Is it ok if my bp eats a live mouse, live?

[Adam_Wysocki]

Inhumane or not, it get's the job done.

dahmer said the exact same thing about his neighbors cat.

-adam

[ballaholyk84]

How do the snakes eat in the wild? I am sure they eat their pray live. So whats the big deal? Too many paranoid people is what the problem is. Think about how they live in the wild, they will slither around and eat a live mouse or rat or whatever it feels like. I dont understand how people can sit here and say "Its inhumane to do this or that", Its nature and thats just how things are.

I mean I hunt for Deer and Bear with both a Rifle and a Bow. Is one way more humane than the other? Lets see, get hit with an arrow that is literally drilling its way through your inners or get hit with a bullit that will still destroy your insides? Not every time you hit the animal will it just drop dead.

Some people need to grow up and accept the fact that thats how things live and its all natural.

I say feed the thing live if it eats it and feed it FT if it choses that rout. Personally my Snake wont touch FT.

Just my $.02

[rabernet]

I started hitting a mouse with a book to "stunn" it so it wouldn't bite my snake. Too bad for the mouse is all I can say.

I really hope you don't mean that literally. Why? First of all, you have rat pinks and fuzzies - how dangerous do you really think they are?

My ball pythons from babies to adults NEVER need my interference to dispatch live prey efficiently and effectively WITHOUT injury.

[jwarriner]

dahmer said the exact same thing about his neighbors cat.

That's a bit extreme, no?

[BallPythonsRule]

I really hope you don't mean that literally. Why? First of all, you have rat pinks and fuzzies - how dangerous do you really think they are?

My ball pythons from babies to adults NEVER need my interference to dispatch live prey efficiently and effectively WITHOUT injury.

lol not the fuzzies and pinks.
Regular mice to my other bp, it got bit so.... I don't want it to happen again... ever.

[rabernet]

lol not the fuzzies and pinks.
Regular mice to my other bp, it got bit so.... I don't want it to happen again... ever.

Beating it with a book? How badly was your snake injured by this bite?

[BallPythonsRule]

dahmer said the exact same thing about his neighbors cat.

-adam

That's kinda sick...
Don't make me regret all that good rep I gave ya'.. jk

[BallPythonsRule]

Beating it with a book? How badly was your snake injured by this bite?

It got bit by the eye on the mouth... I made a thread about it: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=53916

I didn't continue with the thread but when I looked inside it's mouth there was a worse scratch... I contacted a vet through phone, he said to just keep an eye on it.. He's fine though now...
I decide it was time to man-up (or 'woman'-up) so I did it... I still hate it though. The bite wasn't THAT bad but I realized it could be worse.

[Adam_Wysocki]

That's a bit extreme, no?

well, it was a joke ... but, since you bring it up, are there "levels" of inhumanity? Is it ok to whack a rodent on the head with a ball peen hammer to "stun it" before you feed it to your snake, but not ok to kick a cat in the head when it gets in your way? Who gets to decide what "level" is acceptable and what "level" isn't?

I sure as heck don't know the answers, but I do know that I would never kick a cat or "whack" a rodent ... I just couldn't bring myself to do those things. It kills me to feed my snakes when I think about the rodents ... but it has to be done. Everyone has their own views of what is and isn't "humane" I guess ... that's why I posted the link above ... one or more posters here feel that "whacking" rodents is acceptable ... a body of skilled, experienced, and educated veterinarians do not ... who's right? Like I said, I don't know the answers.

-adam

[WingedWolfPsion]

I'm sure smacking a mouse over the head is considered inhumane, but without a doubt, so is feeding it to a snake live. lol (I guarantee, while some may see it as nature taking its course, the organization cited would not see it that way. The moment you deliberately put the mouse in that situation, you're responsible for the way it dies).

In reality, I think prekilling a mouse by a quick blow to the head is at least as humane CO2. When you have not even a reflex twitch or single breath from them afterward, you know the death was as quick as physically possible. Most of the reasoning I've seen behind its being considered inhumane has to do with people screwing it up, and not with its ability to painlessly kill the animal. I haven't seen any sign that it's less effective or quick than cervical dislocation, which is an approved method.

It matters to me that the animal not suffer unduly if there is any choice. But, the snakes eat first, the niceties come second to that.

At present, mice and rats are exempt from most humane laws. Laboratories have guidelines they must follow, but no one else does. That's why we have glue traps being sold to kill mice. Those things are really gruesome--according the package directions, when a mouse becomes stuck to the trap, you simply throw it in the garbage (where it dies of dehydration).
If that ever changes, it's going to make keeping snakes much more difficult, because I guarantee live-feeding of rodents to snakes will become illegal, as it already is in some places.

As for the philosophy behind killing something yourself--that's more complex, and I certainly don't want to tread on toes over a personal belief issue. In my opinion, if you are responsible for the ending of a life, you should not flinch from looking the creature in the eye and doing it yourself. If you are keeping a carnivorous animal, then you're responsible for taking lives to feed it, whether you do it, or someone else does. I don't believe that passing the responsibility off to another person shows respect for the animal...quite the contrary. If you cannot take a life yourself, then you shouldn't be responsible for it being taken either. I also don't believe that allowing your pet to make the kill itself means you aren't responsible for the death.

Respect is not always received when it is given--it's not about whether the animal appreciates the gesture. Perhaps its soul will. My way of respecting the life of an animal is to have the courage to end that life myself, if it is going to be dying for my benefit. I don't believe in taking lives without good reason, but I would never dream of eating, or taking advantage of the death of, something I was not willing to kill myself.
Emotional distancing doesn't seem respectful to me at all.

But the above is merely my personal feelings on the issue. It's clear there is a broad spectrum of opinion about it all. In the end, we keep snakes--snakes eat mice. The mice have to die in order for the snake to have dinner. No one is advocating torturing them to death, so I'm fairly sure we're all reasonably sane here.