[kwiky]

yes mate the guinea pigs and rabbits are frozen and take ages to thaw lol,
i purchase them in bulk from a local supplier simply because its easier to have them stored in the freezer for when i need them,
i do breed rats and mice as i sometimes have to live feed any babie snakes that dont seen to understand the whole freeze/thawed concept and it would be difficult to get live pinkies or rat pups any other way,
as for their feeding habits, i just think that they build up thier fat reserves easier in captivity as they are fed more regular than wild snakes that have to go out and actually hunt, once their reserves are built up they seem to lose interest in feeding and can take ages to eat again, although its not really harmful to the snake to fast for months on end it can also be a sign of illness so i prefer to know exactly why they have stopped feeding by by enforcing a fast annually, this pretty much iliminates the fat reserve reason and helps me to spot sick animals, as i do this during the 'winter cooling period' i find it helps to stimulate breeding activity (remember snakes need high temperatures to digest their food and shouldnt be fed during the winter cooling period anyway)
since i began doing this ive had very few snakes refuse food with the exception of gravid females and hatchlings/neonates