Killing rats

[Adam_Wysocki]

Did you read my whole post???? My point isssssssssss when rats are left alone, unsupervised,and overnight, is when the snake becomes the prey. So that is why it matters. That was my point. Get it?

No, I don't get it at all ... sounds like you have an agenda that has nothing to do with some of the posts that you are responding to.

-adam

[piranhaking]

As far as rodents going on a pooping spree when put in the snake enclosure I haven't noticed it all that much, but i haven't fed all that many that weren't pinkies. I have however cleaned quite a few cages and I have noticed when I have them in new tub while cleaning the old one they usually do a lot. A lot as in probably 5 or 6 per rodent in probably a minute and a half to two minutes in many cases.

[frankykeno]

Seems to be a lot of misconceptions, urban type myths and plain old anthropomorphizing going on in this thread. As a breeder of rats and a live feeder of both rats and mice to ball pythons and BCI here's my thoughts for what they are worth.

Feeding live prey isn't inhumane or "mean to the poor rats" or dangerous to your snake. It's simply allowing two living creatures that have a natural prey/predator dynamic to do as they are supposed to. Rats are meant as prey, snakes are meant to eat them live. This is not a statement that you should feed live, simply that there is nothing inherently wrong in it. I love my snakes and my rats, I would not do anything that caused either of them harm or unnecessary suffering however I do not attribute human feelings to them either.

When you chose to feed a snake you have to decide what is right for you, what is right for that particular snake and then fully educate yourself on the proper methods of that feeding style. There is no excuse in this day and age of the internet and great forums where you have access to people like Adam, Kara, etc. with years of hands on experience, to be uneducated about anything to do with proper snake keeping. If your choice is live, frozen/thawed or pre-killed you owe your snake to be an educated feeder. There is just as much wrong in improperly thawing frozen/thawed prey, inhumanely euthanizing pre-killed prey or unsafely feeding live prey.

Most of the time folks it's not about what method people feed, it's that they didn't bother to do their homework first, believe every online myth ever written without substantiating information, don't know their snake and it's responses to prey, don't understand the predator/prey interaction and quite honestly are too lazy to bother to learn until it's too late. Their snake ends up hurt or sick because they didn't fully commit themselves to it's care in a captive environment.

None of the above is meant to offend (though I'm quite sure some of you will take offense) but it's meant to be honest in how I feel. This is not about what you feed or how you feed it, how you care for and euthanize a prey animal....this is about being open to learning so you do it the best possible way you can. Don't we owe that to the snakes and rodents?

[piranhaking]

I agree that live feeding is in no way inhumane. It is the NATURAL way for it to happen. I dont agree with simply bashing them though. If they are going to be prekilled I think humane methods should be used (gassing or cervical dislocation).