How do you feel when feeding mice, rats, etc.?

I want to see how people feel when feeding their snakes mice, rats, bunnies, ASFs, etc.

How do YOU feel when your feeding your snake a (F/T, PK, or live) mouse or a rat? Personally, to me, I don't really feel anything. I don't like rodents, I'm not scared or freaked out by them, I just don't like them. I don't find them cute, I just see them as snake food when I'm just about to put it into the snake enclosure.

In general I feed frozen, but when I feed live I don't feel bad at all. Although.... I do regret feeding rats.

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

In general I feed frozen, but when I feed live I don't feel bad at all. Although.... I do regret feeding rats.

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I feel the same way, but I really have no regret. I understand what needs to be done when feeding live (had to feed live to my boa when she was a picky eater), so I don't have any regret because the snake needs to eat and that is what it eats in captivity. I feed F/T to all of my snakes, and still I don't even mind. All I do is take them out of the bag, drop them into hot water, and wait. After they are finished thawing out, I just pick them up and feed them to the snakes.

I feel kinda bad when I feed ASFs now because I produce them, raise them, and while theyre fuzzies and hoppers Ill play with them... but a snake's gotta eat.

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Originally Posted by pavlovk1025

I feel kinda bad when I feed ASFs now because I produce them, raise them, and while theyre fuzzies and hoppers Ill play with them... but a snake's gotta eat.

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Yeah I see what you mean. I think of a snake eating a rodent the same way we eat cows, pigs, and chickens. So, when I think about that, I know a snake has got to stay healthy and that means eating what it needs to be eating, and we also need to stay healthy by eating meats too. Though, we eat our meats in a more brutal way than a snake eats a rodent, IMO.

I only feel bad about 2-3 week old rat pups. They're painfully adorable :(

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Originally Posted by Hulihzack

I only feel bad about 2-3 week old rat pups. They're painfully adorable :(

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Well, that I can see that it is sad, since I had to feed those to my Dumeril's boa. I never really watched it happen, only a couple of times.

I guess having a snake is a trade-off. You feed off a little rat pup (loss) but with that you gain a healthy snake (benefit).

It doesnt really bother me to feed my snakes. I mean it does suck when there happens to be a cute rat, Ill usually feed that one to my picky eaters so if it doesnt get eaten I can keep it a little longer or introduce it to my breeding colony if its a girl. Other than that I just think about it as a way of life.. Its all about the food chain. It's like asking me if I cry as I eat a cheeseburger...

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Originally Posted by Hulihzack

I only feel bad about 2-3 week old rat pups. They're painfully adorable :(

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I have to agree with that... and it's the reason I ended up with two pet rats (who now live with a friend), when they were rejected on the first go-round. :oops: When mice are rejected, on the other hand, I'll just keep them until next feeding or offer them to my piggish snakes (Pedro & Toby). I also have to admit, it's one reason I primarily feed mice instead of rats - along with the fact that my second-biggest snake ONLY likes the mice. But yeah, rat pups are ridiculously cute... and the adults sure have personality, don't they??

Bottom line, however - I only care for a second, but forget about it when my snakes are happily eating. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Lewdogg3

Other than that I just think about it as a way of life.. Its all about the food chain. It's like asking me if I cry as I eat a cheeseburger...

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LMAO... that's like the standard answer I give people, when they ask if I "feel bad" feeding my snakes rodents. I ask, do you feel bad eating meat or offering your cat/dog chicken? Just because it doesn't look like an animal, doesn't change the fact that it IS one. :P

P.S. I voted for the middle option, even though I don't really care... but that one pang of sympathy counts for something, I suppose.