I hear of everyone and their mothers say feeding a ball python live food is bad. Generally in the forums I see that. I feed my Python live food and I've had nothing gone awry. Why go through all the hassle in feeding your snake frozen/pre-kill when your snake instinctively knows how to hunt? If you've got lots of room for your snake to prepare itself for striking in the "feed box", the prey should'nt have enough time for it to get aggressive.
i would agree with you, but you're right, seems like everyone says feed pre-killed. the one excuse i've seen and think is really DUMB, is the "unethical" treatment. it's natural for the snake to hunt. also, the rat dies either way, either by snake or by human. the ONLY valid excuse i can see is the rat MIGHT damage the snake. for the past five years i have fed my snake live rats / mice and had NO problems, except ONE time when the snake wouldn't eat the rat. which after the rat got a little too close, i took the rat out of the tank. i have always fed in same tank which i hear is not recommended. i haven't had any problems with the snake thinking i'm his food. he's lunged at me, but the rat was in the tank -- meaning the snake SMELLED the rat, and SAW me move a little (i think snakes have BAD vision) that's my story
Whether I agree with the "unethical" or not.... it is a lot more humane to kill a rodent in a "gas chamber", whacking, or cervical dislocation than it is to allow it to be slowly constricted to the point that it can no longer inhale any air. Snakes in the wild will pick up a prekilled item just as fast as they will pickup live. Why take the chance that something might happen to your snake? We wear seatbelts so that if we get in an accident we might be safe. There are also other reasons..... frozen prey is a lot easier to store and can be ordered in bulk. Prekilled and f/t prey cant injure or kill your snake by biting it. The freezing process kills most if not all parasites that rodents can carry. If you feed in the cage that is great, it is simply a matter of opinion under some circumstances. If you keep your snake on loose substrate then you again are simply asking for something to happen. Again, why take the chance? Snakes do have bad vision but excellent heat sensing and "smelling" abilities and tend to function on instinct, not memory. So in theory if there is no interaction with the snake between feedings it could become imprinted with the fact that the door opening and a warm object entering the cage means feeding time. Instinctually it is going to go in feed mode and become "aggresive" at this point.
1. your not rick james. Nobody is Rick James except Rick James when he was alive 2. Feeding frozen prey does not go against the live thing. Some venomous snakes actually will just bite the rodent once, and let it run away to be swallowed when it is dead. So far ive only had my Ball Python feed on f/t TWICE, and both times hes accepted INSTANTLY. And it only took him 2 mins to exfixiate the thing because they can feel the heart beat. So even though it may be "natural" and "cool", it isnt the safest thing. 3. some rats are aggressive, and if u get live rats from pet stores, its likely they are a bit aggressive from all the stress of cramped rat enclosures and moving and stuff. You dont want stress on your mind due to a rat bite on the snake. It could get infected, and possibly fatal.
i don't think i'd use the gas chamber example, because that is not instant death. but i see where you're all coming from, to each his own i guess. this is just something i've done for many years and had no problems. i might take more precautions on the next snake, if there is one.
Why not offer the one you have the best possible conditions? You dont have to do the killing with f/t, thats the point.... you go online.... order from someone like rodentpro.com and voila food is at the door. Clean, prekilled, and ready to store away until you are ready to offer it to your snake.
Thanks for all the input, I appreciate that. This is a touchy subject because, really, it is personal preference. I didn't mean to jam anyone on their feeding styles but merely getting peoples experiences and opinions. My intentions in feeding is not to be cruel or sadistic. I want my snake to maximize all of its abilities. My goal is to make a 'home away from home' for my snake and therefore doing what is necassary to accomplish that.
No it is not personal preference, if you want your snake to have the best possible life then it is your RESPONSIBILITY to feed frozen thawed, or at a minimum, prekilled prey. Do you provide the ticks and mites and other external parasites? Do you provide the predators that the snake would encounter in the wild? Do you provide the dirt burrows and other places that the snake would hide in in the wild? The fact of the matter is that you are providing it a home away from home and in doing so you need to make it as safe and secure as possible. Your snake doesn't hunt for enjoyment, it hunts for food. It does not care if it is live or dead.
Thanks Stormy, for giving me the insight on a better way of feeding my snake. I took in consideration that rats are more viscious and dangerous than my snake would ever be. I do want the best environment for my snake and of course the SAFEST because even though the snake was 130.00cdn, I wouldn't want it harmed, especially when it's eatin' chow. I would hate to give my snake parasites from live food so that is also another consideration I've taken in feeding my snake f/t. Funny thing is that it is cheaper for me to buy in bulk, with f/t than live rats. I checked out rodentpro and they do ship to Canada, but I'm having trouble finding a supplier in Canada.
well here in the uk its illegal and in humaine to feed live prey to any reptile, i have also seen some very nasty pics of the damage sustained from this none of our snakes have never been fed live prey even when we have had problem feeders they have always had fozen or fresh killed.
