**Do you think snakes raised on F/T and later switched to live will become healthier to any degree?**



Well, let's see; we can't even figure out what is healthy for humans LOL. Every year, the "healthy" standards change. More carbs, less carbs, damn! I love fried potatoes with onions! Who's counting carbs???? On humans we can look at people and make a determination if they are healthy (waist line, big a$$ butts, etc..) and then there are a lot of things we cannot see: kidney damage, high blood pressure, liver damage, etc.. So, if a person was eating Big Macs (f/t) all his life and then switched to live (right off the hoof), would they become healthier? I would say yes, over time. But we get far more feedback from humans than snakes. Heck, my dog gives me feedback (happy, sad, in pain, etc..); snakes do not.



I don't think we even know what a wild cal king's medical stats are supposed to be? So what can we compare it to? Does a wild snake that feeds 99% live (some will take carion when available) be healthier, live longer (taking out the predation factor), have better productivity than a captive-bred snake? Wild snakes eat 99% live...will they live longer than a captive bred snake that feeds 99% f/t?



I believe feeding live is better than f/t in the long run. Can I prove it - no. Is the difference even measurable - probably not. But there is a difference.



Most people who feed f/t don't have their mice frozen for a long time before being used. So it may not make a difference.



I see, especially on the cornsnake forum, a lot of posts about their snake regurgitating. I agree a lot of factors could be the cause of regurge: thermoregulating after feeding, feeding too large of an item, parasites, AND maybe feeding a f/t that was dead for too long....too many factors with no results. Today doctors are saying that we are getting more and more food poisoning, but since the symptoms are similar to the "24 hour flu", we are being mis-diagnosed. We are in fact being posioned by what we eat and we call it the "flu".



So, happy feeding tonight with everyone's snakes whether it be live or f/t...........



Kerby...

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