They save them...

I was in the petstore yesterday looking at corn snakes and my fiance was busy carrying around a kitten they had up for adoption. (we really wanted that kitten, but we have to wait till we get the townhome). A woman and her two kids come into the store and ask almost in a desperate voice, "Do you have any young rats? Like 6-10 weeks old." Well they didn't have ones that young, but a bit older and I wanted to see the rats too since I want rats eventually. So we go to the back room where they keep thier feeders and breeders. The woman and her kids go ga-ga over all these rats and the woman looks over at me and says "I rescue them" And I'm thinking she rescues them from petstores, but this isn't exactly a bad petstore. Then she says "You know, from people who feed them to snakes. I just try and save a few." She has 13 now. So, I leave the room and stand outside the reptile room. As they are coming out, I ask an employee about one of the snakes in the reptile room and I think the woman felt a little wierd.

She had just told a snake owner that she rescues rats from snakes. I couldn't help but laugh when she left.

People like this really bother me. It is nature. Snakes eat rats. Big deal. Nature designed them to eat rodents and that is what they eat.

haha i would have made a complete fool out of her maaan....

"you know..from these people who feed them to snakes"

"OH REALLY! I feed over 300 snakes a week!!" (even tho that's not true...far from it)

or..."Yeah I'm one of those people...i'm buying what you don't buy" :D

People have a hard time understanding that these rats are breed for the purpose of feeding.. LOL

I love seeing the face of the people at the feeder store that walk in and are like I need one rat..then I say I need 15 mice and 6 small rats.. :eek: :eek: I really need to breed rats this is getting expensive..

I was tempted to say something like that. People like that really annoy me. I should have told her to save some crickets and mealworms too. I mean, they feel pain and they get fed to lizards. It wouldn't be fair for her to save rats and not crickets and mealworms.

Seriously, why do you think rodents breed so rapidly and produce so many babies. Its to make up for all the rodents that are eaten by birds, lizards, other mammals and reptiles. Its how nature works. We just reproduce it in captivity.

That's a concept that PETA refuses to educate themselves on.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanledet

That's a concept that PETA refuses to educate themselves on.

---

PETA's bigger bark is that they can't convert the carnivores of the animal kingdom to be vegetarians..I mean its just so cruel that snakes and lions eat other animals I mean can't they just eat a nice salad...LOL :rat:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

People like this really bother me. It is nature. Snakes eat rats. Big deal. Nature designed them to eat rodents and that is what they eat.

---

It bothers me too...

I remember reading an article one time of a woman beating a young bear half to death with a branch in order to keep it from attacking a fawn....

.....some people have no idea of how nature functions...

lmao....save the rodents... feed your snake some sausages....

:confuzd: I guess I don't get what the big fuss is about. Do we get offended or upset if someone else doesn't like chocolate icecream but we love it? I realize it's not a perfect analogy, but my point is, we all have different opinions and different points of view...and if it's not hurting anyone, why should it bother us? She gives a few rats a happy home. (We assume and hope) She feels good for having "rescued" them from the big bad snake people. :rolleyes: Yeah...ok....I'd roll my eyes...I'd be mildly amused....but only because my personal point of view is so radically different from hers. I would NOT be upset with her or even mildly annoyed. I might even think it's kinda cute.....like the little kid who "rescues" the earthworms by dumping over the fisherman's bait bucket.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by daniel1983

I remember reading an article one time of a woman beating a young bear half to death with a branch in order to keep it from attacking a fawn....
....

---

This popped up while I was still typing. I think this sort of thing is entirely different from a lady buying rats so they don't get eaten by snakes. The snakes don't get hurt in this scenario...they just eat a different rat.

LOL I love these type of threads...

I ran in to a lady at the feeder store last week. She was like "oh thats sweet your going to have a whole little mouse village." I was like "no its more like my snakes will have dinner in bed"..she was very bluntly like "oh....snakes"...I love it.... :D

I'm with Judy on this - I don't get the big deal about it either. So what that she saves rats. Good for her - if it makes her feel better and that she makes a difference!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JLC

This popped up while I was still typing. I think this sort of thing is entirely different from a lady buying rats so they don't get eaten by snakes. The snakes don't get hurt in this scenario...they just eat a different rat.

