*Sigh* Some people...

[Dill]

Maybe poultry people are just smarter than snake people?

Nah, this forum just has A LOT of people who kill animals and feed them to other animals/themselves. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm the only person here who doesn't do that.

it would be nice if you could get away with only feeding quail...maybe you could but i assume you couldnt???

Def. not. Thats not a balanced diet.

Besides, if I don't have to breed rats, then I can get rid of the Queen Nasty and not worry about getting blood drawn when doing regular maintenance.

Most tame rats don't bite. If you handle them they shouldn't bite.​

 

[Bettacreek]

Quote:
LMFAO. You come and try to handle her then, lol. She came here nasty as hell. As a feeder breeder, I'm not going to take the time to socialize her, especially considering that I don't intend to keep her. She's one of those rats that don't BITE, she LUNGES and STABS you with her bottom teeth. You know, the attack where you can actually hear her teeth tear through your skin, then you bleed profusely for a good hour afterwards. I have to keep her away from any "family" areas, not just because of the kiddo, but because if you get close enough, she'll get you through the bars and try to pull you through. The cat won't even go near her cage... I have a few shirts that were ruined by her, because when she gets ahold of you, she doesn't stop, and you have to pull away and end up tearing delicate shirts, because she doesn't let go, even if you try to brush something else against her nose to distract her. This is the demon rat from h*ll. Her babies, on the other hand, are all sweet as could be. They usually come running to investigate when someone enters the room, and they'll take treats and all kinds of things. Never been bitten by any of the rats, except the demon queen. Even hubby was bitten by her once.
Like I said, if you want to try to socialize this rat, feel free, I'd pay to see someone socialize that monster. There are rats out there who are only "minor" biters that can't be broken of the habit even with the utmost of care and attention, so I can't imagine that you'd get near this one without some type of special armor.

Nah, this forum just has A LOT of people who kill animals and feed them to other animals/themselves. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm the only person here who doesn't do that.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't use their animals for meat. For those of us who do, there's nothing wrong with it, unless, of course, if you're with PETA, but, since you have pets, I know you're not.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have noticed there are certain people on here that just like to rock the boat.

Most everyone I know in my area that has hatched quail fed them chick starter, and the only available here (nearby, I know they wouldn't drive 30 miles to get the 24% stuff) has at most 18% protein. I raised my first A&M's and all my buttons on this mixed with flock raiser (20%), and didn't lose any of them. I just couldn't see buying a 50# bag of feed for 3 tiny quail. They survived on 18/20%, so I doubt yours will fare any worse. I think most game bird starters are about 24% anyway, that person was just being a jerk.

 

[Bettacreek]

The breeder that I got the buttons from only fed the 24% Dumor. That's what I use on mine as well, and they don't appear to be deformed or anything. Granted, when they were itty bitty, I was feeding them flightless fruitflies, and once in a blue moon, they'll get mealies (yuck, you don't want to be kissing any beaks in this place). But, the breeder didn't, he just fed the 24%, and his all seem to survive and reproduce quite readily (he had a small "flock" of buttons, but just set 144 eggs from them, lol, plus, I'm buying two dozen tomorrow). He has coturnix, buttons, bobwhites and another quail species, as well as umpteen million other types of birds and fowl. I'm not sure what he feeds the other fowl though, I only asked about the quail.

 

[Dill]

Quote:
LMFAO. You come and try to handle her then, lol. She came here nasty as hell. As a feeder breeder, I'm not going to take the time to socialize her, especially considering that I don't intend to keep her. She's one of those rats that don't BITE, she LUNGES and STABS you with her bottom teeth. You know, the attack where you can actually hear her teeth tear through your skin, then you bleed profusely for a good hour afterwards. I have to keep her away from any "family" areas, not just because of the kiddo, but because if you get close enough, she'll get you through the bars and try to pull you through. The cat won't even go near her cage... I have a few shirts that were ruined by her, because when she gets ahold of you, she doesn't stop, and you have to pull away and end up tearing delicate shirts, because she doesn't let go, even if you try to brush something else against her nose to distract her. This is the demon rat from h*ll. Her babies, on the other hand, are all sweet as could be. They usually come running to investigate when someone enters the room, and they'll take treats and all kinds of things. Never been bitten by any of the rats, except the demon queen. Even hubby was bitten by her once.
Like I said, if you want to try to socialize this rat, feel free, I'd pay to see someone socialize that monster. There are rats out there who are only "minor" biters that can't be broken of the habit even with the utmost of care and attention, so I can't imagine that you'd get near this one without some type of special armor.

Nah, this forum just has A LOT of people who kill animals and feed them to other animals/themselves. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm the only person here who doesn't do that.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't use their animals for meat. For those of us who do, there's nothing wrong with it, unless, of course, if you're with PETA, but, since you have pets, I know you're not.

I'm good at taming animals and I love rats so I'd love to tame her but you're in PA

Does she have at least one friend? Lone rats often become aggressive and neurtic. Or maybe she's cage aggressive/territorial. I have 2 lovebirds that used to bite when anyone got near the cage and it turns out they were mostly trying to protect their cage i think (moved them into a new cage and they stopped biting so much)

 

[ligeia]

Just thought I'd put in a note about the snakes because I work predominantly with them. Balls are notorious for imprinting on certain food items. I would take into account that after tasting quail they may never go back to anything else! That said, I have kept many a picky python (though mostly burms) on chicken/quail diets for years, even ones that breed for me every year. I say picky because my bird eaters will not eat anything else. Birds are a natural prey item for a lot of snakes in the wild so no, they are not "made to eat rats". Not particularly ball pythons though, since they're terrestrial and they eat mainly small mammals in their native habitat. If they were mine, I would compensate by feeding them more often since they probably need a fattier supply of food. I would keep their hot side of the cage hotter and feed till refusal.