Feeding Live....

i feed mine live and might try F/T again soon, but yesterday is the first time i interacted with the killing/constricting, luckily he used to me and didn't let go and take off....the snake grabbed the mouse and bite and constricted but then the mouse was furiously kicking and scratching, so i reached in and grab the mouses hind legs so he couldn't scratch the snake, and everything went fine form there...i think the mouse might have been a little bug , but it was what the pet store gave me and i took the snake in to them to get proper food size. he got ti down but ti took 3 times as long as normal ...so in reality i guess it wasnt too big..lol...my main concern was after he killed it he was tasting it for AWHILE then tried to take it form the rear so i intervined and got scared he wouldn't take it...but he finally took it after i helped arrange it to where the head was posistioned better...



that pic at the begining of this thread was really disturbing, it made my stomach turn and almost welted up :(

Thanks! i added that to my favorites, and ill do my best to make a gas chamber today...i should be getting some rats.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

This thread does much to illustrate some of the ignorance in the herp world. Show some respect for the prey items. Whacking is NOT humane. Disgusting...

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I have to agree

for me it just isn't even an option to kill an animal myself (unless there is suffering involved)

I'm a vegetarian but I also love snakes and know that they need to eat. I'll pay whatever I have to in order to supply f/t food for them but there is no way in hell I'd ever 'whack' or 'stun' an animal. I'm just not the type of person that could do that.

I think I better keep my fingers away from the keyboard on this topic. ;)

I am still not seeing the humaneness of feeding a live mouse to my snake so I will continue to whack.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

This thread does much to illustrate some of the ignorance in the herp world. Show some respect for the prey items. Whacking is NOT humane. Disgusting...

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Thank you for that Jamie!

It's also sad that a book at got at our local library..which is out-dated to hell and back says "We pratice humane ways of killing our rats and mice...freezing them has always worked for us." I mean it was written in 1996....but still didnt freezing an animal alive seem a little horrible back then?

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Originally Posted by Wild Bill

I think I better keep my fingers away from the keyboard on this topic. ;)

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Oh c'mon now. I feed f/t but it's very interesting to watch these debates unfold.:w00t:










BTW, I was kidding about the rabbit in case you didn't notice the smilies.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jglass38

This thread does much to illustrate some of the ignorance in the herp world. Show some respect for the prey items. Whacking is NOT humane. Disgusting...

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And throwing in a live rodent to be snatched by jaws and constricted while it struggles for up to 2 mins gasping for air is ??

I personally don't have to whack rats and only had to once or twice in the early years, but I still don't get this debate. Is it ignorance in the herp world to feed live? Whacking correctly or throwing in live what's the difference ?

And please don't go off on the whole how you shouldn't feed live debate. That's a dead issue as long as feeding live is done responsibility.

Not trying to start a heated debate or put down anyone's methods. Just don't get the "ignorance of the herp world" comment.

The "ignorance" comes when people with X years of their own experience attempt to make global statements based upon that experience, whether they are right or wrong.

Many "humane treatment" advocates take the position that we, as humans, have the obligation to apply moral treatment to all animals. With that guiding principle, it would basically follow that feeding live, stunned, whacked, etc, are in fact all inhumane treatment of prey items. It would mean that to be completely humane, prey items would have to be humanely euthanized via methods approved by the AVMA.

Alright, so given all of that, each person needs to decide for themselves the degree to which that moral treatment should be applied to prey items. I personally feel that while using blunt force trauma is not appropriate treatment of items, I have no adverse feelings about watching prey items struggle momentarily during constriction. What makes that "OK" for me is the fact that snakes are designed to complete that task and can successfully and safely under the right conditions.

What it comes down to is getting educated and making *informed* decisions upon what is right and wrong to do. Ignorance occurrs when one holds fast to one belief without ever "thinking outside the bun."