Feeding Time

[DRAVEN]

I have looked on many different sites and Im not quite sure on which is better live food or frozen if someone could tell me that would be great Thank You

[sclark]

Re:Feeding Time

Hi Draven,

Welcome to the forums..

Fresh killed or Frozen thawed. You wouldn't ask this question if you seen the condidtion of some of the snakes I take in as rescues.. All it takes in 1/ 50th of a sec and the rat can kill the snake. Thats all it takes. Some people even leave a live prey in with their snake and walk away only to come back to a 3 inch section on the snakes neck, tail or back chewed off..

Fresh killed or frozen thawed. the only way to go..

Steve

[BMoore]

Re:Feeding Time

Hello Draven....
Welcome to the forum! 100% with Steve and I think most of us will say the same. Welp, here's why I switched to pre-killed. I was feeding my 6 1/2 RedTail live for about 6 months. One of my best friends fed his Python that way so I thought it was okay. ??? Until one day his snake was scratched in the eye real bad. Got infected and everything. He had to pay for the Vet bill after driving to the nearest that would care for a snake (98 miles). Then pay for the antibiotics. Being a Python and sometimes not very good eaters, his stopped eating for almost 2 months I think. :'(
Besides that, I noticed since I have been pre-killing my boas prey, she is sooooooooooooooooooooooo much friendlier. She never strikes at her rat now, just "sniffs" it out and eats away! I am a softy when it comes to animals so the easiest way for me to kill the rats is to put them in a pillow case (my family calls it the death chamber) and swing it against the asphalt. They die instantly, no pain and suffering (I hope at least). Where as my boas would take up to 2-3 minutes to kill it by herself. :-\ Sorry for rambling on, I hope this helps a little! :P

[Gun Lover]

Re:Feeding Time

i agree 100% w/ steve and bmoore on this. and this is the reason why http://www.koalaskritters.net/livefeeding.html

best bet is to feed frozen/thawed ( f/t) rodents. besides the danger live ones when feeding your snake is

1.they will bite,scratch,claw,chew,tear, or even kill your snake. which means a costly vet bill or having your snake put down.which means you would be buying a new snake.

2. live rodents can carry paracites on/in them.which leads back to costly vets bills.while feeding f/t they have no bugs.

3. if your snake has to kill its food.this will make the snake more aggressive. vs feeding f/t your snake will not have to kill its food.it will simple glide right up and scoop it down.which means you and your snake will be more happier.


hope the info above helps you on the live vs f/t.also if you havent made up your mind yet.check out the careguide on feeding live vs prekilled http://www.koalaskritters.net/livefeeding.html..this pics alone should change your mind.i know it did change my mine.. my 3 cents ;D

[Red]

Re:Feeding Time

You know I would say if you breed the rats your self then pre-killed... if you buy then order your self some frozen rats...
Eric aka...Red

[ClayEnglish]

Re:Feeding Time

I edited you poll to allow some of the most frequent answers.

Here is an ongoing poll that I have had running for over 6 months

http://www.redtailboas.com/surveys/index.shtml

What do you Feed your Boa?

Choice Votes Approximate %
Frozen/Thawed Rats Only 216 28%
Live Mice Only 137 18%
Live Rats Only 128 16%
Pre-killed Mice or Rats 100 13%
Stunned Mice or Rats 80 10%
Frozen/Thawed Mice Only 52 7%
Depends on Availibility 45 6%
Other 23 3%

[BMoore]

Re:Feeding Time

Wow, I am really suprised at how many feed live prey to their precious Boa's. Kinda makes me sad. :'( Cannot make everyone do want I want though. hehehehehe I do it for my own reasons. :P

**Beth**

[sclark]

Re:Feeding Time

I agree Beth,

It is sad. Some people get off on watching the snake kill the prey. Not me, I get off on have a healthy, beautiful snake.. I must be weird..LOL

Steve

[Gun Lover]

Re:Feeding Time

[quote author=sclark link=board=2;threadid=2512;start=msg16461#msg16461 date=1056184317]
I agree Beth,

It is sad. Some people get off on watching the snake kill the prey. Steve
[/quote] doooh s36.gif.iam busted..guess it was the movie road trip that made me do it. i liked watching it s35.gif s3.gif.. cwm15.gifbut since i joined here it changed my out look on feeding issue cwm15.gif. i will never again feed any of my future boa's live preys b27.gif..

[BMoore]

Re:Feeding Time

Your not wierd Steve! Not everyone will admit that GunLover. That's really cool that you converted. I am still feeding pre-killed. Someday I will convert to frozen thawed.................. someday. :P
**Beth**

[Barracuda_41]

Re:Feeding Time

8) I agree all the way with Steve to.. Fresh killed or F/T is the only way i go except sometimes live for my diamond x jungle cross, which i use hemostats for feeding him in the tree branches and then i sit there close to him and watch as he eats.. Most of the time he gets F/T, When i run out of F/T then i just wack a feeder on the back of the neck wait to make sure its dead, for sure then feed it to the snakes.. If someone has a prob with a snake eatting F/T then you can always scent it with old feeder bedding smell, place the F/T feeder in a bag with some old smelly bedding for half hour to give it some smell. You can also cut open the tip of its nose to...

[sclark]

Re:Feeding Time

I think we all fed live at one point. Especially if you have kept snakes for a number of years.. The suggestion Baracudda said about scenting the frozen thawed if needed, works real well.. There are some snakes like Cuddas that will not eat anything killed, but most convert over with little problem. Those tree snakes are the hard ones to switch..

Steve