---

While I agree that they can just 'eat another rat'....it is people with that sort of "save the animals" opinion that lead to legislation similar to that in California, where it is not allowed to sell rodents that are not weaned from their mothers.
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bil...introduced.pdf

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

I'm with Judy on this - I don't get the big deal about it either. So what that she saves rats. Good for her - if it makes her feel better and that she makes a difference!

---

True... I wish more people were as passionate about the well being of animals. Our hobby would be better excepted if this was true. To roughly quote Jeff Foxworthy; "Its not that we're stupid its just that when something happens we can't keep the most ignorant among us off the T.V or out of the paper." How many times have we seen "officer threatened with snake" or "snake attacks 2 year old". If we were to see "50 educated on reptiles and many minds were changed at local library this weekend" or "Reptile keepers among the most caring of any pet owners show recent poll" insteed, peoples perception of us and our hobby would turn a 180.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

.... To roughly quote Jeff Foxworthy; "Its not that we're stupid its just that when something happens we can't keep the most ignorant among us off the T.V or out of the paper." How many times have we seen "officer threatened with snake" or "snake attacks 2 year old". If we were to see "50 educated on reptiles and many minds were changed at local library this weekend" or "Reptile keepers among the most caring of any pet owners show recent poll" insteed, peoples perception of us and our hobby would turn a 180.

---

True....but this is the unfortunate case with every facet of our lives these days. All we hear about in the news and other media is the sensational, negative drama about any topic...never the overwhelming good that is the other side of the story.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JLC

True....but this is the unfortunate case with every facet of our lives these days. All we hear about in the news and other media is the sensational, negative drama about any topic...never the overwhelming good that is the other side of the story.

---

People in this day and age thrive on carnage. "Rubber-necking" is our favorite highway past time. The action movies are the block busters. And yet publicly we despise violence but pay to see it in the box office or slow down to catch a peek of the real thing on the road. We have fed the beast (media) and taught it over the years what pleases us and so it delivers.

Look I'm fine with the woman buying some rats as pets. Thats all well and good, and I'm sure I'll have pet rats in the future. Its the attitude that they are 'saving' them from getting eaten by snakes that bothers me. People need to understand that carnivours must eat, end of story. I'm all for rescuing animals, but rescuing feeder rats? I'd like to see what goes into her dog food and how much those animals suffer to provide cats and dogs with food.

I didn't mean for this to become a debate. It was merely to be a discussion. I wasn't making a big deal about it but yes it annoys me and I thought it was interesting enough to share.

I'll add to the funny but mean comments although I probably would have said nothing in the same situation.

I think you should have replied to her saying that you rescue starving snakes...you know from people that deprive them of food.

Hahaha, I'll remember that the next time I see someone 'rescuing' feeder animals.

I'm all for rescuing animals as I said, but I think she could have said instead of "I rescue them from people who feed them to snakes.", since she was in a store that sells reptiles, "I give them good homes."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by daniel1983

While I agree that they can just 'eat another rat'....it is people with that sort of "save the animals" opinion that lead to legislation similar to that in California, where it is not allowed to sell rodents that are not weaned from their mothers.
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bil...introduced.pdf

---

Excellent point....ones ideas/beliefs are often seen only as a personal thing.....however, they also usually drive real world actions and behavior.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TekWarren

I think you should have replied to her saying that you rescue starving snakes...you know from people that deprive them of food.

