I'll admit it.

I know most of you aren't bothered by your snakes eating live mice, and I'm typically not the person to really mind feeding live.
But I've never had to feed a live pinkie before, and I'm watching a friend's snake for him, he requested that they be fed live only, and holding the pinkie in my hand, and knowing it was absolutely helpless was just heartbreaking. I mean, at least adults have a chance to dodge, pinkie just lie there and take it because they can't run.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with feeding live pinkies, I just can't do it again.
Never again, I just can't.


Any advice? In case I have to do this again in the future, maybe some helpful things to keep in mind?
I told myself

"He's got to eat, too"
but still felt horrible afterwards.

Honestly as a snake keeper you just have to learn to block it out.
Or don't bother keeping snakes.
I love my rats, they are wonderful animals but my snakes have to eat. That's all there is to it.
I used to feel bad about it when i first kept snakes but I've outgrown those feelings. It'll just take time and you'll just block it out eventually.

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something has to die for another thing to eat. besides it's something you have to get over when you own snakes, imagine having to take a mouse's brain out when it's the only way your snake will eat.

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Originally Posted by mues155

Honestly as a snake keeper you just have to learn to block it out.
Or don't bother keeping snakes.
I love my rats, they are wonderful animals but my snakes have to eat. That's all there is to it.
I used to feel bad about it when i first kept snakes but I've outgrown those feelings. It'll just take time and you'll just block it out eventually.

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When I first started keeping, I'd just throw them in and run out of the room.
But when I found out it can be dangerous leaving them unattended with live, I had to stay there and then I blocked it out.
But like I said, this is just with pinkies, I'm sure if I had to do it more often, I would stop caring, but right now, it slightly bothers me, even though it seems silly to most keepers.

It's not something I'd starve my snakes or get rid of them for.
In fact on the outside, you couldn't tell I was disturbed by it, but in my mind I was like.
"I feel horrible"

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Originally Posted by JaGv

something has to die for another thing to eat. besides it's something you have to get over when you own snakes, imagine having to take a mouse's brain out when it's the only way your snake will eat.

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this is what I did when I had to supervise my snakes.
It really helped, I guess it's just the helplessness that bothers me.

Wait till you breed your own and have to watch one of your first born get eaten. It hurt but "its the circle of life"

It gets easier after time. Just think of it as your snake eating. Our daughter who loves animals, in all forms (rats included) knows her snakes have to eat. She will snuggle and play with the rats, then when its time for feeding plop them in the tub. It's just the circle of life.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Wait till you breed your own and have to watch one of your first born get eaten. It hurt but "its the circle of life"

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This made me start singing the Lion King song.... I just had my first 2 litters drop a week ago and I never thought I would become so attached to the little critters. But I am raising them up a bit and as soon as they hit that 30g point they are facing off with a snake... After all that is why I started breeding rats.

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

It gets easier after time. Just think of it as your snake eating. Our daughter who loves animals, in all forms (rats included) knows her snakes have to eat. She will snuggle and play with the rats, then when its time for feeding plop them in the tub. It's just the circle of life.

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Haha that's so cute, but I know a lot of people who disagree about the circle of life thing because they're captive snakes and captive mice.

But it is the same, wild snakes eat wild mice, captive snakes eat captive mice.

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Originally Posted by Navy

I mean, at least adults have a chance to dodge, pinkie just lie there and take it because they can't run.

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I can dodge around banging my head against walls in an inescapable box while a giant serpent tracks me down or lay on the ground helpless, yet oblivious, until embraced in the grip of death. I choose the latter 9 times out of 10, thank you very much!

I guess I'd rather feed off a pinkie, who is basically a fetus that is born to the world helpless and has basic instincts and feelings( feed, breathe, feel temperature differences, balance etc.)
Than to feed a weaned rat that has begun to learn, eat on it's own, play with others, and join the social ranks of the colony.
To me feeding older rodents makes me feel worse.

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Originally Posted by mues155

I guess I'd rather feed off a pinkie, who is basically a fetus that is born to the world helpless and has basic instincts and feelings( feed, breathe, feel temperature differences, balance etc.)
Than to feed a weaned rat that has begun to learn, eat on it's own, play with others and join the social ranks of the colony.
To me feeding older rodents makes me feel worse.

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I feel much better when you put it that way.

I think of it as the rat/mouse's life carrying on through the snake.
I know I would definatley want to give a life nutrition then be buried in a concrete square.

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Originally Posted by Navy

I feel much better when you put it that way.

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Good! I'm glad.
It's just one of those things, feeding any strictly carnivorous animal isn't always easy, but it certainly is necessary.
You'll get better at accepting it. I didn't think i would but sure enough it doesn't bother me anymore.

