Re: small mouse died in cage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sw204me
I greatly enjoy watching Max hunt his prey and make the kill, if i didnt, I wouldnt own a snake. I dont see how you can enjoy an animal if you enjoy the simple fact of how it eats, its part of nature and has to be done. Don't see why those of us that enjoy watching them kill their food makes us sick and disgusted...
I get enjoyment out of seeing my snakes grow and thrive. You obviously have a different motivation.
Re: small mouse died in cage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jglass38
I get enjoyment out of seeing my snakes grow and thrive. You obviously have a different motivation.
Ditto. If I enjoyed seeing an animal eat, I would get a pig.
Re: small mouse died in cage.
Wow, this is kind of an old thread.... But to answer the ORIGINAL question. Yes, I have seen a rodent suddenly die for no apparent reason. My youngest son used to keep dwarf hamsters which would breed like crazy. Every so often I would bring in his excess to the pet store for him and sell them for a couple of bucks each. One time when I was at the store, I was picking out young hamsters from my carrying case and transfering them to the stores cage when the one that I was holding suddenly went into convulsions and rolled over and died. It was weird because I was holding it at the time and I could feel it's whole body vibrating while it was convulsing. (no I wasn't squeezing it, I was holding it cupped in my open hands) This took over a minute to happen. I couldn't see anything physically wrong with it and there didn't appear to be anything I could do. The store owner was there and saw the whole thing happening too and we both figured that it probably died because it's heart gave out from being scared. Of course I didn't take it in for a necropsy, so I can't say for sure what actually happened but it was one of the weirder experiences I've had with animals.
Mark
Re: small mouse died in cage.
maybe i am an oddball in this discussion, but i HATE rodents. they creep me out. so while i am happy that my snakes eat, i get no thrill in feeding whatsoever. i dont like putting them in, i dont like watching them, and i dont like hearing, smelling or anything to them. i dont even feel some sort of sick satisfaction that something i find so distasteful is dying, i just do what i have to do and get onto the more enjoyable parts of owning snakes.
but
i did have to feed a pinky rat monday night, and i must admit that of all the nasty dirty smelly big toothed freaky rodents i have to deal with as part of this hobby, it was probably the cutest, and so far the ONLY one i have ever felt any sort of compassion for. not the first pinky rat i have fed either, just a (real) rare kinda cute one.
my :2cent:
Re: small mouse died in cage.
I enjoy feeding day, and I have a couple of friends that like to be a part of it. One brings her daughter over to watch sometimes... I feed f/t though, and the only pleasure is in watching like you all have said, the strike and then the awesome ability of the snake to eat... and in my case I get to enjoy it because I'm not watching something die. I love rats as pets and find them to be much better than hamsters and gerbils (JMO) all around! SuperBalls was a dear friend of mine till he died after about 2 years... I didn't have my snakes yet when I had him... Nag refused the other day and it upset me because the pup was sooo cute... I wanted to bury it, but was able to stop myself... If Nag ever switches off f/t, he'll be placed elsewhere, because I'm not able to kill for him, and I know he needs to eat... thankfully he's always had f/t and hopefully he'll never desire anything different. This is just my opinion.