---

Very Witty!

from time to time i adopt out some of the rats i breed. i usually don't mention that i breed them for my snakes, but it almost always comes up anyhow (if they ask, i tell them). the people i have dealt with haven't really said anything negative about it but maybe that's because at that point they are already at my house picking out their new pets. :)

one woman i adopted some rats to recently said she was telling her husband that i breed them for my snakes and her 3 year old daughter overheard and became distressed that her new rats were food. mom explained that no, HER rats were not food and that i only fed the ugly, mean rats to the snakes. :O the little girl insisted that mom talk to me and make me promise not to feed any more rats to my snakes. i thought that was cute, and at 3 years old with two new pet ratties in hand i can't really blame the little girl. :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

I'm with Judy on this - I don't get the big deal about it either. So what that she saves rats. Good for her - if it makes her feel better and that she makes a difference!

---

I feel the same way also. But oh my......FUNNY! Everyone has their "calling" in life and looks like this ladies is the very impossible task of trying to save the rat world from extinction by being fed to snakes:P

When I have children, I will still have my snakes and I will educate my children on how prey and predator relationships work and get them involved if they want.

I don't want to have kids that feel bad everytime I go to feed a snake.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Look I'm fine with the woman buying some rats as pets. Thats all well and good, and I'm sure I'll have pet rats in the future. Its the attitude that they are 'saving' them from getting eaten by snakes that bothers me. People need to understand that carnivours must eat, end of story. I'm all for rescuing animals, but rescuing feeder rats? I'd like to see what goes into her dog food and how much those animals suffer to provide cats and dogs with food.

---

Please know that I mean no disrespect with this reply. But, really - why does it matter what her attitude is? If it makes her and her son feel like they've made a tiny difference in the life of a few rats, then why let it bother you so much? The value of the life of the rat as a feeder or a pet is soley on the person who purchased it.

I breed my own rats to be feeders. Every now and then, there's a keeper who goes on to become a future breeder and beloved pet. Just because their original purpose was to be a feeder doesn't mean that their value to me as a pet is diminished.

Quite frankly, the ones that she's adopted, she has "saved" from becoming feeders. Whatever their motive, it makes them feel better, and good for the rat - it's going to be pampered for the rest of its life.

Confronting people like this isn't really going to serve any good, and it's not going to change their minds (I know you didn't confront her).

Old story:

An old man was walking down the sea shore when he came alone a boy pick up starfish and trowing them back into the ocean. As the shore was littered with thousand of them the old man stopped the boy and ask why he was doing this. The boy replied I am saving starfish from dying. With concern for the boys task he pointed down the beach and said son look at all of them you want matter if you were here all day doing the you can't make a difference their going to die anyway. With this the boy picked up another starfish and heaved it back in to the water. Then looked at the man and said "I made a difference for that one" .

No, I didn't confront her, and I kept my mouth shut. First off, I don't mean to be rude, but I did not post this to have people argue with me. I just posted saying it was kinda funny that I was a snake owner and here she was telling ME that she was saving feeder rats from snakes.

Yes it annoys me, but did I say anything to her, no. Now I regret posting this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

No, I didn't confront her, and I kept my mouth shut. First off, I don't mean to be rude, but I did not post this to have people argue with me. I just posted saying it was kinda funny that I was a snake owner and here she was telling ME that she was saving feeder rats from snakes.

Yes it annoys me, but did I say anything to her, no. Now I regret posting this.

---

I don't think that people are arguing, it's simply pointing out different points of view.

Yes, originally you did post to tell the story, but I was replying to your strong feelings and opinions here:

Quote:

---

People need to understand that carnivours must eat, end of story. I'm all for rescuing animals, but rescuing feeder rats? I'd like to see what goes into her dog food and how much those animals suffer to provide cats and dogs with food.

---

You went from telling a funny story, to a discussion on how you couldn't understand why someone would save feeder rats.

I think it's a good discussion, personally! :)

I do have strong feelings about how people don't understand how nature works, but that wasn't the point of the thread. Yes, I did say it bothered me, and I guess it was because of the way she said it.