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The ones that still get me are the rats you drop into the tub, and it turns to you with it's paws on the tub and you can hear it thinking, " Please don't do this to me!" Those are the ones I sometimes have to walk away from. Others, especially the ones who are aggressive or particularly nasty I don't feel bad for feeding at all.

Gale

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Originally Posted by Navy

I know most of you aren't bothered by your snakes eating live mice, and I'm typically not the person to really mind feeding live.
But I've never had to feed a live pinkie before, and I'm watching a friend's snake for him, he requested that they be fed live only, and holding the pinkie in my hand, and knowing it was absolutely helpless was just heartbreaking. I mean, at least adults have a chance to dodge, pinkie just lie there and take it because they can't run.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with feeding live pinkies, I just can't do it again.
Never again, I just can't.


Any advice? In case I have to do this again in the future, maybe some helpful things to keep in mind?
I told myself

"He's got to eat, too"
but still felt horrible afterwards.

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Lol and here i am sitting here pissed because i am sitting on a
Mouse waiting for our bp to be hungry. I told my husband if the bp
Doesn't eat it i am going to keep it and call it
Ivory the snake charmer. The were sleeping 2 inches away from
one another.

I actually understand completely, pinkies and crawlers just get to me. It does get easier with time and I just think, some day soon my snake will eat bigger ones, course by then I will hopefully have more little ones.... The main thing is we are not killing them for no reason, they are dieing so my littlest snakes will live.

By the way, do not feed pinkies/fuzzies to big snakes... Just don't do it. Adult corn snake and rat crawlers, bad bad bad idea, I was nauseous for hours.

"By the way, do not feed pinkies/fuzzies to big snakes... Just don't do it."

why? What happened? :(

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Originally Posted by Capray

"By the way, do not feed pinkies/fuzzies to big snakes... Just don't do it."

why? What happened? :(

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I'm guessing skipped constriction and went straight to swallowing live.

Yup.... It squeeked for a long time...:tears:

if you think feeding pinkies and weaned rats is sad. imagine people that raise animals then butchering them to eat. i had a goat named forest once i played with him after school everytime i came by he would stick his head out and maa at me. i had to butcher him for food. you would think i felt bad but i didn't i knew since the day i got him that it was going to happen.

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Originally Posted by JaGv

if you think feeding pinkies and weaned rats is sad. imagine people that raise animals then butchering them to eat. i had a goat named forest once i played with him after school everytime i came by he would stick his head out and maa at me. i had to butcher him for food. you would think i felt bad but i didn't i knew since the day i got him that it was going to happen.

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Yeah that I wouldnt be able to do. :(
I dont get attached or name my rats for a reason lol.

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Originally Posted by mues155

Yeah that I wouldnt be able to do. :(
I dont get attached or name my rats for a reason lol.

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yeah i didn't think i had it in me until i had to do and honestly it didnt bother me at all. the way i see it i dont buy rats or mice to play with them. but to keep my snakes fed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JaGv

if you think feeding pinkies and weaned rats is sad. imagine people that raise animals then butchering them to eat. i had a goat named forest once i played with him after school everytime i came by he would stick his head out and maa at me. i had to butcher him for food. you would think i felt bad but i didn't i knew since the day i got him that it was going to happen.

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I don't think I could ever do that
When I was really young, my parents rented a place that was on someone's farm. There was this BIG bull that I would feed hay to from the other side of the fence, my mom hated it because it was kinda dangerous, I was probably 5 at the the time. One day he stopped coming to the fence and my mom told me he started a family and had to go, but looking back on it now, I know he went the slaughter house.

It's sad for me too, and honestly, I've shed tears when I have to feed off the little two-week-old babies who haven't quite started to, or are just open/ing their eyes. It's still very sad but I can deal with it a little better. Some people can block it out, others love it, but for some, their psyche just won't allow it. It sucks.

I mean, come on, just look at that.... ( rat, not mouse though) Yes, this one became snake food....
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/y..._4087623_n.jpg

I never had an issue feeding live to my snakes, its my wife who hated it at first. Then one day a mouse bit her... lets just say she doesnt care anymore.. but she wont feed anymore either because she is afraid of getting bit, lol. She also wants nothing to do with feeding our monitor pinkies. We do it maybe once every month or two, but if you have ever watched an ackie monitor eat a pinky, its a whole different story than a snake... Im just starting to breed ASF's, I like my breeding colony, I try to handle them but they like to bite, yet I know when they dont produce anymore they will be snake food, and I am ok with that.

When I was breeding rodents (thank goodness I don't have to now - great supplier now), I got really attached to my breeders. But when they no longer produced, they had to be fed off - I simply couldn't afford to keep a retirement home for them.

Those were the ones I had to drop in the tub to my garbage disposals and leave the room until the deed was done. I just couldn't watch.