Ridiculed for live feeding

there is another forum out there with a completely different environment than this forum. its surprising how much the views are different between the two.

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Originally Posted by ironpython

It was on a Facebook site exotic pets of Georgia. I just where someone was defending me on there. The girls who were just going at me are rat breeders. But at least one says she has reptiles. But she feeds humanely euthanized with co2 rats only.

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they don't realize that whether the snake constricts them or they die from CO2, they are still getting suffocated to death. as CO2 competes for space in the lungs, it keeps oxygen from properly transferring. same kind of feeling as holding your breath for too long. same kind of feeling as suffocating to death. they could argue that the snake squeezing it hurts the rat more. you could ask them if they've ever felt the burn from inhaling CO2. I've seen snakes kill rats quicker than CO2 chambers and vice versa. either way, the rats gotta die and your snakes gotta eat. its the circle of life.

There is nothing wrong with feeding live if you do it correctly. Thats something everybody should be aware of.

In truth, the snake would be far quicker than a CO2 chamber. It might look more humane for them to be "put to sleep", but the constrictor is built to kill the rodent in a matter of seconds by 1) suffocation and 2) stopping the heart. While being bitten and then constricted would be very frightening to the rodent...they do not suffer from it for very long at all, their death comes very swiftly. Keep in mind that in the wild, snakes are designed to find their prey, catch it and dispatch of it quickly in an effort to maintain important energy that is better put to use in escaping from their predators. ;)

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Originally Posted by satomi325

And uhh......What special breeding techniques do you need to maintain a rodent colony? :confused:
It's not rocket science or a Giant Panda breeding program. You just have male + females + clean enclosure + good food + water...............

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That's my biggest pet peeve with mammalian breeders. I understand their concern about someone breeding animals they will not care about/not find homes for, genetic issues, etc. (we worry about the same things) but the absolute rabid "WHATAREYOUTHINKINGOHMYGOD" reaction you get if you breed rats/mice/whatever outside of the pet circles is alarming.

Breeding rodents for feeders isn't rocket science. The issue is that you went to where there's a more pet owners/breeders than reptile and feeder-breeders. When you go on a site full of pet breeders/show breeders/pet owners, you can't start spouting off about how you're throwing live pets to a snake and not expect to get some blowback.

What if someone came here who owns snakes and also started talking about how they were going to raise a lot of cheap balls up to make leather from them? Would most of the people here think it was okay as long as the snakes were killed humanely? Would it matter that in the wild, snakes are killed all the time in horrible ways by other animals or by humans to harvest meat and skins? No, because THIS is a forum devoted to people who love snakes as pets.

Most rat breeders who breed for pets or show are correct in thinking that breeding rats isn't easy... in THEIR goals. To get a good conformation, great color, great coat, great disposition rat that will live a long and healthy life takes a LOT of work to combine the right lines to get exactly what you want. To breed a healthy feeder takes much much less work. They don't understand that a feeder rodent doesn't need to meet conformation rules or coat color particulars. It also doesn't matter much if they COULD grow to only 2 years old or they would make it to 4 years old... when most are killed at less than 6 months! What matters is litter size, health and growth.

I personally breed for ears, coat, color, conformation, and temperament in my rats. I keep pedigree charts for everyone. They aren't some run of the mill feeders. I sell pets. I haven't sold a rat as a feeder yet. The only difference is that I also happen to feed off some of the offspring to my snakes.
And still don't find breeding very difficult.
Idk. Maybe its just me..........


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Personally I view feeding f/t or live as a personal choice. I feed f/t, but I don't harass people for feeding live. Mostly due to the fact that the mouse/rat dies either way.

I feed both f/t and live. With the live I just stun them though and it's over before the rat has a clue what's going on. Then I throw each rat a little funeral.

You animal!!! =P

I feed live as well. Mine don't like f/t either.