The Live vs F/T feeder Poll!

[StarpphireEnigma]

this is out of curiousity, unsure if it was done befor, but id like to get a percentage of the two- i figure its the safest, since i am sure there are some on either side who do not wish to get into a hot debate or get flamed- i wish i could assure this- so post at your own risk your opinions- however, i am makeing this a neutral zone, and am not judgeing anyone- i am up to date with both sides as well.

anyway, since your name is not given in a poll ( right?) should be safe this is again, curiosity and scientific for me to see what results- i thank all who actualy participates seriously and keeps it civilized- there are plenty of debateable threads to post in :eats02:

 

[jessicalb]

This topic is almost too nuanced for a poll. I have always fed f/t and have had success with that, including feeding one hatchling who refused a couple times. I absolutely would try fresh killed, stunned, or live for a snake that was slowly dying and needed nutrition, while also recognizing the inherent danger of feeding live and working toward f/t as the permanent feeding solution.

 

[Lennycorn]

I'm willing to guess first that most won't respond to this poll and second that those who do will mainly vote for
F/T only since the day i got my corn-happy, healthy, never changing.
So I think it won't give you an accurate results.
StarpphireEnigma ....did you vote??

 

[StarpphireEnigma]

nope- if i were to vote, it would have become a topic no matter what i chose- so i decided to leave it open and neutral.
i agree that the poll will probly be biased, but i thought this would be the closest ill get to something- besides, looking at all the posts and threads, im surprised at how well people debate anyway- its far more civilized than many other places ive been- so i thought i might as well, as tierd as a subject as it is, its always on someones mind, regaurdles the beating of the dead horse.
and if all else fails, it will just drop to non existance, this thread lol. no hurt feelings, i know the rules

 

[kgmax1228]

live VS F/T

Whatever the hatchling snake prefers-adults get P/K :dancer::dancer::dancer:

 

[Christen]

nope- if i were to vote, it would have become a topic no matter what i chose- so i decided to leave it open and neutral.
i agree that the poll will probly be biased, but i thought this would be the closest ill get to something- besides, looking at all the posts and threads, im surprised at how well people debate anyway- its far more civilized than many other places ive been- so i thought i might as well, as tierd as a subject as it is, its always on someones mind, regaurdles the beating of the dead horse.
and if all else fails, it will just drop to non existance, this thread lol. no hurt feelings, i know the rules

Do you feed live? Believe me I am not looking for an argument!!! lol I just try to understand. Why do you feed live? My father in law insists on feeding live and I just don't understand it. He only has 3 snakes 2 of which he got from me so I know that they will eat f/t. He doesn't breed mice so he has to go to the store every week. That is just much of a headache for me.

 

[Christen]

As for the thread. I prefer f/t. I find it easier and cheaper. Plus, I have had a snake get hurt while I was watching. I tried the breeding my own feeders, not for me. However, I am not opposed to feeding live if I HAVE to. I had a king that I finally got switched to f/t and if new babies don't eat f/t or brained f/t then I will try and live one.

 

[ScottyK]

I'm willing to guess first that most won't respond to this poll and second that those who do will mainly vote for
F/T only since the day i got my corn-happy, healthy, never changing.
So I think it won't give you an accurate results.
StarpphireEnigma ....did you vote??

This pretty much sums it up I think. I've noticed over the years that this debate is a non issue for experienced keepers. The rare exception being huge operations that raise thier own feeders. I believe they all prekill them first as well.

There are almost no advantages to feeding live and several strong negatives to doing so. It's usually the new keepers that keep this topic alive, either trying to justify morbid curiosity or just not ready to wrap thier heads around the concept of frozen mice yet.

To be fair, I still remember being a bit freaked out the first time I purchased frozen pinkies. The guy at the herp store was counting them out and they were clacking down on the counter sounding like jellybeans.

To answer your poll question, my total snake ownership over the years is in the 100+ range. This includes "out of egg" sales, "non feeder" sales and purchase of snakes that supposedly "only eat live". Although I would try live as a last resort, I haven't had to yet. Patience in letting the subjects get hungry enough, combined with creative scenting has always eventually worked for me...

 

[atmox]

Again this??
Sorry, just kidding.

I feed F/T and wouldn't see why anybody would feed live if the snake takes F/T. I mostly see the argument "But it's like in the wild." or "I'm curious." and i sort of understand their point but i still think F/T is the way to go.
Ooh and i also can think of 100 arguments why the 2 i said are incorrect so please don't start summing them all up xD

 

[toxiclight]

I voted special case. My corns all eat f/t without issue. My bf had a boa that would only eat live (we did try to swap him, but he wasn't interested. His new owners got him swapped over to F/T with a few months of work). So I've fed live before and would do it again if necessary.

 

[xonemoortry]

My snake has been eating f/t since the day I got it.. I guess I vote for 'special cases' lol

 

[xonemoortry]

Damn I feel dumb. I'm so tired I missed the first option.

 

[StarpphireEnigma]

lol its ok- apparently i exhausted the corn comunity by asking for a poll result with percentages- at this point, no worries

 

[StarpphireEnigma]

that was not an insult either- sorry, i ment an over tierd subject that noone wants to deal with anymore .

 

[Airidies]

I feed all my corns f/t. I raise my own rodents and freeze them myself. I do have 3 ball pythons and 2 boas that only live and I've tried switching over. In fact 2 ate f/t for a while and then stopped eating so I gave them live(i tried pre-killed with no luck) to get them to eat after a few weeks of not eating. I tried to go back to f/t after that and it hasn't worked. I plan on brumating this year and giving them f/t when they wake up to see what happens. I'd live to feed all my snakes f/t because i hate hearing the squeaking and i'd hate to see an injury from the rats(so far i've been lucky).

 

[OldDetroit]

I voted for the first one, but I have tried live for non feeders. It is a grand total of 5 pinkie/fuzzie mice that I tried and one of the five was returned to the pet store alive (my snake hid from it and stared at it like it was the devil). It only worked with one of the animals. Never bother trying again,

 

[Allalaskan]

I voted Special Case since all 3 of my snakes were on Live when I first got them, but within 3 weeks I had all 3 (each at different times since I got them at different times lol) eating F/T mice.....Now Trying to get my bps on Rats, thats another story lol. My maile did it asap, the female well shes being a butt.

 

[VickyChaiTea]

I voted for the first. While I love the idea of this poll, I really can't see anyone whos had their corn killed because they fed live admitting it. Especially if they STILL feed live after that.

 

[StarpphireEnigma]

good point- just thought i needed to put it in reguardless

 

[ShenziSixaxis]

I actually feed both. If I'm culling some rats, since I breed my own snake food, I'll do it the same day my snakes could use some food. No one's big enough to eat anything that could hurt them (excluding the non feeding BP), so I have no issues with it. Once a rat pup opens it's eyes fully (about 5 days after they start normal behavior) is when I at least stun them first.

If it's not a culling day, I thaw out whatever I need.