Amen to that, Randy. Thatīs the spirit, instead of starting to argue which are the better laws or confuse the best with the most practical way of doing the same thing: keeping healthy snakes.Originally Posted by RandyRemington
I could give you the Southern Europe view (since you already have the Northern one).
Live feeding vs F/T or pre-killed: in some areas itīs illegal (also happens in the UK); in others itīs not and depends on the owner. People tend to avoid and justify the option with the safety of the snake (usually confusing "live feeding" with "unassisted live feeding"...);
Racks vs display terrariums: It has mostly to do with practical issues. If you have a "collection" itīs not practical to keep it in display terrariums (although some people do); if you only have a few snakes (say, up to 10) itīs easier to opt for display terrariums. I would say that in the US private keepers tend to have collections (huge market; huge offer; lots of snakes), where in Europe we usually have a few pet snakes.
The argument that the snakes are happier or better acommodated in one or the other is always reversible. If you compare a bad display with a good rack or a good display with a bad rack... the result is the same: the good wins. So you have to compare comparable situations.
Of course, having a good display terrarium is much more expensive and requires much more work than having a good rack system and so, weīre back to the number of snakes.
I feed f/t and am more of a display guy. And I do my best to balance the looks of the terrarium with the needs of the particular snake (that comes first). If you can achieve that, the snake is kept in a good condition (with the extra of having room for exercise) and the result is pleasant for your eyes.
In the end, itīs a matter of option, as long as you donīt put your personal taste/needs before the needs of the snakes.
(btw, this is my living-room display terrarium of my JCP; Iīm working on the BPīs terrariums and will show them off later)
Reply With Quote