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From: SnakeBytesTV
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  • There's no point to feeding live. It's cheaper to feed frozen, you don't risk hurting your snake like you do with live which is irresponsible as a pet owner, and it's far more humane. The fact that snakes eat live by nature isn't a valid excuse. In the wild the rodents at least aren't trapped, but that's not the case in captivity. It would be like letting someone go for a swim at the beach versus dropping them in a small tank with a hungry shark in it.

  • I love when the snakes don't constrict, they just grab and hide. I can totally hear them saying "MINE!" haha

  • George? Wearing a shirt? How?

  • Hey guys. I buy prekilled frozen rats for my ball python (who is 15 years old now!). Anyway, do you recommend a good ONLINE resource to buy more in bulk which would ship to our home? Sometimes our local pet store is out of the supply, and I could probably get more for less by purchasing online. Let me know your recommendations. - Jeff (StogieFarts)

  • my boa will take anything from frozen thawed or live but my ball python only wants live gerbils ands shes stillicky with color! she wont eat the grey ones! lol but i love her to death

  • i have the smallest litle miami corn, hes only shed once or twice and i feed him live fuzzies, i see no problems with that.

  • DL the audio from this vid at tubepull doht cohm.

  • I'm surprised you guys didn't talk about pre-killing live food.

  • @Schlyne Exactly, I only feed my snakes pre-killed.

  • ???? ad in spanish?

  • hey man i think most people feed live because of the nutrition it has and some people feed frozen it is a lower risk of your snake getting biten i think you could even stun the rat a little so that it gets the live nutrient and lowers the risk of being biten

  • @buggbunny1 I have did the "stunning" once and it woke up before the snake took interest and had to re stun. By the time next week rolled again I made a co2 chamber. very easy and if you have any type of feelings, its not easy to smash a mouse/rats head into something.... of course unless you're a sociopath

  • i personally have a ball python and live vs frozen i dont really care

  • for me i breed my rodents to feed my snakes but i like fedding frozen because its less chance the snake will get hurt and it must be better for the rodent as well just think what it must be like getting eaten alive but my snakes do like fedding on live better iv fed them all live and frozen and even tho they like the live ones more i feed them frozen way more then live

  • How about old mice that die?

  • I used to catch and play with wild garter snakes. 4-5 hours after I got bit from this pretty large garter, I got a migraine and vomitted. The migraine lasted most of the night. Ever since then I get a migraine headache about once a month. I had never had a migraine prior to this instance. I dont know if that makes any medical sense as far as continuing to have them. But I know that day I had a major reaction to their bite.

  • i like feeding frozen its just really safe but one of my snakes eat live but really you should feed frozen

  • I don't want to keep dead rats, mice or rabbits in my freezer!! I'd prefer stunned or freshly killed prey for my snakes.

  • rats scare me

  • Either or

  • im not offended am im not mad but its not cruelty, its the circle of life. Snakes only eat live in the wild

  • dude some snake are just spoiled. you cant breed it out. maybe train them differently. just saying. no offence.

  • LIVE

  • i prefer frozen!

    and im looking to get another reptile to go with my bearded dragon(sorta why i made this channel) what do you guys suggest?

  • @Reptopia if u can frozen it may be a little more cost but it is more humane but myballpython only eats live

  • If you can use frozen but some snakes like you said Brian will only eat live.

  • get over live feeding....what do you expect the snake to eat a veggie burger

  • I feed frozen but id like to feed live. My snakes are still eating pinkies so they are kind of hard to find. Not to many snakes die of pinkie injuries

  • my snake eats live

  • I really don't care either way frozen or live. The only reason I feed frozen is so I don't have to deal with feeding and keeping live rodents. With my bigger snakes, I feed live. The reason for this is, it takes WAY to long to thaw out 10 to 15 lb rabbits and sometimes the rabbit will feel like its thawed and its not. The snake will regurg. if it cools off when it has been swallowed and that isn't good on the snake.

  • If I breed mice and when they have babies(pinkies) should i take the pinkies and freeze them immedetly or wait or how should i do that????????

  • im sure theres a way of humanley killing the pinkies instead of just freezing them. try looking it up on some snake forums.

  • hahhaa chewys awsome, oh yeh i prefer feeding live

  • i feed frozen because its beter for the snake and i miss arnt geting hert!!

