Posted by:
DMong
at Tue Feb 5 00:59:27 2013 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by DMong ]
You aren't stirring up anything, that's FR's forte.
Yeah, I really don't have a problem with feeding live either, and neither do most folks here when it is necessary. If the snakes will accept pre-killed frozen, then there is no additional suffering for the rodent there... What you can also do is quickly "pre-whack" one if you do only have live.
You can get frozen rodents in bags from many companies online and they are far cheaper than live or frozen at a pet store by FAR!! Just type in "feeder rodents" on a google search. There are companies such as Big Cheese, American Rodent Supply, Mice on Ice, Mice Direct, Rodent Pro, Loxahatchee Rodent Supply, etc...
There is no real substantial difference in nutritional value between live and fresh-frozen. As long as they aren't freezer-burnt, they are good to go. Also when the mice get larger they can harbor parasites in the gut that will be killed in the frozen stock.
I have fed uncountable truckloads of live rodents to snakes over the course of several decades, but I don't see a need to if it isn't necessary. The irritating banter/drivel FR is trying to feed everyone is really the worst part..
Anyway, you can get single bags of 50-100, or thousands. The more you get the cheaper they are. If you know any friends that have snakes too, you can split the shipment and save even more.
If you do get live from the store, you can just instantly whack them to save them the later agony. I guess it used to be interesting to watch when I was a kid, but decades later and millions more rodents later, I see things a bit differently than I used to. Don't get me wrong though, I'll feed a problem snake that won't accept anything but a living, breathing rodent in a heartbeat, but this is pretty rare.
cheers, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing" 
serpentinespecialties.webs.com
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RE: Swallows food without killing first. - DMong, Tue Feb 5 00:59:27 2013