Controversy is great

[Citrus]

So I follow several reptile keepers on Instagram. One of them has a king cobra, and a while ago he posted it eating a ball python. I'm fine with that, I figured it was to give the cobra a varied diet of what it may have in the wild (not ball pythons but it may get other snakes). However, this was a pied (I think, lighting was off. Definitely a morph nonetheless) and I can't fathom why someone would pay extra money for a ball python morph than to just get a normal. I'm not crying over the aesthetics, I'm confused as to why someone would spend more money for something that's equivalent to something cheaper. Today he posted it eating some other morph. Can't identify the morph but it was yellowish creamy. In that post he basically said that if what he does offends you to stop following bla bla bla.
I highly doubt that he is breeding his own ball pythons and raising the babies for three years just to use as feeders. So what do you guys make of this?


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[rlditmars]

Well we have a special place in our hearts for all things that slither, the fact is some species thrive eating others. So from that stand point it is food plain and simple and I have no issue. As far as them being morphs, you are right in that there is no difference. It's just that you're placing a price tag on it. Some people have the kind of cash they can spend $600 on a shirt. I don't/won't but that's me. If they do/can then again, who are we to take issue? That's capitalism.

[Daigga]

By posting the second picture I would assume he was just looking to offend people intentionally and would have unfollowed him without a word. People will do what they do, and as long as it was done humanely I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but I don't see why rubbing those things in other people's faces should be acceptable practice.

As for feeding fairly expensive morphs, I don't understand that either. Sounds like he just wanted to increase the shock value of the pictures.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Someone wants attention...................
I have fed off to a king snake I use to have, normal and morphs that had issues when hatched.
Its the cycle of life but only an idiot would make posts like that and throw it in someones face.

[Citrus]

Well we have a special place in our hearts for all things that slither, the fact is some species thrive eating others. So from that stand point it is food plain and simple and I have no issue. As far as them being morphs, you are right in that there is no difference. It's just that you're placing a price tag on it. Some people have the kind of cash they can spend $600 on a shirt. I don't/won't but that's me. If they do/can then again, who are we to take issue? That's capitalism.

But what does one have to gain from that? That's what I don't get. It would be like buying an expensive car just to push it into moving traffic. I take no offense from his posts, I just find it odd that someone would do that regardless of how much money they have. My local reptile shop has pet coral snakes (the employees and owner's pets) and they feed them baby corn snakes that won't accept food. It's not for fun, no one is ever watching them eat it. But this guy is spending extra money for his.

By posting the second picture I would assume he was just looking to offend people intentionally and would have unfollowed him without a word. People will do what they do, and as long as it was done humanely I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but I don't see why rubbing those things in other people's faces should be acceptable practice.

As for feeding fairly expensive morphs, I don't understand that either. Sounds like he just wanted to increase the shock value of the pictures.

Shock value is the only thing that makes sense but it doesn't seem like that's what he's going for.



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[Citrus]

Someone wants attention...................
I have fed off to a king snake I use to have, normal and morphs that had issues when hatched.
Its the cycle of life but only an idiot would make posts like that and throw it in someones face.

But he's feeding snakes that are like 3 feet long. If it's born with an issue and would inevitably die then may as well be a feeder IMO. But a healthy full grown snake...


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[rlditmars]

But what does one have to gain from that? That's what I don't get. It would be like buying an expensive car just to push it into moving traffic. I take no offense from his posts, I just find it odd that someone would do that regardless of how much money they have. My local reptile shop has pet coral snakes (the employees and owner's pets) and they feed them baby corn snakes that won't accept food. It's not for fun, no one is ever watching them eat it. But this guy is spending extra money for his.




Shock value is the only thing that makes sense but it doesn't seem like that's what he's going for.



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I think you're right about shock value, and perhaps its a little bragging about being in a financial position to feed expensive animals. For some the attitude is "what good is having money if you can't flaunt it?" Regardless, it is their prerogative however misguided we may believe it to be, and the fact we are posting about it just gives it weight. Ever hear the saying, "There's no such thing as good or bad publicity, it's just publicity"?

[Bluebonnet Herp]

and as long as it was done humanely

Which is important to note that live feeding certainly is not. I'm not saying I'm completely against live feeding, but one would have to be seriously oblivious to say it's a pleasant way for an animal to kick the bucket.

As for the poster who's feeding BP morphs to his cobra, it's clearly done out of spite. For example, it would be like me feeding a parakeet to a snake then posting it on a parakeet forum because I hate parakeets.
He's the typical kind of jerk who's responsible for the kind of dividing that the reptile hobby experiences, and the kind of behavior that, at times, makes me feel less supportive of the herpetocultural community. He's not doing the hobby any favors by pissing off other reptile keepers, to say the least.



P.S. I don't actually hate parakeets.

[Bluebonnet Herp]

I don't mean to double post (can't edit my post) but my aforementioned statement on feeding morphs out of spite is done under the assumption that the animal was alive and healthy, and said keeper was out to offend. There's many king cobra keepers though who end up getting frozen ball pythons (somehow) that die of other means and to use as food for their kings, which is not bad at all. Can you PM me who the person was? I think I might know who you're talking about, and if I'm correct, he's certainly not a jerk at all and it would be a misplaced assumption to think he was doing it for the shock value.

[JLC]

I find it difficult to believe that any keeper would spend hundreds of dollars on mature, healthy animals just to feed them off when perfectly normal, inexpensive animals of the same species are available. IF that's true, then that person has way more money than sense.

The truth is very likely that he gets frozen feeders in from breeders who have had animals die off. A dead pied is not worth any more than a dead normal.

Now....if he's posting pictures like that just to get a rise out of ball python fans, that's another matter entirely. If he is implying (or outright stating) that he paid full retail price for those animals just to feed them to his cobra....then he's not only a jerk, but a dishonest, lying jerk (in all likelihood).

I've got no beef with people feeding their carnivorous, predatory animals with the closest animals to natural prey they're able to get. That means snakes for king cobras....and with the prevalence of ball pythons in the pet trade, and the relatively large size of them for older cobras, it makes a lot of sense that they'd be a good source of food. But I think ANYone who claims to love and respect animals/reptiles/snakes and then turns around and mocks an entire group of like-minded enthusiasts just because they enjoy one particular species.....well, that person is no true lover of animals, I believe. They are most likely in it for the novelty and because it makes them somehow "special" and able to brag about the "big, dangerous" pet they have.

Let me clarify one thing though....I don't have a problem with folks who playfully make fun of the ball python craze. That's something else entirely. I just mean the people who deliberately set out to cause strife and try to make others feel crappy because they happen to like something different.