Live Feeding Morally Wrong???

[Jay_Bunny]

Yea, people often accuse me of being cruel because I keep my snakes in a rack system.

[littleindiangirl]

Make the enclosure fit the snake, not try to make the snake fit the enclosure. Meaning simply, some snakes and reptiles require a lot of room. Balls like burrows and hides, my corn snake likes to bask out in the open.

Does my corn snake go in a rack? No, he gets a large enclosure, and he cruises around it, perches, burrows, basks on his rock, he finds all kinds of ways to use it. He prefers a larger enclosure,( he went off feed in a small short tub and rubbed his nose bad), just as the BP gets the short tub. It's what mine prefer.

[Thor26]

this is a very touchy subject i think either way is acceptable because in the wild snakes dont eat dead stuff ignorant people who call us abusers dont noe any thing about snakes

[Texas Dan]

One more thing about Marks comment... I did see several videos that people posted of their pet cat or Dog toruring and killing a snake in the Yard while everyone stood around and laughed. Not bashing cats and dogs ...just making a point.

A great fact is that in the US yearly... The common house cat makes more live prey kills (be it a bird, wild snake, rat, or somebodys pet rodent), than any other animal in the wild or in captivity. My snakes eat once a week... while I had a cat who would leave a pile of kills by the slider in one day.

Food for thought.

Animal Planet's most Xtreme? It's true though, house cats are the number 1 killers in all the world.

When Mark was saying that using "it's nature" as an excuse is not a very good one is true. (that sentence wasn't very good on my part) It's not really how it's done in nature, but the truth is, it's natural.

Not nature, but Natural. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but if you understand it then you know what I mean.

[Texas Dan]

I Don't think most captive snakes would considering that life as they know it has always been in an enclosed environment.

I'm guessing a lot of them would die in the wild. I could be wrong, just my guess.

[littleindiangirl]

I'm guessing a lot of them would die in the wild. I could be wrong, just my guess.

Tell that to fish and wild life!

[SoCaliSon]

Animal Planet's most Xtreme? It's true though, house cats are the number 1 killers in all the world.

When Mark was saying that using "it's nature" as an excuse is not a very good one is true. (that sentence wasn't very good on my part) It's not really how it's done in nature, but the truth is, it's natural.

Not nature, but Natural. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but if you understand it then you know what I mean.

Actually it was a Nat Geo Documentary that outlined the history of common house cats back to their roots when they were domesticated in ancient times to be rodent killers. Really interesting stuff.

I think I understand what your getting at... I have faced the argument to where they say "It is not nature when you drop a rat in a cage with no way to escape...". And I can see the validity in this argument... But what I am saying is... As a natural predator, whether captive or not, they are designed to hunt and kill small animals... I have heard people say "only mammals" but I have seen them feed on Chameleon in the wild as well as other lizards and snakes and what not.... But one thing I have never heard of (maybe it happens) is a wild snake consuming an animal that they did not kill. I think that choosing to feed my snake live because that is the way nature designed him to feed, as a predator, is a more than valid reason...I actually can't think of a better one.

I am not completely oposed to F/T, (when feeding dead is necessary I personally just smack the bag with the live rat on the floor, so there is no risk of injury to my snake, and they still get all the freshy goodness) But I believe the only reason F/T exists is for the convenience of the snake owner and not for the betterment of the snake. Yes injuries from live prey do happen... but as long as you feed appropriatly sized prey items, to a snake that is used to feeding live and almost always treatable.

Another side note... I find it funny how people call the demise of our feeder rodents cruel and unnatural... I would love to see a statistic for the number of Rodent Pets that die in captivity do to careless children who keep them as pets. You would be suprised the accidental deaths that become of a 10 y/o's hamster. My sister used to let her hammy roam in a ball... until it rolled out of her upstairs room and through a gap in the broken banister and fell to the first floor tile. Needless to say we had a funeral. It is not uncommon for kids to neglect their pets and let them starve. IMO This is a lot more cruel and unnatural way of dying for these critters than becoming snake prey.

[SoCaliSon]

*correction for above "but as long as you feed appropriatly sized prey items, to a snake that is used to feeding live,injuries rarely ever happen and are almost always treatable."

What I meant to say is in italics...

Bugs how I can't go back and edit after 10 min

[Texas Dan]

Do people not know that F/T animals were once living?

[naba2002]

i cant belive that with genocide, abortion, rape, murder, starvation, hiv, and everythin else going on in the world today people still find time to focus so much time on feeding live mice and britney spears kids..... just crazy if u ask me