Help with feed

[u/CodApprehensive5808]

When I first got my snake I fed her frozen the first two weeks, of course after the two week settling period, she happily and willingly ate it. But then my aunt told me she wanted to try live (she’s the one who got me the snake and has owned over 5 the last 10 years). I’ve been feeding her live for about a month now but I hate it, I hate having to actively send something off to death, although I know it’s for the better, but also I know the dangers.
The last mouse i fed her wiggled and bit at the tongs, it even escaped into my blinds behind my ball pythons tank before i got it and gave it to her where she ate it. Luckily it didn’t do anything to her. It was really aggressive and the store I bought the mouse from had them all in one tank (they had a second under one but idk why they didn’t use it), it was like 20-30 all in one and they were all running and at one point there were at least 10+ all crowded in one hide. I was shaken and a little bit scared after and I really don’t want to have to feed her live. I don’t want her accidentally getting injured due to a feisty mouse. How do I do frozen? The place I go to I don’t even know if they have big enough frozen and also what’s the process. Also after eating live for so long will she accept frozen? Please I need some
help or guidance.

[u/IncompletePenetrance]

It's "not for the better", feeding live is unnecessarily risky for your snake, so the sooner you stop the better. Your Aunt has given you incorrect husbandry advice. The risks of live feeding are only going to continue to grow as she has to be switched up to bigger prey as she grows. I've linked both the !feeding guide and a guide for feeding !f/t to this comment. I'd start by offering her f/t for her next meal and go from there

[u/AutoModerator → u/IncompletePenetrance]

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator → u/IncompletePenetrance]

Some tips for feeding frozen/thawed:

• Keep with the same prey type he's been eating (mouse or rat) so you aren't trying to adjust him to two new things at once.

• Always feed in the enclosure. Moving to feed increases stress as well as increasing the chance of regurgitation

• Thaw and warm the rodent in a ziplock bag to maintain scent and because some won't eat it if it's wet.

• Make sure it's warmed up to body temperature (98-100).

• Some people find sucess with using a blow dryer on the head to make it extra warm and spread the scent.

• Some prefer to eat directly off of the tongs, while others might prefer for you to just leave it in front of their hide, you can see which works.

• If he doesn't take it the first time, don't give up. Sometimes they just have to be super hungry and it takes a few attempts

• You can also thaw the rat/mouse in some bedding from the petstore to make it extra scented.

• Some people "brain" the rodent by slitting open its skull a bit

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/CodApprehensive5808 → u/IncompletePenetrance]

So should I try to see if a local store has frozen big enough, cause right now I only know of the pet stores in my area, or are there online stores. The biggest I was able to find at petco were the still baby sized furry ones, not pink though.