Pet store.

[Stacykins]

Quote:
Thank you. I will be looking into that first site alot and yes she does eat frozen but she much prefers live for the chase and killing them her self.

If she will eat frozen then feed frozen. She gets nothing out of 'the chase'. She is a snake and is just looking for food, doesn't matter what way it comes. In fact, tossing a terrified, live rat into your snake's terrarium is a WONDERFUL way to get your snake mauled. And it is different from the wild. In the wild, most snakes are waiting in ambush and the prey doesn't know what hit it. Getting thrown in a tank, the rat knows it is cornered and what is happening, and in its panic will attack the predator.

So many keepers would kill for a snake that takes frozen over live. I worked for months to convert an adult ball python to frozen, she was as stubborn as they get. By feeding frozen, a keeper doesn't have to maintain a live feeder colony or get a new prey item each feeding from pet stores like the ones you encountered. Why aren't you taking advantage of that? If you want your snake to have enrichment, make an enriching environment. Feeding live over frozen only gives about ten minutes of 'entertainment' a week or so anyway.

 

[OtterCreekRanch]

Quote:
Thank you. I will be looking into that first site alot and yes she does eat frozen but she much prefers live for the chase and killing them her self.

If she will eat frozen then feed frozen. She gets nothing out of 'the chase'. She is a snake and is just looking for food, doesn't matter what way it comes. In fact, tossing a terrified, live rat into your snake's terrarium is a WONDERFUL way to get your snake mauled. And it is different from the wild. In the wild, most snakes are waiting in ambush and the prey doesn't know what hit it. Getting thrown in a tank, the rat knows it is cornered and what is happening, and in its panic will attack the predator.

So many keepers would kill for a snake that takes frozen over live. I worked for months to convert an adult ball python to frozen, she was as stubborn as they get. By feeding frozen, a keeper doesn't have to maintain a live feeder colony or get a new prey item each feeding from pet stores like the ones you encountered. Why aren't you taking advantage of that? If you want your snake to have enrichment, make an enriching environment. Feeding live over frozen only gives about ten minutes of 'entertainment' a week or so anyway.

X2

I can tell you from experience that a live rat can and WILL kill a snake. Once upon a time I raised various types of reptiles and had over 100 snakes in my collection. It only took one event for me to switch to 100% frozen thawed. I put a live rat in with an albino redtail boa...snake was nearly full grown. Albinos had just came out at the time and I paid a lot of money for him. He had the rat by the head and wrapped up just like he should when all a sudden he went limp. I started to pull him out and realized in its panic to get free the rat actually chewed its way through an artery in the snakes neck and the snake bleed out and died. I never fed another live prey item again.

 

[mandelyn]

Animal control refused to do anything? geeze. Sneaky camera phone action and a local news station.

 

[pinkfoxfarm]

call animal control and tell them the conditions...then continue calling them, get your friends to call them ect...
the more people that complain the more likley Animal control is to do a spot check...

 

[LeBlackbird]

As much as I do not want to get into the F/t verses live argument, it looks like we're headed in that direction. Yes, I do realize there is a risk taken in feeding live, but it is more natural in a sense. Yes, it's not the environment that's natural, it's the instincts given to the reptile. Snake keeping is a rather recent hobby, and snakes are still wild animals. Enough evidence is given with the whole Everglades python problem. If snakes weren't supposed to kill, then they would not have the instinct to do so. I do fear if we don't take the time to preserve this that domesticated snakes won't be healthy or stable eaters. I feed live only as a treat and a mental booster. After I do a live feed, I notice that my snakes tend to hit harder and hold their dead prey for longer. I am always there, watching intensely, Hemostats in hand incase something goes wrong.
If I had to only feed live or Frozen, I'd probably go for frozen. Cheaper and easier. I don't know about more humane though. I really don't want to support mass slaughter, snakes are efficient and quick killers, They do it better hands down. But If I could find a local, small feeder mice breeder than I could definitely do that.

 

[featherfinder]

Quote:
If she will eat frozen then feed frozen. She gets nothing out of 'the chase'. She is a snake and is just looking for food, doesn't matter what way it comes. In fact, tossing a terrified, live rat into your snake's terrarium is a WONDERFUL way to get your snake mauled. And it is different from the wild. In the wild, most snakes are waiting in ambush and the prey doesn't know what hit it. Getting thrown in a tank, the rat knows it is cornered and what is happening, and in its panic will attack the predator.

So many keepers would kill for a snake that takes frozen over live. I worked for months to convert an adult ball python to frozen, she was as stubborn as they get. By feeding frozen, a keeper doesn't have to maintain a live feeder colony or get a new prey item each feeding from pet stores like the ones you encountered. Why aren't you taking advantage of that? If you want your snake to have enrichment, make an enriching environment. Feeding live over frozen only gives about ten minutes of 'entertainment' a week or so anyway.

X2

I can tell you from experience that a live rat can and WILL kill a snake. Once upon a time I raised various types of reptiles and had over 100 snakes in my collection. It only took one event for me to switch to 100% frozen thawed. I put a live rat in with an albino redtail boa...snake was nearly full grown. Albinos had just came out at the time and I paid a lot of money for him. He had the rat by the head and wrapped up just like he should when all a sudden he went limp. I started to pull him out and realized in its panic to get free the rat actually chewed its way through an artery in the snakes neck and the snake bleed out and died. I never fed another live prey item again.

Im sorry to hear about your albino. I have heard that mice can hurt snakes but i have never heard of them actually doing so. Mine always seems to know where to grab them on the head and coil up so they cant move their head or bite or her. I have a 5ft pastel columbian red tail. with the price of live rat around here now I think frozen is the all the way around better and cheaper way to go right now for her.


As for the store they watch you really well when you pull out any type of cell phone or camera. I tried taking a picture of the makaw in its condition but they wouldnt let me. Same with the dogs in their small cages covered in fecies. They said only pictures can be taken if you are buying the animal. I did ask a friend to go in on monday and check the makaw for me and she said there was no longer food in the cage with it and they said they were hand feeding it now since it wouldnt eat the food they had in there but she said it was still acting cold and the temperature was still to low for it.