Safe live feeding

[athms]

I know people who feed live pinkie and fuzzie mice to snakes and then when the snakes ready for adult mice they do frozen. Because the baby mice cant hurt the snake but what size of mice before they can harm or kill the snake?

[poison123]

A fuzzy or a hopper can start to do harm to a snake. Fuzzies have teeth and their eyes are open (at least the ones I get) if left alone with a snake refusing to eat, it can do harm if it gets hungry. I feed live but only for the fact that my snakes don't aways take f/t. But I watch them feed until I am sure that the mouse is dead.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by athms

I know people who feed live pinkie and fuzzie mice to snakes and then when the snakes ready for adult mice they do frozen. Because the baby mice cant hurt the snake but what size of mice before they can harm or kill the snake?

Any that have their eyes open and no longer nursing can potentially hurt the snake.

It takes a watchful eye to ensure nothing happens. Part of that is reading the response from the snake when the prey item is introduced.

Pro Tip: Have a pair of hemostats or something similar to remove the prey item so you don't possibly get bit. (Gently grab the tail)

[athms]

Do you breed your own mice and do you feed live or frozen if live how do you kill it

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by athms

Do you breed your own mice and do you feed live or frozen if live how do you kill it

I don't breed my own.
I feed frozen thawed.
I feed my babies their first meals a live mouse (hopper).
Moving to rat pups and F/T within 3 - 5 meals.

If I ever had to kill rats I dislocate their spine (I think that's what happens.) Cervical dislocation or some such phrase.
Most of the time I allow the snake to do it,even with smaller adult rats.