It's days like these that I want to sell all my pets

[sarahlovesmiike]

I know this will probably sound pretty weird to most of you but I'm gonna post it anyways.

I went to check on my litter of rats a little while ago and I noticed that one of the babies wasn't really moving around like the rest of them. I picked him up and petted him and rolled him around in my hand trying to get a response from him/her and realized that his back leg was broken. He was also very skinny. He was actually a day younger than the rest of them because I pulled him from a different mom. He opened his eyes on the same day as the rest, but he was SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the rest of them. I attempted to feed him some milk from a (needleless) syringe and he wouldn't drink any, then I noticed his front leg was broken as well. So I did the whole cervical dislocation bit on him. I cried a bit, and I'm still very upset that I had to do it, I don't even think I did it right because he cried just as I did it and then was still twitching afterwards.


Sometimes I want to sell my snakes so I don't have to breed rats anymore, rehome the cat, and just stick with the dogs. Most people who keep rats as pets don't also feed them to their snakes, but I do love my rats. I just feel like a piece of [poo] for not noticing earlier.

[chaoticstone]

I know this will probably sound pretty weird to most of you but I'm gonna post it anyways.

I went to check on my litter of rats a little while ago and I noticed that one of the babies wasn't really moving around like the rest of them. I picked him up and petted him and rolled him around in my hand trying to get a response from him/her and realized that his back leg was broken. He was also very skinny. He was actually a day younger than the rest of them because I pulled him from a different mom. He opened his eyes on the same day as the rest, but he was SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the rest of them. I attempted to feed him some milk from a (needleless) syringe and he wouldn't drink any, then I noticed his front leg was broken as well. So I did the whole cervical dislocation bit on him. I cried a bit, and I'm still very upset that I had to do it, I don't even think I did it right because he cried just as I did it and then was still twitching afterwards.


Sometimes I want to sell my snakes so I don't have to breed rats anymore, rehome the cat, and just stick with the dogs. Most people who keep rats as pets don't also feed them to their snakes, but I do love my rats. I just feel like a piece of [poo] for not noticing earlier.

Your not alone with loving your rats......I have to remind my wife to wash her hands when she goes to get her RTB's out because one of my balls started refusing to eat the only live rat I could find was 2days old REFUSAL. Needless to say my wife bottle feed that pinkie for a month. I wasn't breeding at the time I am now only because Christina said Lucky was lonely. It's actually quite funny watching people see Lucky move in the wifes shirt when were at the store lol. When she took her to work before she got her hair she would put her in her bra so that is still her favorite spot to go.

My wife would not have the courage to do what you did every and it's one thing that I actually wish she would be ok with. We have a cat that loves to bring mom presents. You did do it correctly BTW it was just nerves. I would suggest that if it bothers you that much doing it that way and you have nobody that can take care of it for you to make yourself a chamber.

[Michelle.C]

I'm not really sure I understand the bit about the cat, but you know you can order f/t online, right? I'd say 99% of snakes will pretty easily switch over to f/t. It's cheaper too.

It sounds like you care about the rats and that's great, but things get missed and you can't blame yourself. Take this as a lesson to watch your litters a little closer. I know (and do so myself) breeders who breed rats as pets for pets and things still happen. When you are dealing with life, you will have to deal with death as well.

I'm sorry you had to do something that was unpleasant/upsetting, I know it can be hard. That being said, they can't feel anything once their spine has been dislocated from the brain stem. So, if you did it correctly, all twitching is just a final reaction of the body shutting down.

[sarahlovesmiike]

I'm not really sure I understand the bit about the cat, but you know you can order f/t online, right?

Yes I know you can order ft online. I choose to feed my snakes live because I feel that they should be able to hunt, stalk, and kill their prey on their own. I don't want to take anymore natural instinct away from them then absolutely necessary.

As for the cat, I just meant that it seems having pets are more of a hassle than they are worth some days. We just had to put one of our dogs down within this past month and it's just sucky. Sometimes I wonder why I even got them in the first place.

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

You're snakes are in plastic/glass boxes and you are responsible for them not getting hurt. That is one of the worst excuses to feed live, but if you been doing it awhile, meh; unlikely they'll switch to frozen now. And even dogs, the most domestic animal around, have their instincts. They don't randomly lose them.

You probably did the CD right; twitching is normal as the nerves are going nuts from being separated from the brain.


I know what you mean though; rats are totally awesome. I got some feisty babies this litter, though, and I mean FEISTY. These ones are biters and certainly won't be hard to feed/cull.

I did have a buck break a back leg with the first litter. I'm unsure how these things happen. Putting them out of their misery is the best choice, though.

[sarahlovesmiike]

You're snakes are in plastic/glass boxes and you are responsible for them not getting hurt. That is one of the worst excuses to feed live, but if you been doing it awhile, meh; unlikely they'll switch to frozen now. And even dogs, the most domestic animal around, have their instincts. They don't randomly lose them.

It's not an excuse, it's what I believe. You have your beliefs and I have mine. Snakes can handle some nicks and cuts now and then, not that I've ever dealt with it other than the bite that Louise came to me with. That was due to negligence on the previous owners part. She left two large rats in with Zeus and Louise, over night while they had RIs. I am as careful as you can be when feeding live. I originally had them on frozen/thawed and they didn't strike and constrict, they just began swallowing. Louise will take frozen if you give it to her, I just choose not to.

[anatess]

I'm with you Sarah. The rats are my pets, the snakes are my hubby's and sons. It's kinda morbid thinking of my pets' kids getting fed to the snakes, so I rarely "attend" feeding sessions.

Except that now we have a non-feeding baby, so I have to help the hubby with the assist feeding.

I had one of the rat kids break his neck on the wheel when he loped halfway on the wheel and his brothers decided to start running. He didn't get a chance to get out of the way... That was hard for me. Which is psychotic since he had about 2 months and he would be snake food. My rats get a good life before they become gladiators (how I look at it). That rat had a burial.

The reason I feed live is for the benefit of the rat, not necessarily the snake. If the snake refuses his meal, then my rat gets to live another fun-filled week - a win on the Gladiator arena!

I would be heart-broken if I had to do what you did. I don't think I would have been able to do it. You are one brave girl.