If I were in a petstore rescuing some kind of feeder animal, I would take into consideration that yes, there are people in this store that feed these animals to other animals and I would not go around saying that I was saving them from getting fed off. I would just tell the employee I wanted to buy a few and take them home, not announcing why. Just my way of doing things I guess. Now, if the animals were suffering in any way, then yes, I'd make a fuss, but this particular store was taking care of thier feeder animals just fine IMO.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I would not go around saying that I was saving them from getting fed off. I would just tell the employee I wanted to buy a few and take them home, not announcing why.

---

Some people feel the need to broadcaster their intentions.

regret? why regret? we are all just having a nice conversation here :P

years ago i had pet mice. i bought three wonderful little girls from the petstore... turned out one of those adorable girls was a boy but i didn't know (as he kept them sucked in) till we found two adorable litters of mice in the tank.

so, of course, by the time we found the piles of pups the male had already bred the females again LOL

here we were with all these mice... i had a friend who's son had a snake so we gave him some... but at one mouse a week, we weren't getting rid of many fast that's for sure... so i found an owl rescue centre and asked if i could donate to them.

long story short... i started breeding for the owl rescue centre (as they need a large prey bird to catch 3 live mice before they can be released) - so the kids and i would count the mice on delivery day... in threes... and say "wow, we assisted 16 birds to live free today!"

the kids and i loved it!

i still had that little part in me that didn't want to see "my" mice fed to snakes or birds-of-prey - but i was okay with the offspring being fed. i was able to sep. them in my mind... pet vs food.

do the same today with the snakes. one of our breeders is nippy. she has huge litters but she's a problem when you need to get into the cage. my daughter didn't want her anymore so she told me to replace her with a nicer rattie. i said no problem... drake is hungry. she turned around so fast and looked me in the eyes... "you mean she'll be eaten by drake (hog island boa)?" - "yup, either that or taken to the petstore where she'll be sold to be eaten by another snake honey" - "nope, no way mom... she's a pet and she'll stay that way... i'll let her bite me!!!"

and that was that. she's still breeding, still nippin' at fingers and my daughter smiles at her every time she does it and knows in her heart that, in her own small way, she made a difference for this one little mama rattie.

:hug:

I think the issue is that by someone 'saving' a feeder animal is that they may be unintentionally showing their disapproval of the keeping of snakes. To me it almost seems like the act of saving a feeder is like saying "You should not be able to feed your snake rats"....or "You are a horrible person for feeding rodents to your snake".

The "Save a rat....starve a snake" attitude is a bit hypocritical to me. Why is one life more important than the other? Why is she not saving crickets, mealworms and feeder goldfish? What makes the rats more important?

I would have loved to be in the situation to talk to this woman. Does she understand that all animals must eat? What was her motives for 'saving'? Can she offer alternatives to feed snakes? I could go on and on with questions I would have liked to asked her.

You have to understand the reason that people base their opinions on and understand why they are doing something. There is a big difference between someone who is ignorantly saving feeders from death for their own selfish reasons (i.e. to make themselves feel significant in some way) or someone that actually has an reasonable educated reason for 'saving' a feeder(i.e. the pet store treats the rodents horribly).

Again it is hard to judge without hearing the persons' reasoning.......

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by daniel1983

I think the issue is that by someone 'saving' a feeder animal is that they may be unintentionally showing their disapproval of the keeping of snakes. To me it almost seems like the act of saving a feeder is like saying "You should not be able to feed your snake rats"....or "You are a horrible person for feeding rodents to your snake".

---

I guess my point is, I know that there are people who will dissapprove of me keeping snakes and feeding rats and mice to them. I really don't lose much sleep over it, nor let it concern me. I'll do my thing, they'll do theirs. I'll be happy I'm providing for my snakes, they'll be happy that they've "saved" an animal destined to be a feeder. What's so wrong with that?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

I guess my point is, I know that there are people who will dissapprove of me keeping snakes and feeding rats and mice to them. I really don't lose much sleep over it, nor let it concern me. I'll do my thing, they'll do theirs. I'll be happy I'm providing for my snakes, they'll be happy that they've "saved" an animal destined to be a feeder. What's so wrong with that?

