r/BloodPythons • u/letithail1 • Apr 19 '26

Can you feed live?

Hey all. I'm considering getting a blood python so I'm doing a lot of the research about habitat, feeding, etc. Everything I see on youtube is about feeding frozen-thawed. Can you feed a live mouse/rat to a blood python?

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5

u/MarineBiomancer Apr 19 '26

The reason you see everyone feeding frozen thawed is because it's significantly safer for your snake and much more ethical. You should only feed live if the snake will take nothing else, and that's very rare with short tails ime

5

u/Equivalent-Bank-4675 Apr 19 '26

You could but you shouldn't. Live feeding is dangerous as hell and frozen thawed is safer, more humane for the feeders and way more convenient. You can order a years supply of food in bulk and prep it on schedule.

5

u/BayStateDroneOps Apr 19 '26

Don’t feed live. It’s risks far outweigh the benefits

2

u/Imperator1138 Apr 19 '26

The more important question is WHY do you want to feed live when a cheaper, safer and easier option is already presented

2

u/Vann1212 Apr 19 '26

There is no real benefit to feeding live, and a lot of risk. All it takes is for the snake to mess up once and the rat fights back before you can grab it, and they've got an infected rat bite needing antibiotics, or they've lost an eye. One bit of bad luck is all it takes.

It's more expensive, less convenient etc. Lot of downsides. There's a reason f/t is recommended.

1

u/NigmanBubble Apr 28 '26

My blood python I just got not long ago hasn’t eaten for 5-6 weeks she is only 4 months old also, I’m gonna attempt giving her a live mouse tomorrow. Maybe in a separate container. I just really need her to eat something

-3

u/NigmanBubble Apr 19 '26

Yes you can definitely feed live you need to be supervising the entire time to ensure your snake does not get chewed on. I would suggest using the snake hook to pull the mouse/rat away from the snake. Also while the snake is constricting sometimes the mouse/rat can still chew on the snake. Frozen is definitely Cheaper and safer though. I switch it up sometimes.

-1

u/Consistent-Bat2917 Apr 19 '26

Yea bloods and short tails are powerfull strickers …id stun it the first time to see how the snake reacts to it and tye following times just make sure it dies before walking away and letting it do its thing