IF there was a vegan diet option for BPs...

[Montessa Python]

I heard a story about a vegan household that kept pets. They tried to keep their cat on a vegan diet and didn't realize they need tuarine to survive. The cat was going bald and blind from lack of proper nutrition. They kept birds as well. The cat got the bright idea to eat one of the birds, the owners, sat it down and lectured it, telling it that it needed to live in harmony with its "brother" bird...

People need to understand that when you take an animal from the wild, or take on the responsibility of caring for an animal. You take on the role that of Caretaker and in a way, "god". You need to ensure it has all it needs to be happy, healthy.
IF a person cannot do that, or will not do that... they should not keep any thing live but themselves.
Carol

[Mike Russell]

No I would not...even if they were equal in the nutrition department.

Dogs chase Cats, Bears poop in the woods, and Ball Pythons eat Rodents
It's the whole circle of life, call of the wild thing.

Exactly.

Some thoughts that are somewhat related, but mostly off topic. Ever notice how some people get all upset or say "that's so sad" when they see a dead deer on the side of the road, yet say nothing when it is a skunk or squirrel? Or they have no problem with setting up a mouse trap or squashing a spider.

Or what about when you are watching a movie with some violence. Countless people have been shot or died somehow and there was no reaction from the audience. Then all of a sudden a dog dies and the whole theater goes "Awwww."

Or what about people that are against hunting, yet eat meat.

There are animal rights activists, but no insect rights activists. What's up with that? No one is getting all upset about fly swatters being sold in stores or roach traps.

[Hapa_Haole]

Pfft, why feed a vegan diet when you can feed them the fairy eggs found in enchanted forests? Its nutritional AND logical.

[anatess]

I just wrote a long, long email to this guy on youtube, glazlad10. You probably know him...

He is promoting a vegan dog food. Basically, he believes that food is just a mixture of proteins and amino acids or whatever he said so, if you can replicate the same constitution using plants, then it is better. I know a lot of people has blasted him, but he is an okay guy (presents his case in a respectful, no cussing, no "you're an idiot" manner). I wrote to him because I read in one of the threads here that he thinks snake owners are sexual deviants or something like that... He does have a point that I agreed with - that there are waaaayyy too many feeding videos out there that show no respect for the prey item and is just there for the "shock factor". That's why I loved 8ballpython's feeding instructions video because he emphasized the fact that we don't enjoy the rodent getting killed, but appreciate the fact that it is necessary for the snake's survival...

Anyway, this guy glazlad10 believes that inflicting pain is unethical (yep, an irrational bleeding heart, as most of them are, sigh). He says that plants do not have pain receptors and are therefore designed for eating. I countered his "unethical" claim by telling him that eagles eat snakes, a hognose snake eats frogs, frogs eat mosquitoes, a mosquito drinks off the blood of a buffalo... and on and on. It is how they were "designed". It's called the cycle of life and the natural design of nature cannot be regarded as unethical. Only humans have the capacity for reason and can therefore have a choice to do unethical behavior. So you can't make the claim that a snake eating a rodent is unethical or even a canine eating raw steak. I would even go so far as to say converting naturally carnivorous animals to a herbivore diet is unnecessarily cruel to both the plant and the animals. Because, those plants were never designed to support that part of the animal kingdom and making them do so will wipe them out of their natural existence and having the predator/prey relationship will upset the balance of nature. So, then he countered that some animals should not be kept as pets... and I told him, yep, I wouldn't want a Polar Bear for a pet, no. And that, just because they're pets, doesn't make them herbivores... But my ball python is one great pet since I can provide him with an environment as close to his natural habitat as I can make it and I use him to show to everybody I come in contact with that they are just as precious as Polar Bears and deserve the same respect and protection and that hopefully, these people can stop themselves from going on a killing rampage everytime they see a snake in their backyard...

I can go on and on about this stuff...

[danimal]

I don't have any problem with people being vegan. It's not for me, I'll eat their share of the meat. However, when they try to push those beliefs on their pets, that's where I draw the line. If you don't want a meat eating pet, get a rabbit.

[anendeloflorien]

I feed all my snakes crunchy granola bars.








Heck yeah I'd feed them a vegan diet but where are you going to find a vegan willing to let themselves be cut up and eaten by snakes?

[4theSNAKElady]

Yeah....my snakes are on a STRICT vegan diet.....I only feed them vegans!

[_Venom_]

I think the OP was trying to say if we enjoy our snakes eating and constricting another animal, or if we would could do without our snakes eating and constricting another being.

[RoyalGuardian]

Never.

[instinct27]

I would need to have lifetimes of reasearch done showing that the feed does not adversely affect the snake in ANY way.

Speaking realistically BP lives last around 30 years so that doesn't leave me with enough time to embrace too any new relatively untested methods in husbandry.