IF there was a vegan diet option for BPs...

I've been vegetarian for 10 years. Vegan for 3. And no, I would not feed my snake a vegan diet.

I have a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics, and based on the current technology for meat replacement foods...I don't believe that we are capable of manufacturing a suitable replacement in an ethical manner (how much energy does it take to make a mouse, vs how much energy it takes to create a mouse replacement food and is this replacement food an actual equivalent nutritionally?)

Not to mention that this replacement food would mostly just be packed with supplements. The vitamins and minerals found in a whole animal are not packaged similarly in plants. For example, iron. Heme (animal based - blood) vs non-heme (plant based) iron have pretty drastically different absorption rates in humans, I would presume that there is a similar situation for certain vitamins and minerals for snakes.

Also, for humans (and I presume some level of similarity in snakes) supplements are not recognized in the digestive system as food and are dealt with differently during digestion. Thus, a large proportion of these supplements are simply flushed out of the body as waste. I can't imagine how much would have to be crammed into a replacement food to get the proper balance of nutrients.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Really?

None?

Zero?

Nil?

Zip?

Nada?

LOL.

Carnivores eat meat.

But animals with a brain the size of a raisin shouldn't be able to stump an animal with the brain the size of a cantaloupe.

I'd bet you could get most of them to switch over provided the right scent and proper temps were there.

But hey, maybe not.

snicker snicker snicker

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I'm beginning to understand you like being the fly in the ointment :rofl::rofl:

No way! Although my friend from India who is vegetarian and strict with that kind of thing keeps telling me to find one! LOL, not a chance, Nirja... :P

I was wondering why this thread came back up...

Anyhow, 7 months later, still no fake-meat rat-shaped snake kibbles available on the market.

In fact, if you look in my freezer, there is a big lock'n'lock full of dead rodents right next to my Tofurkey breast :D

Using e-meters sensitive to electrical resistance varations caused by engrams, tomatoes have been measured as actually having a similar pain response when sliced as animals. This response has been described as 'screaming'.

What do you think now, vegetarians?