  • I feed my corn snake live mice

    I know that frozen can keep my snake from harm but its harder to get and keep frozen mice, my snake is rather smart and has never got hurt, i always watch it when it eats with the lid off in case something would happen i would make sure to help immediately.

  • i love chewy soo funny

    my names elliot chew but people call me

    chewy omg how sick

  • i like to feed live and will if i can

    i like to feed live cuz you get to see what goes on out in the real world for them

    i ALWAYS use close supervision just to make sure that damn rat wont hurt my snake and im sure other ppl have their own opinions so good for you

  • I have A ball python And it eats live rats.

  • If I could get fresh-killed rats in the store, I would do it. Sorry, I like rats and I like snakes, and yes I know there is potential danger, though none of my snakes have ever been damaged by their prey, but I will NOT keep dead rodents in my freezer!

  • I love rats AND snakes, and have kept them both together. Both my corns feed on frozen, which is great because I have seen how intelligent, sweet and amusing rats and mice can be, and I would hate to see them suffer. I also don't want my beautiful snakes to get injured. Too many people get a kick from feeding live, -my dog eats dog food with rabbit in it, but I throw a live rabbit in the kennel with him.

    You guys at BHB seem really compassionate, keep up the good work.

  • where is a good place or store to get frozen mice at.

    like on websites their preety cheep but the shiping is like 40 - 50 dollars

    is their a place with less shipping or is that the best i will find

  • If it can be avoided you really shouldln't feed yer snakes live.

    Ive seen firsthand the damages. The worst one was a 6 foot colombian boa brought into the shelter that had been chewed to hell and back by a SMALL rat. You could see muscle, bone and even organs through the bite wounds. While euthanizing it, I cried out of sadness for the snake and utter disgust and anger at the person that fed this snake live prey then threw it out by the dumpster in it's tank with the rat still in it TO DIE!

  • In continuation, I switched to frozen from prekilled and just "stunned" prey about 7 years ago... after one of my own snakes finally got bit and it was so close to the eye it terrified me and set me straight.

    By the way... cutest hairless rat ever with the little blaze going on!

  • haw meney snakes do you have?

  • i have an albino burmese python het for granite. she eats frozen rats. i think your show is great and i have subscribed. keep up the good work

  • I feed my 3 yo ball python live. Call it cruel if you will, but snakes are predatory animals and have been feeding this way for millions of years.

  • I prefer frozen too for it's non perishable and safer.

    there's nothing wrong with live feeds tho

  • @deathrollz --I second that. I have done both, but switched as the place i got it from shut down and the pet stores around me had "wimpy" and sickly looking feeders- after a bad case of mites-I said: "FROZEN"-cheaper, no risk of mites, and no taking care of mice/rats

  • it doesnt matter when or if you by a snake you should atomaticly now that it feeds on live or frozen animals so if you dont like live feeding give your snake away or stfu

  • I really like feedding my snakes live

  • i feed my snake sometimes live but mostly frozen

  • well i think live is good beacause there is more nutrition and it keeps them active

  • i fed my snake a nude rat

  • I feed frozen mice and rats to my snakes. I don't want to risk an injury to the snakes, and I hate to see the prey suffer.

  • Hey guys, I finally found an episode touching on my issue. My snake will currently only eat live. I would like to get her on prekilled but when I tried she grabbed it but spat it out a couple seconds after and didnt want it. Is there a way to get a snake that eats live to start eating prekilled or is it pretty much too late? She is a BP about 9-11 months old.

  • Me and Brian share similar opinions.. I don't want my snake to be harmed but then again I believe nature should take its course. What I do is feed several smaller mice as opposed to one very big mouse. Lowering the chance of harm to my snake but still letting nature take its course. I have tried frozen but no matter what I do she just wont eat it. Also it is healthy exercise for the snake because they usually just lay around. More nutrients as well - Matt

  • i would wach out on the several mice the snake could not have enough time to digest it and it could rot in there stomak wich could be fatal or life thretaning just far warning

  • i do the same as nikblackstone, i dont like feeding it live because i have to worry about the rat biting my snake but my mom hates rats/mice so i cant really make rat soup. so i kill them myself and feed it fresh

  • When I had my first snake, a ball python, I had to go as cheap as I could, so I was buying live rats and killing them myself, before freezing them for later feeding. While I don't like seeing any creature suffer, death is as much a part of nature as life. I miss that snake, and when I finally get another, I'll definitely buy frozen, but feel that live or frozen, if you care for your pet, you'll do what's needed to keep it happy and healthy.

