Rant: Feeding Live to Reptiles

[Boyd]

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[EweSheep]

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It's rare, huh? Someone forgot to tell every snake I've owned in all my days that they're supposed to eat dead, cold things. Done in your home or not, that doesn't mean the snake thinks, "Oh, well I'm not in the wild anymore, I better change my ways and eat mousicles now." I mean really. Sure, respect the life, but my stars.

Mousciles!

Like the lions would say goatiscles LOLOL! They do NOT like frozen items unless it was a very hot day, the zoo would put in some catfood chunks in a HUGE cube of ice. Makes them work for their treats LOL!

 

[dntd]

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AND I agree with Boyd. Once you sold the mice to her, your business with the mice ends there. Sure a mice would bite, to fight a chance to stay alive but a good snake will persist the mice in order to eat. They do the same thing in the wild.

The zoo sometimes would "knock a mouse" not to kill it but to stun it a bit which it would still be alive and most of their snakes take them on readly.

If she does not want mice biting her snakes maybe newly hatched chicks will fit the bill.

I was actually contemplating hatching chicks for my savannah monitor, He eats whole pray items, my rats have not produced at all lately, they have been eating the babies for some reason, same diet same housing for 3 years. Oh well they stink anyways so I was thinking of ending my breeding and just buy them from a reptile place. 3 chicks a month would be plenty for him right now, he's still young and is growing to wild size so he should take 3 years to mature instead of under a year like those who over feed.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

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Your view on rodents amuses me in how far it differs from mine. I won't tell you how little I care about captive reptiles.

I myself have spent over $1000.00 on cancer treatment for my pet rat. So I guess I care a lot more about how long and happy of a life a rodent has.

dont get me wrong, a pet rat is to be loved and cared for. A reptile feeder is food for Fel. Just like some rabbits get names. Those are the mama's. All the babies have the same name.. food.

eta - if somebody doesn't want to sell me live mice or rats, that's ok, theres plenty out there who will

But a retail store refusing to sell is against that store's policy, and I am not about to listen to some drivel from a kid more than half my age. It was pretty easy to convey to the owner that all their rodent sales would dry up if they allowed this employee to dictate policy. Needless to say, she doesn't.

Boyd, I knew you would understand what I meant!

(And I agree, workers in a retail store can't refuse to sell you feeder rats if the store sells feeder rats. )

 

[Stina]

Someone forgot to tell every snake I've owned in all my days that they're supposed to eat dead, cold things.

Well if you were giving them cold things, then you weren't trying to feed prekilled correctly.... When snakes are weaned to prekilled food PROPERLY....the vast majority will learn to accept prekilled readily. I love my snakes...but I also love my rodents....just b/c they're food doesn't mean they should be treated poorly or forced to suffer needlessly. Those of you that raise your own chickens for food, do you make them live in squalid conditions or make them suffer before or as you kill them?​

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

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Well if you were giving them cold things, then you weren't trying to feed prekilled correctly.... When snakes are weaned to prekilled food PROPERLY....the vast majority will learn to accept prekilled readily. I love my snakes...but I also love my rodents....just b/c they're food doesn't mean they should be treated poorly or forced to suffer needlessly. Those of you that raise your own chickens for food, do you make them live in squalid conditions or make them suffer before or as you kill them?

Never seen a snake that would touch a dead rat.

 

[dntd]

You've never met my 2 corn snakes( they are a good eaters will swich from live to prekilled, mice to rats). Some don't eat well at all, my male BP doesn't eat much even when he was younger, once a month some times he take them alive sone times dead, IDK he sure is picky.

 

[dappertophatter]

People.

Chill out.

The OP is just upset because, while she dosen't hold with live feeding, she's selling mice to those who DO live feed in her community so she knows that the mice had a good life, but she dosen't want the mice abused, either. It's like how I don't hold with how big companies execute their meat chickens, so I raise my own and take them to a humane processer so I know they had a good life. Same thing basically.

I don't think this is an argument about feeding dead/alive mice, or stories of how your snake will not take anything but dead/alive.

The poor OP justs wants advice on how to nicely tell this lady to properly care for her snake's food. She probably dosen't want her thread locked, either- everybody calm down.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

When the woman said the mice were running around in a box...I hardly think she meant without any care.

She probably thought that you would know that she provides bedding, food and water for them, seeing as how you care for mice as well.

As for feeding live, how is it any more cruel than nature? A snap, squeeze, the mouse is dead. Hardly cruel by any standard.

 

[ladycrotalus]

Is there anyway to help the lady figure out why her snakes aren't eating? Its probably husbandry related. If i were in this situation i would ask her how she has the snakes set up and what the temps are. If something isn't right then figure out ways to correct the situation. Also why not offer to board the mice for her for a small fee if she cannot care for them properly or tell her to kill the mice and freeze them and keep trying.


I have a picky little eastern milk snake that refuses f/t and pre killed. Im not that worried because he is only eating fuzzies.

I am leaving this as a link because its quite gruesome but this picture changed my mind about feeding live. You should print it out and show the lady. http://proexotics.com/live_prey.htm