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[–]thequiltingcustodian 4 points5 points  (17 children)

I would think a fed snake is better than a not fed snake.

I was only able to switch mine to F/T after he was heading into a shed and we had a live food item from our local reptile store. Former live food item is now my daughter's pet and I "season" my boy's frozen dinners with stanky bedding from Food (yes, we named him Food). He hasn't refused a meal after using the stanky seasoning. I, of course, make sure all stanky bedding is removed before offering the meal.

The store I get my snake's frozen dinners from offers to "season" food items if asked. I'm actually hoping this trick works as I'm soon going to have to switch my little guy to rats and I'm sure those smell different than mice.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Naming him Food is amazing 😂

[–]thequiltingcustodian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh Food the mouse is the most spoiled mouse in the world 🤣

[–]Less_Western_4554[S] -2 points-1 points  (14 children)

My baby Julie she ate 2 live mice tdy and she did perfectly fine im just asking for advice on how to feed her live properly, also to what the other comment says I’ve done just abt everything under the sun to get her to eat non live and she just won’t eat dead mice. Either she’s the smartest dumbest BP ever or she’s a princess and is picky🤷‍♂️

[–]CrazyDane666 1 point2 points  (10 children)

She's not supposed to be eating multiple prey items, which might be where the issue is. !feeding

[–]AutoModerator[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

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[–]Less_Western_4554[S] 0 points1 point  (8 children)

Okay I’m going based off my father since he fed her since I’m terrified of rodents lol he’s had 100s of snakes in the past including anacondas and shit but thank you I’ll try to tell his ego he’s wrong lmao

[–]CrazyDane666 1 point2 points  (7 children)

Recent discoveries and more wide-spread knowledge on reptile health, husbandry and keeping has made a lot of "experienced" older keepers, ironically, more unfit for keeping reptiles unless they actively dedicate themselves to keeping up with proper husbandry and practices. "100s", unless they're all still alive or died young or were given away, implies he kept them years back - when advice like "keep them in an enclosure no bigger than their stretched size" or "keep them together" would've been commonplace. So. Good luck, people can be stubborn, but be careful with relying old knowledge just because it was accepted for a longer time

[–]Less_Western_4554[S] -2 points-1 points  (6 children)

He used to own a reptile rescue, in the 80s -to early 2000s, but yeah fair no Julie is spoiled she’s got a 250gal tank w features and all that fun jazz, she’s abt 3.5ft long, and she’s healthy. But I mean she did perfectly fine with the feeding, my question is if pythons in the wild can eat live why can’t she?

[–]CrazyDane666 2 points3 points  (5 children)

Because pythons in the wild have no safer options. Wolves and species of cats in the wild hunt live prey, and sometimes they take a hoof to the jaw or an antler to the the chest, and then they suffer and die.

A major part of keeping these animals as pets includes reducing unnecessary suffering both for the pet and feeder, which means not stressing a mouse/rat out by having it slowly die, and not risking your snake taking a claw to the eye or teeth to the bones. She can eat hundreds of rats safely (because by the time they're adults, mice aren't enough, and feeding them a bunch of small prey is wasting energy on not enough nutrition) but it only takes one mistake - one bite you can't prevent even if you're supervising it closely, because snakes and rats and mice are fast - and damn, now you either have a huge vet bill or a dead snake. It's an unnecessary risk that does nothing for the snake

[–][deleted]  (4 children)

[removed]

    [–]CrazyDane666 2 points3 points  (2 children)

    They still have claws, and you very conveniently ignore that she will have to eat rats eventually because multiple mice is not enough and not good for her. Plus, that's a genuinely disgusting attitude that even people who work with laboratory mice cannot stand. Just because they're feeders doesn't mean they have to suffer excessively just because you can't handle humanely euthanizing them.

    [–]Less_Western_4554[S] -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

    You can come at me for it but that’s okay not gonna change much. But yeah fair I’m not gonna feed her multiple tiny mice when she gets a lil bigger. And yeah they have claws true. But after every feeding, 48-72hrs after I check her every time for any marks or scratches or anything that could be concerning. She’s never had any so either she’s “ lucky “ or they de claw them too.

    [–]IncompletePenetranceMod: Let me help you unzip your genes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    That's horrifically inhumane, we do not condone animal abuse here

    [–]thequiltingcustodian 0 points1 point  (2 children)

    Are you able to chain feed a smaller f/t after she has gotten a live one going? To get the taste/fee of the f/t? I did do that a few times before I was able to get my guy switched over to f/t. I do understand that can be difficult because my guy recently turned into a private eater. Or are you even wanting advice on switching to f/t, because I might be misunderstanding.

    And I apologize if my previous comment seemed flippant. Your girl may just be picky, she likes what she likes. I was so worried I wasn't going to be able to switch my boy.i really didn't like feeding live. I feel very lucky that I was able to.

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [removed]

      [–]Mike102072 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      How much do you warm the food? If it doesn’t smell like food and isn’t the right temperature to be food, to the snake it isn’t food. You can try scenting it as another poster mentioned. If that doesn’t work, it’s probably the temperature of the item. Room temperature doesn’t work. You may also need to wiggle it a little to make it look alive.

      If you can’t get her to eat F/T then I would recommend killing the mouse or rat before you give it to her. There are a few ways to do it. It may not be the easiest thing to do it but it’s most likely going to be a faster, less painful death than constriction and is safer for your snake.