---

What is wrong with it is that these same people will most likely support legislation to ban snakes as pets. They will vote for politicans that draft these measures or they will activetly help draft them.

Beliefs that arent based in reality dont hurt people directly, but the people who harbor them make decisions that affect us all based of those same wacky beleifs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mendel's Balls

What is wrong with it is that these same people will most likely support legislation to ban snakes as pets. They will vote for politicans that draft these measures or they will activetly help draft them.

Beliefs that arent based in reality dont hurt people directly, but the people who harbor them make decisions that affect us all based of those same wacky beleifs.

---

I can concede your point.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mendel's Balls

What is wrong with it is that these same people will most likely support legislation to ban snakes as pets. They will vote for politicans that draft these measures or they will activetly help draft them.

Beliefs that arent based in reality dont hurt people directly, but the people who harbor them make decisions that affect us all based of those same wacky beleifs.

---

...and they'll break for lunch and eat a cow at Mickey Dee's, or a chicken at Kay Eff Cee, or even a fish at Long John's....

I kind of agree with EVERYONE here. If the lady feels she's making a difference by saving a few rats, that's cool. But if she stops for a burger on the way home, I hope a little spark lights up in her mind showing her the hypocracy of her actions!

addendum - I'm NOT saying eating beef, chicken, or fish is wrong!!! I ate burger for lunch yesterday, probably pork today, shrimp a couple days ago. And I fed both rats and mice to snakes on Sunday! ;)

Steve

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mendel's Balls

What is wrong with it is that these same people will most likely support legislation to ban snakes as pets. They will vote for politicans that draft these measures or they will activetly help draft them.

Beliefs that arent based in reality dont hurt people directly, but the people who harbor them make decisions that affect us all based of those same wacky beleifs.

---

So what does this mean? Does this mean we should be the "thought/motive police" to make sure everyone else's personal agendas line up with ours so that no one considers or supports a law that disagrees with our personal beliefs?

I mean...we already see this taking place in SO MANY aspects of our society....such as the 2nd grade choir that can't sing traditional Christmas carols because ONE kid in the class has parents that don't believe in God and decide they're offended.

WHO decides who is right in that situation and therefore determines which laws should be supported and which should be struck down?

The problem isn't (as I see it) with a single lady who dares to express aloud her choice to "save" rats from being eaten by someone else's pet snake.....the problem is with the people who feel so strongly about an issue and yet sit back and take no active steps to keep the freedoms they believe they should have. Instead, they fret and worry about what the "other side" might be inadvertantly accomplishing in the vacuum left by their own inaction.

And, let me just say, I'm NOT speaking to anyone in particular here....I know that most (if not all) of the folks here are at least moderately politically aware of our herp-keeping freedoms and willing to take action to protect them. BUT...some of us sound otherwise in these types of threads.

And one more thing that just popped into my head as I made the choice to participate in this discussion... ;) ....There are plenty of people in the world who utterly despise rats. They think every single rat on the planet is nothing but diseased vermin poised to wipe us all out with the plague they must be carrying. I wonder how this lady would feel if she ran into one of those on her way out of the store with her little rescued pet. :P There's a different side to every story. ;)

I think this important because of how serious and widespread exotic restrictions are becoming. I am assuming this woman is not just a rodent fan, but she may also anthropomorphisize snakes... perhaps thinking they are mean or cruel creatures for killing a smaller animal for food. People who do think like this really need to be educated, and should also accept the way certain animals are made. I applaud her for standing up for what she believes in and trying to make a difference for those rodents, but I will not support her actions if she is at the same time being completely ignorant about the animals that must consume those rodents to survive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JLC

So what does this mean? Does this mean we should be the "thought/motive police" to make sure everyone else's personal agendas line up with ours so that no one considers or supports a law that disagrees with our personal beliefs?

---

Depends what you mean by "thought" police. If you mean imprisonment for holding certain beliefs than I'm not for that at all. That's fascism, not freedom.

