Quote Originally Posted by TheKingInYellow View Post
I'm wondering how many people here are really speaking from any actual experience with a vegan/vegetarian diet? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say not that many. I've been vegetarian for 8 years and mostly-vegan (living with a vegan wife) for 3 years of that time.

It's not the diet for everyone admittedly, but we did fine on it. We switched back to eating dairy and eggs when my wife became pregnant, and we decided that it was far, far easier to ensure a completely rounded diet for my daughter if we included these products. The combination of fat and protein in these products are hard to match with vegan foods that kids will actually eat!

The point is that we, and all the vegetarian friends we have, accept the fact that although these diets are healthy for adult humans, they may not be healthy for children or animals. Both my snakes eat F/T rodents and I never second guess it, that is what they need to survive, and it's my job as a responsible pet owner to ensure that they are healthy. In the same way, my fish get foods that contain fish meal and or shrimp meal since they contain vital nutrients that they need to be healthy.

So, to answer to original question, would I consider it? Sure, and as ethical vegetarian I'd even prefer it, but only if there was absolutely NO question that it was every bit as healthy for my snakes. Period.

p.s. I promise that I am not a 'preachy' vegetarian. I hate those people. I eat what I want to eat, and you eat what you want to eat. Fine by me.
I am. And no, it is not ethical for the snake. Snakes are carnivores, humans are omnivores. We can survive off of eating only non-meat sources. Snakes can NOT.
It is almost impossible to assume that any snake would be healthy and thriving on a diet that was made from plant matter. Even though it has the same nutrients, it does not come in the same package. Snakes have a different type of digestive system that is meant to only digest meat. If you put plants in that system, they will not digest and it will not receive any of those 'identical nutrients' that you see in it.
The animal will suffer of malnutrition before you could even realize it. It would start to die because it would not get as much energy in return for the huge amount of energy it takes for a snake to digest food in general.

Humans have taken animals as pets for our enjoyment. If you support PETA, you should not have pets, or a seeing eye dog if your blind. We have already put animals under our care when it was unrequited, the least we could do is feed them their natural source.

Also, I'm a vegetarian because of the way the animals are treated before they die. I don't believe death is a negative thing at all. If I know my mice are going peacefully in a CO2 chamber, then why would I be against that for the needs of my snakes?

I'm glad that you see that it may not be healthy, but I'm just trying to show, how it probably could never work. :]