Please Post Your Opinions

[CORN_SNAKE91]

A lot of people disagree with each other on how to feed their corns... Alive or prekilled? That is the question i am asking you. Which do you feed your snake? WHY?

[marisa]

Actually no one really disagrees except snake keepers who are most likely doing things the wrong way.

Live is NEVER the better choice for a corn and their is really no arguement for it.

Even if you are watching your snake, a mouse can bite an eye out in a second. You could be in the darn cage living with your snake and not be fast enough to prevent the injuries from mice.

ALL corns can be switched to F/T or fresh killed eventually if not as their first meal.

Marisa

[Invictus]

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to give corns live prey. None, nada, zilch, PERIOD. They are feeding machines, and if you can't get a corn to take prekilled prey, you are doing something SERIOUSLY wrong.

Live mice mangle snakes. Even as the snake constricts, the mouse will continue to fight, scratching and scarring the snake. No one can tell me that this is not abusing the snake if it would otherwise take prekilled prey without a problem.

So like Marisa said, there is no debate. There are people who take a corn snake's safety into consideration, and there are people who do not deserve to be owning corn snakes.

[CORN_SNAKE91]

its not like i'm trying to say that live is better because it isn't.. just show your opinions without starting any flame wars

[Auskan]

For a cornsnake, I would definitely go with prekilled as they are so easy to feed. I figure if they're willing to eat prekilled, why risk injury to the snake & cause terror for the prey? Also, pre-killed is more convenient for most people, as they can pre-purchase a bulk number & just defrost what they need at the time.

[Vengeance]

I prefer F/T, makes life much easier, don't have to care for the rats, just pick them up throw them in the freezer and thaw them out when needed. Also the fact that they could injure my snake if they were live doesn't appeal to me either. I hope I never have to feed live. The only reason I would ever do it would be because there was noticable weight loss and he wouldn't take anything else.

[crimsonking]

Well geez, I use both.
:Mark

[drewlowe]

I only give f/t, nothing else not even prekilled.

I've got mine own experinces to go off of so i won't even feed prekilled.

Everyone always brings up the live issue with the mouse being able to injure the snake which i agree 100%!!! So i won't add to that part.

With me dealing with the worst parasite ever in my leos i take all precations with all the feeders and water that come through my door. I know freezing the mice won't eliminate all parasites but it's better than not doing anything. Thats JMO.

All of my herps get only reverse osmosis water, even when misting thier cages.

[Auskan]

Originally posted by drewlowe
I only give f/t, nothing else not even prekilled.

When I use the term "prekilled", I mean anything that is dead prior to being fed to the snake (after all, if its frozen it is also "prekilled" right?). I apologize for any confusion, as I realize prekilled might also indicate freshly killed food.

[Invictus]

Yes, prekilled is often used in place of "Fresh killed" which is the proper term... "prekilled" should be a catch-all for frozen/thawed, or freshly whacked.

[drewlowe]

Originally posted by Invictus
Yes, prekilled is often used in place of "Fresh killed" which is the proper term... "prekilled" should be a catch-all for frozen/thawed, or freshly whacked.

It's my bad. I see prekilled as fresh killed seeing as most people type f/t for thier frozen feeders.

[TheRedDragon]

Originally posted by Invictus
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to give corns live prey. None, nada, zilch, PERIOD. They are feeding machines, and if you can't get a corn to take prekilled prey, you are doing something SERIOUSLY wrong.


I'm with Invictus 100% on that issue.

[vanderkm]

We feed frozen/thawed to almost everything because of (in order of importance to me) convenience, cost, humane death for prey animal and safety of snake.

I use live pinks to start hatchlings that are reluctant to feed but not live prey for any of our other corns. I have used live prey for other snake species in specific circumstances, but for the most part it just isn't necessary or worth the hassle and expense.

mary v.

[Dragon_Slave]

I have only fed my corn twice, and both times were pre-killed. My pet store did not have any frozen feeders either time I went there, they only had live. So I had to kill it myself. But when Chase gets to eating bigger prey, I will definitely buy frozen hoppers, mice, etc. I would buy pinkies in bulk, but my mom would have a heart attack if I told her I needed to keep frozen mice in her freezer. Lol. But if and when I get more snakes, I will buy in bulk and buy a mini freezer for my room, hehe.

[lizardmom]

I feed F/T mostly, only live if picky eater, had to do that once with a baby cal king, but it took f/t after, so much easier , we have 24 snakes, so they eatf/t - i bought a used microwave at the goodwill
and we do the feeding as a family affair, one recording-who ate, one cleaning, and one replacing the water.We feed them once a week for now, seems to work.
my 2 cents
lizardmom

[drewlowe]

Originally posted by lizardmom
i bought a used microwave at the goodwill
lizardmom

I wouldn't use a microwave to warm up the mice. It "cooks" the mice and leaves hot and cold spots.

Jamie

[tai_pan1]

I've fed live, f/t, stunned and fresh killed. In snake keeping, I've found that there are no absolutes. That being said, I don't agree with Invictus (sorry man). Not trying to start any flames, it's just my opinion. I prefer to feed f/t, but sometimes my snakes have minds of their own. I have one who is real finicky, and would not eat for a long time until I offered live. As time went by, I read a post here about corns prefering darker colored mice, so I started experimenting. I can now get him to take f/t IF the mouse is black. If it is white, mostly white or light brown, he WILL NOT take it unless it is still alive! Unfortunately, I get very few black mice from my breedings, but I've added a black female to my breeding colonies so hopefully that will change. Sometimes snakes are funny!

[Auskan]

Originally posted by lizardmom
i bought a used microwave at the goodwill


I would definitely not use a microwave to defrost the frozen food. It does not thaw them evenly. I know someone already posted this, but I felt it important enough to reiterate! I thaw mine at room temp on the counter for 10-20 mins and then warm in hot water for a few minutes. Or you could thaw all the way in hot water but might need to change out the water as it cools, depending on the size of the food item.

[Smilts]

i prefer o give my rat snake ( I know not a corn but close) f/k just because he got lazy with f/t and didnt strike any longer never live though

[SerpentLust]

F/T all the way. The ONLY time I have EVER fed live was at the pet store when they wouldn't let me try the ball on different methods because he refused F/T. And when that happened I watched like a hawk...

There are so many alternatives to try before feeding live. It's really unnecessary.

Everytime the person brings up the argument, "Well it's more natural" or something to that extent...I have one of two rebuttles.
1. No, it's natural in the wild where both snake and prey have a chance at escape, this one, it's a fight to the death in an enclosed space, and sometimes, the snake may not win.
2. It may be natural in the wild, but the wild isn't always safe now is it. Isn't it our job as caretakers to offer them the safest life as they are now our pets. F/T in my opinion is an improvement and a luxery that wild animals don't have.

Jenn