live or frozen food

[ilovemyboa]

thanks everyone for all the answers, but your giving me new questions, lol, i have always fed my nake nake live food, would he go for frozen food if i was to switch, i notice that allmost everyone the replyed to my questions prefer frozen to live. thanks
[addsig]

There's many reasons for feeding only dead prey. Try this for reading on the subject even ...
LIVE FEEDING



YES, he will go for a switch to dead prey. Rarely will a snake not switch to dead prey. Sometimes , depends on the individual snake though, you might have to be a bit more patient in getting them toi switch is all.

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[XzyluM]

Here's more that come from an article I recently done.

LIVE VS DEAD

A subject that has caused great controversy among many snake enthusiasts. Is feeding live prey better than dead or is it the other way around? Many people believe that snakes will only eat live prey, that it is natural to them. There is those who feed live for the thrill of watching them stalk and kill their prey. In contrary, there is those who feed dead prey.

To understand one of the most common rumors about feeding live prey, snakes do of course stalk and kill their prey in their natural environment. However, these snakes are not in their natural environment; they are in captivity. In their natural environment, they have escape routes. In captivity, they do not. We provide them with their habitat and their food source. it is our responsibility to care for them properly. They do not spend their days and nights searching for prey items, exploring other environments or hiding from predators.

There are many reasons why dead prey is better than feeding live. Live prey can and will defend themselves and will not hestitate when given the opportunity. If your snake is reluctant to eat, this gives live prey the advantage of causing severe harm and even death to your snake. Live prey can and will gnaw, puncture, and devour parts of your snake. Dead prey is defenseless. Live prey can also carry parasites which can be passed on to your snake. As for frozen prey, most, if not all internal and external parasites are killed during the freezing process.

If you are fedding your snake live prey or have one that refuses to eat anything other than live prey, convert your snake to dead prey. There are two types of dead prey: frozen and fresh killed.

Live prey can be purchased as usual and pet stores may kill upon request. If not, there are several humane ways to kill live prey. Cervical dislocation is one of them. Grab the rodent by the tail and hold it's head on a flat surface with an object such as a ruler. While holding the rodent's tail, pull upward in a quick motion. This should dislocate the rodent's spine and kill it instantly. Another way is to create an CO2 chamber. This is usually something with carbon dioxide inside. When the rodents are placed in with the carbon dioxide, they become unconscious and die within a few minutes. Rodents can also be placed in a pillowcase and struck against a hard surface with blunt force. This method should kill them instantly as well.

Frozen prey can be purchased from several online suppliers in bulk. You do not feed your snake frozen prey. Frozen prey must first be completely defrosted. Placing the frozen prey in a zip lock bag and letting it thaw in warm water works well. They can also be allowed to defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then warmed under a lamp before offered. Never attempt to thaw frozen prey in the microwave. This will result in the prey exploding. The prey should be slightly warmer than room temperature.

If you have read this and are still feeding live prey to your snake, you should remember one thing, "it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when your snake will become the victim of it's prey."

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<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>Here's more that come from an article I recently done.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Is that Redneckese?
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[C. hortulanus bites]

When I got my first snake years ago, a black Mexican king, he came to me eating live, so I fed him that way. About 6 months later I come to find like 6 bites along his body. I had to clean them twice daily with betadine. It took 4 or 5 sheds to heal them. Anyway, he's been eating dead prey for a year and a half and usually will take a f/t. All my other snakes have always eaten dead so I can't help you with a boa switch, but if its a litttle encouraging, I switched a king snake to dead prey and that can be much more dificult I've heard. If you go get live prey for your snake, why don't you just wack them first? Its really easy to switch them to fresh killed. No snake can resist that if you wiggle it in front of them with some long tongs.
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[herp_chick]

Well, Devin, I couldn't have said it better myself! Good job! As for switching boas, I had a boa I got at 5 ft that had always been fed live. I fed him a pre-killed rat the first 2 feedings, then went to frozen. And yes, he liked me to make it do the &quot;rat dance&quot; with a pair of long tongs, but he never turned them down. Switching is not that hard usually, and there are many tricks to try, so DO NO GIVE UP. It is much better for the health, safety, and well-being of your snake to feed p/k or f/t.
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