  • nice comment sorry about your los

  • When I had my snake (apricot pueblan) at the begining i started feeding it frozen pinkies, but later on I believed that by giving it Live ones it would help her "hunt" biger mice when she grows.

  • see i have never tryed to feed my snake frozen because about teo months ago when he was on pinkys he only would eat it if it was moving

  • what i am going to do is feed frozen from now on but wiggle it allot in the feeding tongs. that gives him the impression its live. just some advice.

  • You have such a professional attitude towards this feeding topic. I really appreciate and enjoy your show. Its blatantly obvious that you're not just reptile lovers, you're animal lovers and I'm so glad that you do what you do!

  • Thanks a lot, and you couldn't be more right, I love ALL aniamls. It's very hard for me to see any animal die, even to feed to another animals for survival. Thanks so much for the support on the show! Brian(Sbtv)

  • hey i agree with Crese, you are very knowlegable with what you do. and i fed my baby corn a live pinky for the first time and no joke, i almost cried. it was just so sad to see it suffer. im sticking with frozen.

  • I've had a ball python in the past and I have a corn snake right now. I fed them both frozen. I plan on geting a boa constrictor and I hope it also eats frozen. I would feed it live if i had to but I'd rather throw the feeder animal in the freezer rather than having to take care of it and it could harm the snake..so I go with frozen.

  • yeah, that's the way to go for sure. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i feed all my snakes frozen.. but i feed live as an when i can afford to buy live...

  • Yeah, frozen is cheaper. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • Well, I left a comment on another video with a question that was answered in this video. lol

    Oopsies.

  • That's how it works:) Thanks for the support on the show! Brian(Sbtv)

  • It's nice that you seem to respond to every question. Thats kinda rare on youtube. Anyway I never had ANY snakes and only seen a snake eat a rodent live ONCE. It wasn't pretty but I understand. Outsider view here, all i can say is it looks like you give the mice and rats a decent home till dinner. That's about all I can ask for. Interesting video BTW dont even know how I stumbled upon it but Ill subcribe anyway. Thanks for the info.

  • Thanks for the sub! I love all anamils, so even the feeders get treated great untul we have to feed them off. I hate that part of my job, but the snakes have to feed. Thanks so much for stumbling on our show. Hope you'll keep watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • well i dont like doing it but the way i have to feed my reptiles is to flick the rat in the head with a comb to stun it that way there still feeding live and it cant hurt my snake sorry but the gotta eat two.

  • I understand that, but it makes sure the snake is safe. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • nothing wrong with feeding live pray to a snake, just nock it out couple times and your good to go. none of my snakes like prekill food

  • Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • What type of snake is that at 2:32? Its absolutely gorgeous.

  • That's a bredles carpet python. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • Just don't mix it up with your ice cream bars. That's a mistake you only make once!

    haha

  • Haha, that is for sure!  lol Brian(Sbtv)

  • i think that frozen should be your first choice because sometimes when a snake is used to live for to long it can be very hard and in some cases impossible to switch back but, if a snake is refusing to eat then it is a good last resort

  • I agree with you on that. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • live

  • I feed my ball python and baby burmese live because they don't take frozen, but I feed my Spotted pythons and retic f/t and pretend its alive my wiggling it with tongs.

  • Is it true that rats have more nutriton than mice? Also hope your feeling better.

    (Ryan,ColdBlooded97)

  • is the death quik im a lizard guy but i dnt like stuff to suffer please reply?

  • Whenever we kill rodents to feed them off we make sure it's as quick and painless as possible. I love all animals, even rodents. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • ifeed my carolina corn frozen

  • I feed almost all our corns frozen too. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i have no problem feeding live. it happens like, every second of every day in the wild i'm sure. i used to feed my BP live but then i actually switched to frozen for the specific reason that i don't want it to get bitten. especially when it starts eating larger food with more fight

    Corey

  • Good points:) Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i prefer feeding live.  i never feed my ball python without monitoring it, and i believe that it comes easier to them. hes caged up all day, so why not give him a little excitement to hunt.

