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Frozen/Thawed vs live feeder rodents

I've heard of persons studying mouse & rat genetics to gain a better understanding of how genes move.

I've also seen threads about making CO2 chambers for humane euthanize.
P/K seems to not be mentioned in the title thread.

Personally I haven't the time nor olfactory desire to have live rodents here.

I have 2 wild snakes, the rest were wholly produced in captivity, and are homozygous for recessive genes, or are totally the result of captive production. The rodents they feed on are also 100% cultured (not nature). So the argument of 'wild snakes do whatever wild snakes do' is irrelevant to my pets.

Some baby snakes prefer wriggly food. Perhaps that changes over time with some. Perhaps not. It is sometimes up to the individual snake, or keeper, or conditioning, and/or other factors.

F/T food cannot easily cause bite marks or poke out an organ with sharp teeth. I like my pets in their entirety.
 
ive tryed feeding him frozen again and again..:/ but he will eat freshly killed so im just gonna stick with that.
 
starsevol said:
And Nate, both Susan and Shiari and vet techs or vets themselves.
Their jobs have to do with the health and well being of beloved pets.
They would not feed something inferior to their own animals...
:)
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Lol yeah i know never said feeding live was the smartest thing to do...at the time seemed like the best thing to do for awhile was feed live since he wouldnt eat frozen so thought id keep feeding him that..and that the mice i fed him havent developed teeth yet for the size of mice he needed.
 
N@te said:
ive tryed feeding him frozen again and again..:/ but he will eat freshly killed so im just gonna stick with that.
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Freshly killed is just as good as f/t in my opinion :) No chance for the snake to get bitten! I noticed with my wc bull snake that she freaks out if the mice are not dried off all the way. I have to thaw them, then rub them dry with a towel, and then use a hair drier >.> lol.
 
N@te said:
well the last time i tryed to feed him a frozen one was about a month ago.i let it defrost then put it in hot water for awhile then i dryed the water off of it.i left him in the feeder cage for about probably almost 3 hours he didnt show much interest at all to it...then the next day i bought an alive one he ate it pretty fast.so i dont think it has to do with hunger.
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Just weighing in here, that could be part of the problem, you defrost him and then put it in hot water? If you're putting it straight in the water all you're doing is washing away the smell, which is what makes it so appetizing to the snake.

If you do put it into warm water to up the temp a bit, make sure the mouse is in a plastic bag so the water doesn't wash away the scent.

Another thing I've read somewhere is that you can buy "mouse odor" or something along those lines for fussy eaters, just put a drop of it on the nose and its an extra strong mouse smell for the snake. Or hamster urine works too apparently.

As for the vitamin injections, I have read about them before, but it wasn't vitamin C it was a multi-vitamin for snakes which were poor eaters, or if a female has just finished laying her clutch and needs to get back nutrients.

I think they've changed now from an injection to some powder stuff.
 
We feed our snakes f/t and they don't bother to wrap/constrict the mice, but they always eat it right away and without difficulty. We worry about injury to the snakes from a mouse bite. The bonus is the convenience, a stock of frozen food always in the freezer.
 
wowfood said:
Just weighing in here, that could be part of the problem, you defrost him and then put it in hot water? If you're putting it straight in the water all you're doing is washing away the smell, which is what makes it so appetizing to the snake.
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I don't think that placing them in water washes out the smell at all. I have a snake that has only ever eaten live and I thawed a mouse out in the sink like I always do, dried it off, and gave it to her no issues. She just doesn't like if the fur is wet.
 
wowfood said:
Just weighing in here, that could be part of the problem, you defrost him and then put it in hot water? If you're putting it straight in the water all you're doing is washing away the smell, which is what makes it so appetizing to the snake.
Click to expand...

We dunk our frozen mice directly into warm water (warmer than human body temp, but not hot) and after 20 minutes we just wrap them in paper towel to remove excess water and then our corn snakes eat them without hesitation.
~ Allen
 
I prefer f/t for many reasons.

1. I'm an animal lover, and I know the snake would give it a slow death.
2. F/t is cheaper
3. You can put vitamins of f/t
4. You don't have to deal with you being bitten.
5. You can buy in bulk much easier without the hassle of a colony.
6. It's safe for your snake!
 
