Just an observation...

[Kagez28]

i have been searching the internet trying to read as much as i can about breeding rats, and all stuff related to it. and one thing i found out is that people that breed rats as pets ARE FLIPPIN CRAZY. man i thought it was bad when i was getting chewed out on craigslist or in line at petco. reading the web sites these people put up defiantly confirmed my theory. it's like those really religious people that think because you sneeze the devil has taken control of you or whatever. they seriously try dissuade people from breeding rats by telling them how the poor baby rats will be "used as snake fodder". i don't even know what fodder is. anyway i thought i would just go off on this little tirade. i hope i didn't offend any of you crazy rat people out there.

[frankykeno]

It is odd how some of the rat forums are very fanatical. That's why I just never bothered much with them. I'm not spending my precious online time trying to explain predators and prey to someone whose so disconnected from reality that they will sit eating a cheeseburger while calling me evil for feeding my snake it's natural prey. People are odd, groups of people on the internet sometimes enhance their own oddness LOL.

[MarkS]

I think the fanatisim has more to do with it being an internet forum rather then with being a group of pet rat owners. You tend to see that sort of thing on any forum that is poorly or unfairly moderated. The fanatics tend to shout down and drive away the more moderate members and you're left with a group of extremists. The unfortunate thing is then that when a new member joins, it appears that the extreme attitudes of the group are 'the norm' for the hobby as a whole which is quite often far from the real truth.

Mark

[juddb]

I love my rats to death, but whats funny is the babies get fed off and i feel nothing. Wierd

[frankykeno]

It's not at all "wierd". Thousands of small family farmers do it every day of the week. I grew up with a lot of those people...small family mixed farms where most of the brood stock had names and were treated extremely well and almost "petlike". Didn't stop them from serving Bessie's offspring as a lovely sunday roast though. I've raised my own ducks, chicken and geese from those cute fluffy babies. Loved them but also loved having that satisfaction of putting a nice chicken dinner out for my kids and knowing what went into the raising of that animal. I'm no different with my rats. We treat the breeders and the feeders very well and get a lot of satisfaction from the healthy snakes that eat the rats raised for that specific purpose.

[littleindiangirl]

That is the best analogy I've ever heard! Farmer do it all the time! They raise their livestock, sometimes even compete in the local fair for best ...pig? Cow?, and then they eat em. Just like that tear jerker Charlottles web.

I bet there are FAR more farmers than crazy rat people, and yet the crazy rat people are winning the fight against feeding reptiles live? makes no sense

[juddb]

Well i have my two girls and one boy i consider part of the family and they throw me super healthy pups for my collection.... I havent even considered going onto a rat forum i could only imagine.... :eek: .

[cassandra]

they seriously try dissuade people from breeding rats by telling them how the poor baby rats will be "used as snake fodder". i don't even know what fodder is.

Courtesy of Dictionary.com:
1.coarse food for livestock, composed of entire plants, including leaves, stalks, and grain, of such forages as corn and sorghum.

2.people considered as readily available and of little value: cannon fodder.

3.raw material: fodder for a comedian's routine.

4.to feed with or as if with fodder.

I'm not spending my precious online time trying to explain predators and prey to someone whose so disconnected from reality that they will sit eating a cheeseburger while calling me evil for feeding my snake it's natural prey.

This and the description of what meat farmers do every day...unless you are a vegetarian or perhaps to the level of vegan and don't use or wear any type of leather or animal product, hi, you are a hypocrite when you take a silly stand against people who raise certain species of animals as food to other animals.

[Flagg]

If you think the forums are full of fanatics, check out some of the rattery websites, specifically the "adoption contract" they force people to sign.

[frankykeno]

While I think it's very important to place living animals in the right home and be careful of that, it can get so over the top and ridiculous that you drive away people that would make perfectly fine owners. Personally no one is forcing a "home visit" on me so I can adopt any animal. My privacy is my own, I invite who I want into my home and if my word isn't good enough about how I care for my animals, then I won't be adopting from that sort of person.