Quote Originally Posted by Awaiting Abyss View Post
Its a mouse in the picture; not a rat.

I'm aware that the snake was the pet. My snake, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, degus, ferrets, cats, and dogs are all my family... Even the mice that I use as feeders. I also wasn't commenting on the food chain.
Since the species is so important, I'm sorry. I was actually aware that it was a mouse when I first looked at it, but since I prefer not to look at this photo (I hope you can understand why) and everyone responding is calling it a rat, I just unconsciously called it a rat.

I'm still not sure why some people are saying this is acceptable and questioning why people are upset about the photo. Whether it was a snake, a rat, a mouse, a dog, a cat, or any other animal, the fact is the animal died a very slow, agonizing death and as such was subjected to animal abuse. I would be just as upset to see that mouse chewed open like this, no animal should have to go through this and especially not in captivity under the care of a person. Who is responsible for its care.

Quote Originally Posted by DVirginiana View Post
Wow. That's pretty graphic. Why I only feed live when I have to.
How tossing animals in a situation where one is dying for hours is even being compared to one where an animal quickly kills another is beyond me. Suffering can't be avoided, but it can be minimized, and leaving feeders alone long enough to eat a snake alive is not the way to do that...



Bad idea. Prions.
Prions are only found in the central nervous system, so as long as you stay away from the brain and spinal cord you should be fine. If you were to eat someone that is....>.> <.< >.>