General Rodent, Reptile, and Bird of Prey Questions

1. "Why feed reptiles frozen rodents over live ones?"

Although some people mistakenly believe that live food is better than frozen for their birds of prey and reptiles, frozen rodents are actually the preferred choice of many professional breeders, wildlife rehabilitators, zoos, and hobbyists. They prefer frozen rodents because of their convience (they can be stored easily in large quantities, they are easier and cheaper to receive as shipments, they are humanely pre-killed and so don't require difficulty in euthanizing), because it takes away the many drawbacks of either having to maintain a live animal colony or repeatedly go to the pet shop for small numbers of live animals, because they end up being a better choice economically, and finally, but most importantly, because they are a safer and healthier choice for the animals under their care. Often live prey will fight back and bite or scratch and wound the reptile, and animals caught live or bought from unreliable sources may harbor all sorts of diseases and parasites that could then be transmitted to the bird of prey or reptile that ingested them.

Many people assume that live food will always be better for birds of prey and for reptiles than frozen food because that is what they eat in the wild. However, what they do not take into account is that we have already changed the rules of the game when we bring these animals into captivity and we at that point take on the responsibility for their health and safety. Yes, animals do not eat frozen food in the wild. But neither do they live in cages or man-made habitats, and they often die in the wild from wounds from feisty prey or from parasites and diseases that are transmitted by prey in the wild.

2. "How difficult is it to switch our reptiles from live feeders to frozen feeders?"

First of all, it is crucial to make sure that your frozen feeder is fully thawed. Some people have found it helpful to make sure it is still warm from the warm water or microwave rather than totally cooled off. The first step is to use a pair of hemostats to dangle the food in front of your pet, moving the food to tease it as if it were a live animal. If that does not work for you, check out our article on "Frozen vs. Live."

3. "How do I move a reptile from other sources of food to feeding on live rodents?"

One of the best ways we have found to approach this issue is to take the food you normally feed to your pet and rub it's scent on the rodent. Often that is enough to convince the predator that the rodent is a good prey. If that is not effective, you may get some other ideas by reading the article on "Frozen vs. Live."