  • That makes sense and as long as you're keeping an eye on things I'm sure it's a good plan. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i love to feed live to my ball python..i monitor the feeding so nothing really ever gets out of hand

  • That's good. Thanks for watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i prefer feeding my snakes frozen. safer for my snakes, more humain on the rats/mice since they don't have to get bit and constricted and die a somewhat painful death.

  • I agree with you 100% Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • dead is dead. there is no such thing as smooth death so feed them live.

  • wanelly, frozen ones are killed "humainly" meaning they don't suffer when dying like they would by being killed by a snake. plus feeding your snake live food when they eat frozen isn't good when the mouse/rat could take a nice chunk of skin out of you snake while it being constricted. i would only ever feed my snake live if it wouldn't eat frozen because i am more bothered about my snakes living than a rat.

  • Well said! Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • before i started watching this show i hated snakes i would have never even thought about getting one but after watching alot on episodes i want a snake now and im ordering one from u guys soon :)

  • Thanks for liking the show and now wanting to get a snake. That's really awesome! Brian(Sbtv)

  • Frozen/Thawed if possible.

    Live if absolutely needed.

    You can keep your mice/rats/whatever in the freezer for 6 month without any real affect on it.

    Frozen/Thawed removes most of the risks in regards to injury aswell as removes the stress from the animal that's about to get chomped.

    Not much discussion there if you ask me.

  • i go with frozen, much easier to deal with, plus if you thaw out rats and mice in the same warm water snakes are more apt to switch from mice to rats. at least it works for me.

  • ya like to do live but if i had a large amount of snakes like yourself i would more than likely choose frozen but i prefer live. thanks guys!

    peace

  • i think live is better because i think it gives your snake more calicum

  • Id definatley go with frozen - I wouldn't be able to feed live although I know sometimes its the only way.I definatley make sure the snake was eating frozen before purchasing it. Keep it up!

    Also who does the voice over for when it like says fact or fiction and snake myths at like 6:38 to 6:39 lol

  • well i got bit what i thought was a garter snake at the time but not sure what it was maybe you know. i live in idaho and got bit bye a black snake with two yellow strips on its back and it gave me a really bad head ake?

  • Most likely it was a garter snake, it's rare but some people have a reaction to the garter snake bites. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • a thousand dollar snake is more important them a 2 dollar rat monitor live feedings carefully

  • Agreed. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i feed mine frozen because no where in my area of flordia sells live pinkies and its pretty sad watching little pinkies die but i donr really care for adult nice

  • Frozen is better anyways:) Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i feed my snakes stunted mice... asin i just knock them out and then feed them.. that takes away the risk of the mouse hurting my snake... so by don this thay eat live the mouse dosnt suffer and i have healthy snakes =) keep posting great vids you guys rock!!!

  • Thanks for the support on the show! Good way of feeding, safe, but effective! Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • do u have any picky feeders that only eat asf or natal rats

  • I do have a few of them, but they normally switch back onto normal rats after a few meals. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • ahh i would go for live because the snake will sorta have to hunt like it has to do in the wild

  • Live isn't bad as long as you watch them carefully. I still prefer frozen when I can. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i hate feeding live but i know u have to id rather feed frozen but sometimes u have to so if it means feed a live and get food or not feed and have him die id feed my snake live but i hate doing it (my snake feeds frozen)

  • I agree, frozen is better, but if they have to eat live then they have to eat:) Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • my BP is picky about live mice ive never even tried f/t...i monitor closely and if the mouth is able to bite her then i just give a simple flick and it ends all the struggle for the litle fluff ball

  • Yeah, Ball Pythons are picky about those things. Thanks for watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i would rather feed frozen.. But I have a few picky eaters, that demand live.. My sinaloans eat live. Scarlet king eats live.And Baja Cape gopher eats live. My rat snake eat frozen as do my other snakes.. So now I have breeder mice, so i have a supply of baby live mice..I hate it but it is a must, that the snakes eat.

  • I'm with you, most of ours feed on frozen. But some eat live and I feed them that. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • ya rats are also great pets and reptiles r to i have them both.

  • yo what substrate do you use for you boas? i was thinking about sani chips but i don't.

  • We use either news paper, sani-chips or shreded aspen. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i personally feed my corn frozen. i like frozen because when you snake is feeding he or she wont be hurt or injured when attacking the mouse/rat.

