How do you feel when feeding mice, rats, etc.?

[chromeitout]

How do I feel feeding... well, usually I'm pretty tired, by the time I get around to feeding I've already cleaned 100 cages!

[musicalKeyes]

I don't feel bad about mice at all. I've had both mice and rats as pets in the past, and mice were the worst. I wish i had a snake to feed them to back then, hahaha. Rats, however, I'd feel horrible about. I had my little Ophelia trained to do simple tricks, and it was so sad when she died of some weird cancerous growth I decided my guys are just going to eat mice, ASFs if i decide to start breeding them (they don't really count) or frozen rats. Frozen, I'm okay with. If I fed live rats, I'd end up with numerous furry little friends.

[hongkongluna]

My snakes have to eat so that's that. BUT, it doesn't feel so good when you can see LIVE prey items obviously panicked, breathing hard, etc.

I recently switched them to F/T mostly because a rat scratched up my 1st bp pretty good. By the way, blow-drying the thawed prey items is GENIUS. Thank you to whoever figured that out. sorry for hijacking....

[NotaMallard]

I feed F/T, but I do have to put the rodents in the tub and gas them to kill them first. I feel terrible doing it if their eyes are open. Pinkies and fuzzies are fine, but when their eyes are open it's so difficult to kill them. I think of my rodents as pets, just like the snakes, although I wish I didn't.

[mrmertz]

I used to feed live when I had my Burm (this was back in the 1980's) as live was all you fed snakes then. There really was no such thing as F/T's or P/K's. It was something I just tried to become calloused to. Not so much the rats but particularly the rabbits. In fact, Bogart refused one 7 pound New Zealand white buck once and it ended up becoming our family pet for two years before he died from cystitus. Was litterbox trained and everything.

Now with everything being F/T's and an occasional P/K when they are out of frozen I look at it as I'm already feeding them something that is dead, was bred for what I am using it for and is not an endangered species or anything and was killed humanely and quickly. Kinda removes the whole 'death thing' off my plate. I will say that I'll take the convenience and safety (for the snake) of F/T's over live food anyday.

[moravaguy]

i voted for i feel bad but i gotta do it, but really my problem is with feeding off cool patterened rats or mice if they was just whites i dont give a @#$% oh and i have a problem feeding off females....i need breeders...lol

[dturner100]

I'm sure a lot of people have learned this, but I taught myself to separate the connection early.

I personally LOVE rodents as much as I love my reptiles, but what's gotta be just is. So while they're alive my rodents are my best friends but when it's time to go I disconnect feeling.

What worries me is the people who find it cool to watch one animal kill another. I understand a fascination with nature but if you get a kick out of the death of one animal caused by another then you should re-evaluate your reason for keeping reptiles in my honest opinion.

[herekitkitty]

i feed frozen cus i am a sissy and i know i couldnt handle feeding live :p id have 10 pet mice and a hungry snake LOL

[abuja]

I only feel awful if the rat makes any noise. The other day, I dropped him in and before I could leave the room, Abuja struck and the poor rodent sounded as if he was screaming! I cried for a few minutes after that.

[kurtynz]

my snake wont eat frozen so what am i supposed to do ive tried piking and everything all that seems way more inhumane than jus droppin in a live.