Underfeeding to maintain size

The stupid things pet stores call advice will never cease to amaze me.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

-.-; last night I was talking to someone on the net about snakes. Once he heard that I kept them he was very interested in talking to me about them. He told me he wanted an articulated python. I HAD to correct him. ugh. Then we went through the conversation about how they can get 20+ feet long... then.... IT came up "But cant you just keep them in a small cage and they'll stay small?" Holy Moley Batman. I kind of lost my temper a bit. I explained to him that keeping reptiles , fish and amphibs in small enclosures only harms them. If you want an animal that stays a certain size you RESEARCH and then get that animal and care for it properly. UGH UGH UGH *HEAD DESK*....I have had a bad 24 hours :/

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This "belief" drives me CRAZY. My first BP's previous owners believed this and still insist this is true, though I've tried to explain to them the only reason "Sam" the class pet stayed small when they had it was because it refused to eat due to not having any heat sources and humidity 20%. They were shocked to see how big it has gotten under my care. They still think cage size is directly linked to growth. :rolleyes:

You know, you might have hit on something there. If someone is ignorant enough to believe tank size determines animal size, they're likely not taking good care of it and are confusing the cause of the low growth rate.

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I just got an 11 year old female ball that is 900 grams.

The guy fed her 1 mouse a month...

Needless to say, that changed when I got her.

If someone said that they kept any animal in a small cage to keep it small ... I'd ask them why their parents didn't keep them in their newborn clothes to keep them small.

Right or make them stay in a crib, stroller and highchair their whole lives too.

:mad: Wow! That is horrible!

I actually wanted to work for a pet store but if they told me to starve the animals, I would go off.:rage: or "agree" and feed them when no one was paying attention. :colbert: