boa stalking prey

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Even some of you guys that are criticizing LC aren't 100% correct yourselves...feeding live food isn't dangerous when done properly. There's more to it than just placing a live rodent in snake's cage and watching the show. Follow this link for a great how-to and commentary on the practice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl9jqKCdAB8

The key to feeding live safely is proper conditioning of the animal and I do agree that most newbie keepers should probably be feeding frozen, although I don't think that "safer" is the right word...I think something more like "noob-proof" is better term for it.
 
The only reason why I feed frozen/thawed is because... I don't have to house them or spend anything on housing them. I just chuck them in the freezer. :D And it allow me to stockpile.
 
I personally whack the prey before feeding. My Tiger ratsnake got a couple of scars from rodents before he started eating pre-killed prey.

I hate feeding frozen rodents, possibly because I tried thawing one in the microwave...Also find my snakes don't like the thawed ones much.
 
SimonL;1612938; said:
I personally whack the prey before feeding. My Tiger ratsnake got a couple of scars from rodents before he started eating pre-killed prey.

I hate feeding frozen rodents, possibly because I tried thawing one in the microwave...Also find my snakes don't like the thawed ones much.
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The only thing with "whacking" prey items is that you never really know how messed up the rodent is and they can come-to at any moment, usually not in a peaceful way, and that GREATLY increases the danger the rodent can be to the snake.

Gently offering a calm rat or mouse to a snake in waiting is the safest way to do it. They never see it coming.

Also remember that prey SIZE has a lot to do with your choice or live vs. f/t or p/k. The largest rodents I'll feed to even my adult femaeles is a small sized rat, but I usually feed weaned size. These are young rats that are easily dispatched by the larger snakes. On the other hand, I don't feel that there is any safe way to jumbo rats or large rabbits to larger constrictors regardless of the size of the snake. For larger boids eating large prey items, p/k or f/t is IMO the safest way to go.
 
elevatethis;1612961; said:
The only thing with "whacking" prey items is that you never really know how messed up the rodent is and they can come-to at any moment, usually not in a peaceful way, and that GREATLY increases the danger the rodent can be to the snake.
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That's why I whack the rats multiple times and make sure they're completely dead...broken spine, no more breathing, no heart beating, etc. I feed live only when the snake refuses dead prey, and I've seen calm rodents almost take a piece out of a snake. It's safer than nervous rodents, but there's still no guarantee. Plus, how calm do you think a rat will be when it's got its back in a snake's mouth?
 
i feed mine fruity pebbles and sometimes it will take a slimfast shake.:Dah we will always be arguing the feeding thing.I knock em out or use the snake hook to basicaly seperate the head from the body but i dont enjoy either.It all sucks,whatever puts the rodent out fastest is best.I realy dont enjoy feeding snakes anymore but its part of the game.Thank god mine take frozen.
 
when i was feeding live prey to my reptiles i never had any bad experiences..

one wuick way to "kill" the live prey before feeding is to use a C02 box.. no more air, no more breathing.. quick and painless for them, but you still get fresh food for your pet.. haha..

or you can give them a quick flick while holding there tail.. it will snap there spine, and be dead..

and as far as everyone giving LC a hard time for feeding live prey. get over yourself.. hes not doing it to be cool or to show off.. its a fact of life, something needs to die in order for something to be fed.. its not a big deal and life goes on;)
 
No offence but boa's are ambush predators. They don't stalk their prey, they just sit and wait for the right moment.

Z
 
Z Trip;1614398; said:
No offence but boa's are ambush predators. They don't stalk their prey, they just sit and wait for the right moment.

Z
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That's not totally true. Wild Boa's will patrol for food.
Ground boa's (Dumeril's for example) are ambush all the way.:D
 
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