I actually just had this discussion with my aunt last night. She feeds her Cal King live and I feed my corns f/t. I used to have a ball python I fed live to, but he was fed live before I got him and at the time I didn't have the knowledge I have now about the risks of feeding live. My aunt thinks I'm depriving my snakes of being real hunters by not feeding live. I explained my reasons for feeding f/t and she pretty much laughed at me and made the comment that there's still time to make my snakes real hunters by switching them to live and that the only reason my uncle got their Cal King is because he enjoys watching him eat live. Oy. Ya I'll stick to f/t.
 
skittledoo said:
I actually just had this discussion with my aunt last night. She feeds her Cal King live and I feed my corns f/t. I used to have a ball python I fed live to, but he was fed live before I got him and at the time I didn't have the knowledge I have now about the risks of feeding live. My aunt thinks I'm depriving my snakes of being real hunters by not feeding live. I explained my reasons for feeding f/t and she pretty much laughed at me and made the comment that there's still time to make my snakes real hunters by switching them to live and that the only reason my uncle got their Cal King is because he enjoys watching him eat live. Oy. Ya I'll stick to f/t.
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Do PET dogs need to be "real hunters"?
Do PET cats need to be "real hunters"?

Um, PETS don't need to be hunters at all, that is what makes them pets!
And...if the only reason they have a cal king is so they can have a sadistic "show" once a week, I find that disturbing.

There are people out there who don't consider snakes as animals that should be allowed as pets. Those people see us reptile keepers as monsters who keep vicious animals for the purpose of watching them kill things every week. (Believe me about this, I used to be one of them!) Those people are trying to enact bans on snake keeping all across this country. As you know, most of us aren't like that at all...
Sadly, people like your aunt and uncle are keeping that image alive and well....
 
starsevol said:
Do PET dogs need to be "real hunters"?
Do PET cats need to be "real hunters"?

Um, PETS don't need to be hunters at all, that is what makes them pets!
And...if the only reason they have a cal king is so they can have a sadistic "show" once a week, I find that disturbing.

There are people out there who don't consider snakes as animals that should be allowed as pets. Those people see us reptile keepers as monsters who keep vicious animals for the purpose of watching them kill things every week. (Believe me about this, I used to be one of them!) Those people are trying to enact bans on snake keeping all across this country. As you know, most of us aren't like that at all...
Sadly, people like your aunt and uncle are keeping that image alive and well....
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Honestly, I couldn't agree with you more. I was so frustrated that I couldn't even think up a good response to her comment about there still being time to turn my snakes into real hunters so I just didn't respond. It bothers me so much that they even have that Cal King. They offered him to me a few years ago and I should have just taken them up on their offer.
 
Well, in time maybe their disturbing kick will wear off and they will get sick of the snake and offer him to you again. Then you can turn him into a real PET!! :)

And if it comes up again, you can tell her what I said, and add that throwing a mouse into a cage is hardly allowing a snake to "hunt". In a hunt, the prey has a chance. What she is doing is just endangering her snake and causing suffering to an innocent mouse. Not responsble pet ownership, now is it? :)
 
starsevol said:
Well, in time maybe their disturbing kick will wear off and they will get sick of the snake and offer him to you again. Then you can turn him into a real PET!! :)

And if it comes up again, you can tell her what I said, and add that throwing a mouse into a cage is hardly allowing a snake to "hunt". In a hunt, the prey has a chance. What she is doing is just endangering her snake and causing suffering to an innocent mouse. Not responsble pet ownership, now is it? :)
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Amen to that. If she ever offers him to me I will take him in an instant. He's a gorgeous little snake and I feel bad for him. I don't think they really handle him either. I really wish they would try f/t... Not only because of the endangerment live feeding creates, but also because of the parasites live rodents can have that you can avoid frozen.
 
Oh I know! F/t is so much better in sooo many ways!!!

And cali kings will eat anything, so switching him over wouldn't be a problem at all.
 
I should take a video of Nautley being "deprived" of hunting. He's only a juvie, but he's scary when it's food time and he coils like crazy! I could do the same with Tor and Lacy.
 
Yeah all my snakes take the f/t off the feeding tongs! My adult corn is 4.5 yrs old and I have only fed her one time. She was on live when I got her, it took about 30 seconds of making the f/t mouse "hop" around her to get her to take it :) Tonight is feeding night so I hope she takes this one faster :)
 
Wyldrose said:
Yeah all my snakes take the f/t off the feeding tongs! My adult corn is 4.5 yrs old and I have only fed her one time. She was on live when I got her, it took about 30 seconds of making the f/t mouse "hop" around her to get her to take it :) Tonight is feeding night so I hope she takes this one faster :)
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Haha, they are so easy to switch 99.9 percent of the time! I bet she won't even hesitate this time! My bull snake who had only ever eaten live just grabs the f/t mice now (after 3 feedings!). :) Good luck!
 
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