You are free to hold whatever beliefs, but if you make those wacky beleifs public and you take political actions that direct public policy then other people should freely criticize and question such beliefs. Furthermore, you shouldnt be able to hide behind your non-reality based claims just because they are of your "opinion", "culture", "religion" etc. For example, uniformed opinions should be challenged.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mendel's Balls

Depends what you mean by "thought" police. If you mean imprisonment for holding certain beliefs than I'm not for that at all. That's fascism, not freedom.

You are free to hold whatever beliefs, but if you make those wacky beleifs public and you take political actions that direct public policy then other people should freely criticize and question such beliefs. Furthermore, you shouldnt be able to hide behind your non-reality based claims just because they are of your "opinion", "culture", "religion" etc. For example, uniformed opinions should be challenged.

---

:) I'm going to go on the assumption that you're using a universal "You" and not directly calling anything I've said so far a "non-reality based claim."

I'm all for directly challenging people on expressed beliefs or opinions or even supposedly stated "facts"...not challenging to say, "That's stupid and you're wrong"....but to say, "WHY do you believe/think/say that and can you answer these questions I may have...."

But what good does it to do get actively upset over an opinion one person expressed in passing one day? Can we confront HER and ask her why she thinks the rats need rescuing? No...not really. So the whole exercise here just seems to be excessive nail-biting over something that we have no control over and is truly an extremely minor event in the greater scheme of things.

(And to the original author of this thread, I don't believe that was your intent when you posted your story....the discussion just sort of meandered that way, as they tend to do. ;) )

Of course...this is stricly my opinion and personal point of view on the matter...subject to disagreement from anyone who reads it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rapture

I think this important because of how serious and widespread exotic restrictions are becoming. I am assuming this woman is not just a rodent fan, but she may also anthropomorphisize snakes... perhaps thinking they are mean or cruel creatures for killing a smaller animal for food. People who do think like this really need to be educated, and should also accept the way certain animals are made. I applaud her for standing up for what she believes in and trying to make a difference for those rodents, but I will not support her actions if she is at the same time being completely ignorant about the animals that must consume those rodents to survive.

---

That is pretty much my outtake on it all. Good post.

I really do see it as anthromorphisizing in most cases...certain animals being depicted as 'villians' because of their natural behaviors is sickening. It also seems that the belief that people should not eat animals is being pushed upon the animals themselves. You see this with dogs and cats all the time. If a person is a vegaterian, why would they own an animal that eats other animals?

Like I said before, I would have really liked to talk to this woman to hear here reasoning. She was 'saving' rats that were well taken care from the POSSIBILITY of being used as a feeder. With all the abused pet rodents out there, why not save any of them instead? What other alternatives do we have to feed our snakes besides feeding rodents?

Besides "saving" an animal from a pet store is pointless anyways. The pet store makes money from your 'saving'......so what is to stop them from continuing with what they are doing? If I was running the shop, I would be like "Lets turn up production on the rats, that lady is back to save some more. Make sure you put the little cute ones up front so she might buy two or three"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JLC

I mean...we already see this taking place in SO MANY aspects of our society....such as the 2nd grade choir that can't sing traditional Christmas carols because ONE kid in the class has parents that don't believe in God and decide they're offended.

---

Just to correct a misconception here....
Protecting seperation of church and state has nothing to do with being offended. It protects people of ALL beliefs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SarahMB

Just to correct a misconception here....
Protecting seperation of church and state has nothing to do with being offended. It protects people of ALL beliefs.

---

Maybe. That's a discussion for an entirely different thread...preferably on an entirely different site. ;)

EDIT: BTW...your current avatar just SLAYS me! :D I love it!!

