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 #1536136


R]azz
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 Live feeding question...

I was wondering if it would be okay to -occasionally- feed two or three live pinkies to a 2.5 foot long snake. I heard that pinkies cannot really harm a snake, since they don’t really have teeth or claws...



12/04/07  09:49pm

 #1536624


Knox
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   Message To: R]azz   In reference to Message Id: 1536136


 Live feeding question...

They will be fine to feed.

The only problem I have with feeding live pinkies and hoppers is the chance of parasites. That’s why I like to feed frozen/thawed.

That said, I have fed many a live pinky in my lifetime.
12/05/07  02:23pm

 #1542218


LeucisticTy
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   Message To: Knox   In reference to Message Id: 1536624


 Live feeding question...

I’d say I agree with knox 100% but ya gotta be careful, sometimes a docile snake can turn aggressive if fed live food, not to mention your snake running the risk of getting hurt (I know pinkies are small but they still have teeth) and a higher chance of internal parasites, I say if you want to feed your snake a safe alternative to live pinkies, just go to the pet store and buy a goldfish and throw it into the water dish, plus its really entertaining to watch the snake go into the water and hunt and of course fish are harmless and have a low probability of having parasites.
12/10/07  05:30pm

 #1542323


Wisema2297
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   Message To: LeucisticTy   In reference to Message Id: 1542218


 Live feeding question...

Quote:

I know pinkies are small but they still have teeth


Pinkies do not have teeth and the chances of then having parasites that can harm you snake are small. Although I do agree feeeding f/t is the best route to go.

Quote:

a docile snake can turn aggressive if fed live food


never heard this before........why would live food be perceived to cause snakes to become aggresive?

Quote:

I say if you want to feed your snake a safe alternative to live pinkies, just go to the pet store and buy a goldfish


Gold fish are horrible food for snakes.......even garters and water snakes who are fed a steady diet of goldfish will not live long...........to much thiaminase in gold fish. This is an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1 (thiamin) and causes the snake to have a potentially fatal vitamin defeciency.
12/10/07  06:49pm

 #1543415


LeucisticTy
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   Message To: Wisema2297   In reference to Message Id: 1542323


 Live feeding question...

Well it seems as if I just got told, lol, well I do apologize if that goldfish advise was incorrect, I was under the impression from a breeder that it was acceptable I guess that’s my fault as to not researching it myself but I did say that it was a treat not to be fed all the time, and with the pinky’s comment I must get my pinky’s from a petstore that doesn’t get small pinky’s because mine have what I think looks like teeth, I might be wrong I’ll have to check next time I buy pinky’s, but I do stand by my opinion about the aggresive tendencies, I’ve seen it first hand with my friends ball python, had it originally on f/t but then he started to feed it live, and then a few months with regular feeding next thing ya know the snake is going for moving targets, after my friend got snapped at went right back to f/t and the aggresive side went away.
12/11/07  06:39pm

 #1543480


Wisema2297
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   Message To: LeucisticTy   In reference to Message Id: 1543415


 Live feeding question...

LOL LeucusticTy, I hope I didn’t seem attacking or harsh. That was not my intent. But,

Thats not aggressiveness. I have a ball that only eats live. That’s just a good feeding response. The ball was conditioned to expect food when ever something moved because the mice where alive and moving around the cage. Handlig every other day alleviates this and usually once you pick him up he realizes it is not meal time and calms down to normal.
12/11/07  07:17pm

 #1545447


LeucisticTy
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   Message To: Wisema2297   In reference to Message Id: 1543480


 Live feeding question...

oh I didn’t think you were being harsh in anyway, but yeah I do somewhat agree with you, he wouldn’t bite ya if ya picked him up quick enough, but I mean c’mon, them snakes can move mighty quick and what happens if your too slow right :)
12/13/07  04:39pm

 #1546751


Wisema2297
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   Message To: LeucisticTy   In reference to Message Id: 1545447


 Live feeding question...

Quote:

but I mean c’mon, them snakes can move mighty quick and what happens if your too slow right :)


You get bit...LOL I have 3 kings (2 florida and 1 eastern) that my kids love to see me feed. As soon as I open the bin you have to take a step back IMMEDIATELY because they come flying out of it with mouths wide open!! They are VERY good feeders but are not aggressive. Once you pick them up they realize that it’s not time to eat but they are very ammusing up to that point even bitting themselves when they see the movement thinking it’s prey!!!



12/14/07  07:53pm

 #1547527


RePtiLOVER
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   Message To: Wisema2297   In reference to Message Id: 1546751


 Live feeding question...

Parasites are usually semi host specific, this means you typically have warm blooded parasites, and cold blooded. So chances are very slim having parasites transferred from a live mouse to your reptile.
12/15/07  04:58pm

 #1548965


JackAsp
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   Message To: RePtiLOVER   In reference to Message Id: 1547527


 Live feeding question...

Except of course for pinworms, tapeworms, hookworms, nematodes, flukes, protozoa, and a few others, which thrive in domestic mice. Nematodes especially have a fun habit of switching hosts at multiple points during their life cycle. Hooks and pins don’t even have to, they’re already ready to go.

Other problems are:
The risk of spoiling the snake on live food. Many have a strong preferance for it, and you can get stuck with a snake that refuses f/t.
The risk of spoiling the snake on pinkies, which are not only high in fat and low in protein compared to older mice but also much lower in calcium since the bones aren’t formed properly. So while a treat might not interfere with a balanced diet, the snake deciding he only wants pinkies now might.
and
Diarrhea from the partially digested milk, which is something that most of us are happy to see out snakes outgrow when they start eating bigger mice.

Some of these problems can be avoided by feeding older mice, but do NOT give a snake that is only used to f/t a live mouse that is old enough to bite. Killing quickly takes practice, at least in colubrids, I’ve heard it’s different with booids, but a baby rat snake starts by swallowing pinkies alive, learns by trial and error how to hold onto them and make them stop struggling quicker, and knows what to do by the time it’s up to the dangerous ones. When they start out though, they don’t even know which end to swallow.
12/16/07  11:48pm


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