Live Feeding

Ok before you start ranting and raving on any threads on wether or not live feeding can or cant be done then you should read the following, i know its a very touchy subject.

If you have a non feeding snake and have tried every other option availabe, then you need to go onto the last resorts, there are 3 options that can be used and should always be done in this order so as to cause as little stress as possible to the snake.

1, Live Feeding
2, Assist Feeding
3, Force Feeding

ok as the title of the thread state i am going to cover live feeding,

to start with heres the legality of live feeding - live feeding is total 100% LEGAL , as this is the natural behaviour of a snake in the wild, and in other countries it is the only way snakes are fed, in the uk it is FROWNED upon by animal rights activists and the RSPCA,

this is because if the RSPCA find out they will try to prosecute you, and they will get you in a catch 22 situation, by the following

1, live feed is cruelty to the rodent

2, if the rodent was to attack the snake and cause it harm then you are neglecting the welfare of the snake therefore commiting a crime,

3, not doing anything for the snake and allowing it to starve to death = cruelty

if you need to live feed then it should be done in the privacy of you own home and not done with an audience or made public by using video or shouting about it. It should also be done on the recommendation of a vet,

i will warm you this is a daunting process to do therefore the correct way to do it is to place snake into a tub, place in rodent and cover, leave for about 10 -20 minutes, during this time you must monitor at all time to make sure the rodent isnt attacking the snake(if this happens nudge the box gently to get the rodent to move away from the snake)

So to sum up wot i have said, live feeding should be done as the 3rd to last resort, be done in your own home and not broadcast, it is perfectly legal to do so,


If you wish to put your own veiws on the topic feel free to do so but any one posting a comment that may cause offence or having a go at any one will have it removed (this has only been added ad this topic is highly sensitive with many different veiws)

To save my snake if it was starving ..i would do it , but being an animal lover i would find it hard to cope with on a regular basis.

Good topic Riley!

I have only once had to try feeding live and it did work and the snake fed everytime on defrost after that.

I have removed the last few posts, if you want to know why then please pm me but they were my own posts

In all fairness it's illegal to feed live in this country, but it's also illegal to allow an animal to starve to death!

that the point im try to stat De, there is alot of arguements goin on about the topic and the correct answer is its not illegal, check this out n it gives you the correct answer.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/69279-live-feeding-laws.html

I knew I had read that somewhere before.. thanks Riley

I personally would never feed live! I have never yet, (touch wood) had a snake that I couldn't get feeding through another method, it just akes time and patience.
The few times I have tried with limited success the snake turned out to have a serious medical problem such as kidney failure, so was never meant to be.
Some aquaintances I know have resorted to live food and found the snake would never take frozen again....
Oh but anther method that comes to mind is to have snake and prey seperated by mesh with a dead prey item on the snakes side, whilst hunting the live mouse it may go for the dead one. heard this has worked but think its all about the positioning...
Sarah

well its a personal option whether u do it or not i found it to work with 2 of mine but didnt work and all 3 are now eating defrost,

Feeding live here is all hush hush, as spca is threatening etc, and pet shops wont sell you live rats or mice if they suspect you have reptiles, so I send in my daughter and fortunately I breed, so I can build up stock.

In our case if its a rescue, which is usually a wild snake that went into a persons home, the snake 99% of the time wont take dead, and you have to feed live, we also cant release the snake without feeding it and basically seeing that its in a good condition, sooooo SPCA contradicts themselves big time!! I will do whatever it takes to feed an animal, fortunately all my hatchlings ate well and it was thawed pinks