The way I feel about this issue is... I feel like a belief should have a well-thought out and educated premise behind it. If the lady rescues rats, that is her perrogative. It doesn't look like she explicitly said that she thinks snakes are nasty or evil. If she had, I would feel the same way you did, that she's trying to "starve" snakes because she doesn't know anything about them. A friend of mine has seen my snakes, and still wants nothing to do with them, but at least he was willing to experience it for a moment and make up his mind. This lady may or may not have been a huge rat lover, and hated the idea of the species being fed to another. I guess the real test would be -- if someone went to the pet store and bought snakes for their pet (I know this is a pretty unrealistic example, what with rats reproducing as they do, but I think the basis still rings true), you would probably be offended and angry and hurt that someone would want to feed something that you equate to a beloved pet, into food. I know I would anyway. I respect nature but emotions toward animals is part of what makes us human. While I have to say I'd love to encounter an anti-snake person and change their mind, people's different opinons are what makes the world interesting. I just think we should take the time to research and reflect on why we feel the way we do.

One of the facts of "modern" life in countries like the US, Canada, etc. is that most people are completely divorced from any concept of predator and prey. Most of them don't like to think about where that piece of chicken came from - heck I bet there are kids growing up today that really have no concept that their dinner roast beef was ever anything other than meat wrapped in plastic in a grocery store. When you have a society that no longer understands their own eating habits, how can you really expect them to understand a snake's?

I see both sides of the argument in a way.
The lady might have wanted more pet rats and decided to "Save" them from the feeder bin rather than get them from a pet store.
She could believe that snakes are evil, and the people that feed rats to them are evil and love to torture small animals.
I think the discussion here is good to help us all think about what we might do in a similar situation. She should be educated that lots of pets eat animal product. Snakes simply are more direct and honest in their feeding habits. A dog eats innocent cows and lambs and chickens... just in a round-a-about way as the animals are processed into kibble first(in most cases). How many of the general public are against the cat catching a "poor little bird" but have no issue with eating chicken?
I don't advocate vegetarianism, I love meat. I feed my snakes, and breed some of my own rodents for feeders. I take care of all my pets, and that includes my colony of rat breeders. I try not to ever sound like a "evil uncaring feeder of vicious snakes". I try not to tease those who don't understand.
Some will never learn about the relationship of predetor/prey. Some are merely ignorant of it right now. We can't always have a discussion with the person we meet who is against us buying a live rodent to feed our pet snakes. I'd hope that when we DO have that opportunity, we try to educate rather than inflame.
I totally agree too, that people are entirely too removed from their food when it comes to meat. Kids today do NOT equate meat with a live animal. They don't think of a "cool" rabbitskin fur to the cute furry bunny that they pet at the local zoo. They are removed, and they shouldn't be.
I respect others(referring to the rat rescueing lady) opinions, but all too often the opinion in this case is formed from ignorance. I too let people pick out pets from my breeders. I will not promise to not feed any more rats to the snakes. I do understand that some kids are too young to be exposed without a long discussion from the parents. I like rats. But I'll bet too that if a mouse was in that lady's house, she'd probaly grab a trap or poison to kill it. She should see that is true hypocrisy.
Wolfy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JLC

EDIT: BTW...your current avatar just SLAYS me! :D I love it!!

---

Thanks! Got it in an email the other day and it just cracked me up :lmao:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SarahMB

Thanks! Got it in an email the other day and it just cracked me up :lmao:

---

OK, I have to ask - does Yahoo now own the Mavericks, or did the owner of the Mavericks start Yahoo or something? I've been trying to figure out your signature all week! LOL

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

OK, I have to ask - does Yahoo now own the Mavericks, or did the owner of the Mavericks start Yahoo or something? I've been trying to figure out your signature all week! LOL

---

Hahaha, it's actually just something someone said, and I thought it was pretty funny. Cuban still owns the Mavs. He did start Broadcast.com, which he sold to Yahoo for billions of dollars in stock.

With all this, my question would be, oh? and how MANY < DO > you have???? It's all well and good to rescue, but if they're cramped, smelly, can't play or are ignored /overcrowded, she's not rescuing, she's hoarding and/or abusing.

I'm at the point where we have enough room for two more cages of rats and four more snakes and that's the limit. (Unless I get another rack ;) ).


I hope she realizes it's not a rescue if they're being neglected. :(