corn 2 live pinkies. I stayed and watched. The first one died within a minute I would say. The second one did not. It took longer. I'm aware of the ethical issues, the humanity or lacktherof. Trust me, I did not feel good watching the second rat suffer.

I'm trying to ready myself for what to do as the rat pups age and need to be frozen, etc. I only have the one snake that eats pups. Everything else eats a minimum of 70g prey. So I will have to choose how to euthanise, or feed live/stunned, etc. There's an inner battle going on, and I'm hoping researching this will help.

I appreciate your time, and any links to specific discussions, etc. would be appreciated.

thanks.