  • I agree, that's the way to go if you can get them to feed on it. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i have to feed live because i have a ball python

  • Yeah, some Ball Pythons are just that way. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i feed frozen ever time to my one year old red-tail my other red-tail was raised on live befor i got him and he wont convert over 100% but some time will take it my 2 ball pythons can kiss the idea of frozen goodbye. i would feed frozen all around if i could. i have seen a 100% convertion from live to frozen with a friends ball so it can be done

  • Good stuff, glad to see that you're using frozen. Much better for the animals. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • friends... of chewy. 5*

  • My ball won't eat (thawed) frozen rats, and it's afraid of live rats. I have to kill the rat and offer it immediately after. I've never had such a picky eater, but he's worth it ;)

  • Yeah, some can be that way. at least you found what t likes to eat:) Brian(Sbtv)

  • i feed my ball python live and i can catch garter snakes in the summer at my house-sam

  • i feed my corn snake frozen that i get from PETCO.

  • I feed pre-kill most of the time. Safe and if a snake refuses I can put the prey in the freezer so it does not go to waste. I do have some animals that won't feed on pre-killed prey so when I feed them I hold the prey in front of their nose so they stike directly at the head. That way the prey is usually immobilised, however I never leave a snake alone with a prey that is not dead yet.

  • I feed pre killed more nutrients and vitamins to the snake and well it cant exactly hurt the snake...but i dont like killing em :(

  • Fresh dead is a great option. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i also love feeding snakes but i hate killing the rodent. i feed live because thats the only thing he will eat. i would love to feed frozen tho.

  • You have to feed it what it's willing to eat. I hate killing rodents too:) Brian(Sbtv)

  • hey just wanted to say that snakebytes is awesome! im so excited because you guys have inspired me to get into snakes and i might get a ball python soon!

  • Thanks so much for the support on the show and it's super cool that we inspired you. That's the coolest thing to hear about:) Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • I fee my ball python live

  • A lot of Ball Pythons will only feed on live. Thanks for watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • hi brian i was just wondering what to morths would have to be bred to get a pastel clown ball python.

  • You have to breed a pastel to a clown to get pastels het for clown and then raise them up and bred them together to get pastel cowns. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • I feed my corn snake frozen. I wouldn't have the heart to feed live. Plus, I love being able to stock up on frozen instead of going to the pet store every week. I just get her food when I get my pet rat's. :)

  • It is nice to be able to get a bunch of frozen and not have to worry about it:) Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • What is the band @ 2:00 ?

    What is the band during kel's question of the week?

  • All the music is from a band called Last Days. I'll have to get tracks up on my site for you to download if you're interested. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i think that video is a really good thing to watch because say if u just got a snke u know how to feed ur snake the best way which is froze mice or rats. So i think it is very good video.

  • Thanks, glad you liked it:) We apprerciate you watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • alright so in one of thw videos i saw chewy talk about a rhino rat snake...i have looked everywhere and i cant find anything about them, i want one i think(i need to read up on them before i decide) please some info!

  • They are a very easy to care for ratsnake. We keep them just like a cornsnake. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • thanks! how big do they get and they are constrictors right?

  • THANKX FOR THE REPLY!!!!

  • Anytime:) Thanks for watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i have had snakes for years an hav fed rats and mice but i wonder if i feed mt snake raw chicken from the store will something happen to it?? what do u think?

  • Nothing would happen to them, but it's not very nutritional, so I wouldnt make that their main diet. Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • For my point of view is better frozen(when you can, I mean excluding some snakes that wants only "fresh meat"), in this way you can excluding some viruses, u can exclude bits from rats and so on.

  • I agree:) Thanks for watching, Brian(Sbtv)

  • i have two pet rats, 2 females(cuz i don't really want a hundered babies poppin out lol) i have bella( a hairless dumbo eared rat) and bear( a black fancy rat) people think it weird that i keep snakes and have pet rats, but i think rats make great pets and i feed only frozen so.

  • I agree with you 100%. Rats are way better pets then a hamster or a gerbil. They are smart and clean. I have a lot of pet rats.lol Thanks, Brian(Sbtv)

  • nottin weird..i do the same lol. Rat make sick ass pets, my favorite animal next to snakes..