Feeding "Live" VS Feeding "Not Live"

[alcohologist]

I think its bestest fo the mouses to be alive to be fed cuz the snakes like them alive better and it is howwhen in the wilderness they would be catching the mouses anyways so in your house you should make it like in wilderness and give the mouses to the snakes still alive and it would be good.

Getting a scratch or a bite every once in a while isn't going to kill them.

it might not be fatal, but it sure is minorly traumatic - to both pet and owner. why risk something like that happening when you can spend 5 seconds to stun the feeder?
i agree that some big breeders, like adam wysocki [8ball pythons], feed live, sometimes exclusively, as does adam. however they do it in the most optimal conditions: with prescenting, proper feeder size, snake health, etc.
also, even when taking all the precautions, the chance is there [fumble by snake, throwing a bad coil] no matter how slim. worth a swift blow to that little head, in my opinion.

 

[davo]

I agree a lot with what ophi has to say.
I'll add that not everyone wants their pets to have scars (should anything go wrong), regardless of a snakes hardy ability to heal.
Also a lot of the big snake breeders mentioned I know do feed live, don't feed exclusively live, but just cater to individual snakes.

 

[Ophiuchus]

I guess I shouldn't mention what Will Bird does with his carpet pythons then...lol.

 

[jason longboard]

Ive had 2 snakes injured by rats,nockem out,frozen or the snake gets a cheeseburger for supper.Thats it.You can go years without something bad happening but its the 1 time a rat bites an eye and you wont forget it.How somebody can not take that for enough good reason not to is beyond me.Not aimed at anyone person here.Also if you think of leaving a rat or mouse in over night in hopes it gets eaten,forget it,I had a rat chew off 5 inchs of the back of one of my first snakes because I was told to do that by the shop bastard.Like I said,it only takes one time to ruin the rest.Not worth it to me.

again,the big thing here for me is its just the one time out of hundreds that a rat bites your snakes eye because it was grabed crappy that is a big turn off for me.You can end up with infections and such or even permanent damage.The heavy breeders I dont think look at every single snake they have like its their house pet fluffy and I think vet bills arent such an issue with them.Even supervised feedings can go wrong much faster than you can get your hand in their.Im not arguing this because I represent the cause or anything,its just that bad things happend to me,and a few friends.Ive still even been lazy a few times and fed my boa live,I just make a habit now not to.As far as not caring about the mouse or rat,sit in a shop and watch them interact for a while,they show eachother much more love or at least playfullness than snakes do.I thought 2 were fighting once and as I watched they just played like little puppies for 10 minutes and then fell asleep next to each other.Now that I went that lame route,lol,can somebody help me kill the one under my house because Im going under their this weekend for plumbing stuff.

 

[Ophiuchus]

If you keep these snakes in the ideal conditions, and they have access to a good basking/warming area and a wide temperature gradient, most scars can heal quite rapidly without vet visits and medication.

Again, Im not saying that feeding live prey is not without risk, only that the risks are smaller and not as extreme as people make it out it be.

 

[jason longboard]

what about human feeders?heartless bastard Jake.