Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We were always told to knock the mouse or rat on its head on a wall so it knocked it out before getting killed. Do you guys do this? I can't decide which one is more grousome, the wall or just throwing him in alive :/. ive been doing it live for years..sometimes i need to put a pencil inbetween the rat teeth and the snake skin...but the feedings go fine. Im just wondering what you guys do?

I had been feeding stunned mice but the last feeding after reading here, I threw a live and aware mouse in. The BP took it right away but unfortunately when he coiled the snake the head of the mouse was free enough to turn and clamp down on my snake until the mouse was dead. I HATE THAT MOUSE! Anyway, my snake got bit and is was a little swollen for a few hours but I have been putting Neosporin on it and now you can't tell where he was bit. As a result, until I can ever get him to eat anything other than live, his mice will be stunned. I will be more aggressive in trying to get him to eat f/k or f/t (f/t he ignores atm completely despite anything I do.)I won't be feeding a live aware mouse again. Whack em hard in a lunch bag. It's really not all that bad and much better than your snake being bit by it's dinner in my opinion.

That's the reason I ALWAYS feed my snakes f/t!!!! A bite can happen faster than you realize and you're lucky there was no more damage. And you can bet it freaks the snake out, too.

I've had no problem getting mine to eat f/t. Sometimes I've had to make it "dance" with the tongs a little or even lightly tap the snake with the mouse to get a strike, but after the first time or two they all strike HARD each time I feed them. It's kind of funny...they still act like that have to "kill" the prey before eating, even though it's already dead!

Just say NO to live prey!!!

it just seems alot more natural to me...mine was bit when i was doing this early on, but it was because i was careless and left the room unattended :/. now i just watch the eating till its dead, and if its alive i make sure i have a pencil or stick on hand. if you put it infront of the mouse's mouth when he's searching for something to clamp onto, it's alot better than your snake and works every time . i suppose if you dont have the time or patience to moniter the feeding each time, it's different. o well thanks for the input!!!

Reaching into a cage with a snake that is debating feeding is not exactly what I would concider safe. Sensing heat what do you think that the snake would go after first, the nice long arm infront of it or the little mouse? No thanks! Besides, at one point it was natural for man to go out, club the food, then cook and eat it. Me on the other hand, I prefer to swing by a Taco Bell drive thru instead.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

I don't think it's so important that the snake not get bit once during feeding. I'm sure the prey out in the wild fights back.

I think it's more important that the rodent doesn't start chewing on the non-feeding snake (hence - never leave the live prey unattended)
JMO
Ken
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0.5 Normal Ball Pythons (Norma, Nova, Nala, Nimeesha, Nyoka)
1.1 Argentine B/W Tegus (Draco and Drucilla)
0.1 Columbian B/W Tegu (Diablo)
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1.0 Desert Tortoise (Tubbs) from Tortoise Rescue
1.0 Boxer (Shadow)
0.1 Feline (CK)
1.0 Memory of my Redtail Boa (Mo) which passed away after 28 years

Very true, though I do have a question about that. In the wild mice, rats, etc would not be on their normal menu (if I understand correctly). Is there anything that would fight back the same way that they (mice and rats) do or is this an issue (the buck teeth and claws) that is being introduced by the change in diet that a captive bp has?
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

What they would or wouldn't do in the wild is not really the issue - this animal is your pet and it is your responsibility to care for it. Wild dogs will eat anything it can hunt down - that doesn't mean it's ok to feed the neighbors cat to it. In the wild these animals choose when they want to eat and sit in their burrow until they are ready to go out and feed again - they do not have someone tossing a rat into thier cage once a week. In the wild snakes also have the opportunity to run away from an annoying rodent - not really an option while they are stuck in a cage with some idiot on the other side of the glass insisting that it needs to eat. What they do in the wild has little relevance when they are caged pets. Feed live or f/t - it is a personal choise be aware of the consequences of both and act accordingly.
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Tosha

"One of these days i am going to wake up..look around...and realize my place looks more like "Ace Venturas"s than my own." Coldthumb

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0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul "JP"
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0.0.1 lizard rescued from vicious feline

I only feed f/t and would never feed anything but. I was just throwing out a question for curiousity. Very true it is completely irrelevant to the issue of feeding f/t and should not be used to help form an opinion on the issue, just a question.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids