Thinking about feeding LIVE? Welcome to the Live Pile

[John_E_Dove]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

And if something has worked for 12 yrs now i'm sure it will continue to work. Just have to be consistent with your tactics.

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

ive had snakes for over 14 years. i just preffer live. for one my ball absolutely wont eat f/t. i tried for months. i even didnt let her eat for 3 months and still no dice. she wont even eat dangled live. second my snakes give them no chance to bite. they head shot them everytime. and as for a thrill to watch it doesnt phase me either way ive seen thousands of rats die so it does nothing for me. just a personal prefference.

Well I am going to follow the dictate of the moderator and drop this after a simple comment and two observations.
The comment is that most of what I have read that you posted seems like Purple Pizza to me.
Observation #1; “something has worked for 12 yrs” “ive had snakes for over 14 years” You fed pre-killed for 2 years or……….
Observation #2; You were asked to explain your consistent tactics but could only try to make us believe that your snakes un-naturally always grab the head of the rodent. You make no explanation for your supposed tactics.
I am not going to argue with you, nor am I attempting to belittle you, but I do doubt you beyond the fact that you feed live and endanger your snakes.
There I am out, will respond no further, and am deleting my subscription to this thread.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

another reason i dont like feeding f/t is sometimes my snakes dont eat in exactly the same time span. sometimes my red tail will eat every 7 days sometimes he will eat every 10. just depends on his mood. and everyone knows how b/p can be. mine actually went 5 weeks without wanting to eat. so i dont want to buy them and them not eat em and then have to throw em away. its a waste of money. with live i can just throw them back in the cage and try later.

Have you tried stunning then, or whack the rats in the head and feed them while still twitching

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[mpgt]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

ya tried that too. smacked the rats. slammed em into the wall all that. i'm tellin ya i've tried EVERYTHING possible.

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

nope not the im cool and manly thing. ive had snakes for over 14 years. i just preffer live. for one my ball absolutely wont eat f/t. i tried for months. i even didnt let her eat for 3 months and still no dice. she wont even eat dangled live. second my snakes give them no chance to bite. they head shot them everytime. and as for a thrill to watch it doesnt phase me either way ive seen thousands of rats die so it does nothing for me. just a personal prefference.

1. Why try everything possible if you "just prefer live"?
2. Why try everything possible on the BP, but continue feeding the other snakes live?

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[louise]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

honestly on #4. no i HATE rats and mice. that one of the reasons i like to feed live too. may be morbid or inhuman but i hate em.

that is seriously one of the most messed up things i have read on this site.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[spix14]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

my readtail only eats live rats.

Also, here you claim your boa only eats live...then later you say it is the BP that only eats live, and the boas will eat frozen but you prefer live.

How do you feed them the rat, exactly? I.e., what method do you use to minimize the danger to the snake?

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Edit: deleted this line as promised
and lets compromise you already stated that one of your snakes has eating a frozen rat.
So why not feed the ones that will eat frozen and work on the others

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[mpgt]

Originally Posted by icicle

If you must feed live then Please do us a favor, Please break the front teeth...

Sorry, but I think that's even more inhumane than getting constricted, to the rat. Not a great idea at all.

It also would probably be considered animal abuse, and illegal.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by mpgt

Sorry, but I think that's even more inhumane than getting constricted, to the rat. Not a great idea at all.

your right I will delete that part of the post

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

you have a really pretty snake btw! how old/long is he? his colors look almost identical to mine. hope he stays light. he has a greenish yellow tint to his skin that i hope he keeps. i miss my big snake tho.

Unsure on the age but She is 7'+ feet long.
Please read this post:
I also used to feed live then this:
Don't know if this is a bite or a claw wound
Sammy Update

She darkens up quite a bit from basking but after a shed she is all bright again

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[spix14]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

i normally just smack em up against the wall b/c it real freaks me out when im holding em by the tail and they climb up their tails at me. that or i smack em and toss em in so they cant run around. those suckers are fast! i dont kill em just temporarly knock em out in case he isnt hungry that way i can toss em in the cage again for a later date.
and yes my boas has eat a f/t once. he will eaten anything i dangle for him or toss in there. even a baby chicken once lol. those are what i worry about. they peck alot when they are scared. so ive never given him another.

So, if live rats freak you out that badly then please tell me why you feed live? Seems to me that if they make you that nervous then you would prefer a nice, safe, non-wiggly frozen rat...unless, as I said earlier, you just have such a vendetta for them that you enjoy watching them get killed. Putting your snakes at risk for your own malicious glee seems a bit harsh, IMHO.

	TOS Term of Service - the rules for participating on redtailboa.net

[boaterr]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

live and dead freak me out but like i have said before one reason is b/c sometimes he doesnt eat at the exact same intervals. there are times he isnt hungry and wont eat. so rather than waste a rat i can just put a live one back in the rat cage and try later.

Is money that tight? So you blow a couple bucks "probably cost less than your lunch". I have had my retic turn down 5 dollar rabbits for over 5months "I usually just gave the rabbit to my boa but I have thrown away at least 30 bucks of rabbit meat"

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

see mines exactly opposite. when he bask he gets really greenish/yellow and the pink on his side stands out really bright. usually its when he had been hiding all day that he gets the grey tint to him. is ur a male or female. you refer to it as she in this post, but in the one about it getting bit you refer to it as he.

Well I assumed it was a he when I first got it, then later everybody around here said it was a female. I just haven't had the extra money to waste on a sex probe test.

[boaterr]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

no not tight at all. but whats the point in wasting it. then i have dead stinky rats in my trash.

I wasted the money because I prefer my snakes long term health over a couple bucks that I would probably just end up wasteing later. If your so worried about wasteing a rat than how about you just do not feed one of your other snakes "that is a consistant eater" until you offer food to your picky eater "then if he turns down the rat you can just give it to someone else". Every collection needs a garbage disposal snake that can be trusted to eat the leftovers "within reason of course".

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[boaterr]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

that would work but they eat way different sized snakes. and one will not eat f/t anyway. plus they are both picky.

It is strange to me that a Guyana Red Tail "usually very goog eater" and a Ball Python "usually issue free" are both picky eaters. What have you tried doing, ever leave them with a dead prey item overnight "their are hundreds of tips to use".

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[boaterr]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

yes tried em all. my BCI isnt picky on what he eats just when. either he is hungry or he isnt. he may refuse food one day but destroy it the next. he is just like that sometimes. my b/p on the other hand can be really pick. think its b/c che is a woman. she could eat one rat every 7 seven days for 3 months and then all the sudden not eat for 2 to 5 weeks. she is a odd soul.

So you have used a hair dryer?

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[LukaTisus]

It's obvious we aren't going to get anywhere with this kid. If he really wanted his snakes on f/t, they would be on it.. and after reading through this thread I can't figure it out.

You state you bash the rat on the head, drop it in there and if the snake doesn't eat, you put it back in the cage? Despite the fact it's a food item, I think that's pretty sick. It's animal cruelty, either way and if the snake doesn't eat for a month or so, how many concussions does that poor animal deserve to get? Seriously? If you don't like rats because they freak you out, perhaps a snake isn't the best pet for you, especially considering how willing you are to compromise the health by INJURING the rat and placing in the quarters with your snake.

You do realize a rat coming out of a daze, frightened, not having any clue what happened, can be just as dangerous as one that wasn't stunned to begin with? Eventually your snake will miss a strike and have a frightened rat fighting for it's life and I can guarantee it won't be a pretty sight.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[boaterr]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

honeslty ive never heard of any tricks having to do with a hair drier

Than you havn't tried everything, lol. You use the hair dryer to heat the head of the prey item before serving it to the snake "the heat increase usually makes snakes with heat sensing pits go crazy"

Like I said there are tons of tricks "scenting with chicks and other fowl, scenting with frogs, braining, etc"

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

It sounds like you Snake is afraid of rats. Have you tried different colored ones.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Guyana Lover

ya ive tried that too. she doesnt mind the live one she goes right too em and hunts em down.

pay for my airfare and room and I will come and work with her for a bit.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[madtrapper]

ok well new to this forum and just curious as to how many of the snakes in these pics were injured because of a stupid person who threw in a rat and left them alone ..not observing at all..i had a bp that just would not eat f/t just live and i never ever had any problem but that being said i would and do feed f/t to the one i have now..

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.