Question about feeding live rats/mice

[yetimama]

I've been reading on some of the posts(especially Louises) about the dangers of feeding live rats and I have a question about all this.

I do feed live mice and rats to all my snakes(well only rats to two of my bigger snakes, the rest mice) and have not had a problem yet. When I take the food out I stun them real good and usually as soon as I put it in the cage it gets grabbed up right away. I feed all my snakes in a feed tank not their regular enclosure and usually watch them all eat each time(it may sound weird but i kinda enjoy watching them eat) and never leave a mouse/rat in the tank for a long period of time.
With all these percautions do ya'll think its ok for me to keep feeding live???

[reptilemama]

There's always a chance that even a stunned rodent will suddenly wake up and bite. PLus, there are other benefits to frozen/thawed. Freezing kills any parasites that a rodent could pass on to your snake (pretty common, especially in pet store mice where conditions may not be optimal). Plus, if you can buy frozen in bulk, it's usually a lot cheaper than buying from a pet store.

[muzixman]

reptilemama nailed that one on the head

[Constrictor_BO]

I used to feed my snakes stunned (not killed) when I first started out. I quit this VERY quick the one time I had to jam a box over the rat to keep it from chewing my boa. The boa grabbed the rat but grabbed it where the rats head was exposed and the rat nearly got the boa. I managed to get the box over the rats head just in time.
Also like reptilemama said. With frozen rats you dont have to worry about parasites and such. Most mite infestations come in from live rats.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Shuba]

I do feed live mice and rats to all my snakes(well only rats to two of my bigger snakes, the rest mice) and have not had a problem yet.

Like my mamma says, " Its only takes one time ". I don't know what causes a more potential danger to your snake, a nasty bite from a rat which can get infected easily, or a infestation of parasites which almost goes undetected by snake owners. Reminder to your self, that everytime you feed your snake, your feeding the parasites. I would highly reccomend considering changing to frozen. You still get the enjoyment of watching your boa inhale a rat and don't have to ponder about the consequences which are just around the corner if you continue the live feeding. If the bite wont hurt your snake, the parasites will. I really hope you make that switch -- btw I would take your boa to the vet for a fecal test just incase he happend to get parasites from live feeding. It wont hurt you (except your wallet), and it will save you from waking up one morning with a dead snake. Hope this helped you, good luck.