Couldnt have said better myself ...

[Jake_the_snake]

I kept rats as pets for many years so to feed a live one to a reptile is something i prob wouldnt do.

 

[Slats]

Just a stray thought.
I agree with what Bill is promoting but...
Bill says he would never feed a live vertebrate to anything.
Does that mean he would not use live bait while fishing?

 

[D3pro]

some animals thrive on live feeding, like jungles for example, and it's all well and good to keep your reptile on the edge... to make sure it still has that natural cunning... but if were talking about your pet, coastal to GTP, you don't want to put it's life at risk. I live fed once... it was a pinkie and it went well... yes it was interesting... but highly unnecessary considering it would of ate a pre-killed rat anyway.

Dogs are predators.. do I let it kill calf's when it would eat pre-killed meat? meh... to late to make sense right now... don't do it, not worth it unless your snake only eats live and is on the verge of starvation.

 

[Kenshin]

personally i think live feeding is natural as thats what happens in the wild for all species all throughout the world however it is more pleasent and convenient to feed thawed food, i feed dead to everything iv owned iv only ever had afew trouble snakes over the years where a couple live meals have been needed but that wasent before many weeks of trying thawed and first fresh killed over live (i had 2 hatchy scrubs that wouldent make the switch to rats until they had live pups/fuzzies)

what is more cruel..... being bred and born in captivity for the purpose of animal food, or scientific/chemical testing (rodents) or being put to sleep via venom or asphixiation if your were a captive rodent your days are numbered and id rather neural shutdown or asphixiation rather then being bludgeoned to death by being swung from my tail so my head hits a hard surface afew times......

now logic tells us all that frozen is better for a multitude of reasons convenience of being able to store lots of food in bags in a freezer and the fact food is frozen for months at a time killing any passable parasitic burden that could be passed to your pets so there really is no NEED to feed live unless you are one of the few unlucky people who get a really picky snake in which case it shouldent take long to wean them onto defrosted food (and when such is achived a dose of flagyl to deworm them wouldent hurt)

people should also consider that live prey items can fight back when constricted and thus can leave wounds that will scar or even worse get infected

so is live feeding cruel to the rodent - in my opinion NO is it cruel and unneccisary to the snake for stated reasons YES!

 

[Kenshin]

thought while on the subject here is an adult murry darling carpet i inherited it had been bitten by a rat when it was smaller she was 6- 6.5ft when i got her and i had to drain that lump via the roof of her mouth every few weeks to a month most unpleasent always felt sorry for the poor girl

 

[Kenshin]

forgot pic

 

[ozziepythons]

If Bill hadn't started the vid stating he was more of a field herper than a collector, I wouldn't have had nearly as much respect for him than I do. His not divorced from the reality of reptiles as wild animals, a fact lost to many hobbyist keepers. He clearly states the evidence and facts, and everything is well considered. His well spoken and articulate, and I think his shared his views before with brainless morons who retorted with brainless homophobic slander, hence the retaliatory nature of his vid (the whole 'PHAG' thing). Go Bill, we've got your back.
Thanks to you RBB for posting it

 

[JustinO]

In the past I have had snakes that will only feed on live prey. One thing that I found that worked well and minimized risk to the snake was whack the rat hard enough to stun it but not enough to kill it. When it is offered to the snake, it can be grabbed, constricted and killed before it has a chance to regain its senses enough to bite the snake. Its not fun, but its part of the reality of keeping snakes. You do what is needed to get stubborn feeders eating.

That being said, I'm 100% for feeding prekilled whenever possible and the live feedings were not done in Australia.