Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have this weird problem. Whenever I need live food for my pets I buy them and put them in right away. I don't care about watching them get eaten, I like the gore and stuff. I'm a bit evil, get to know me, you'll see how it is. Anyways, problem is, I tried saving money by raising and breeding some live food for my pets. Sometimes the animal doesn't get eaten yet and so I end up raising it instead. Thats why I have like 15 mice! Anyways, is it just weird or is everyone more evil than me? I get attached to the pets I raised. After awhile, I begin to love them and I can't stand letting them die anymore. Ever look at a pinky? They're just babies, they haven't done anything wrong and they look so innocent. Take awhile next time and look at their faces. Their helpless face. How can you do that to something like that! Am I weird people? Its like they're saying hello and goodbye all at the same time. Ain't life a knock?

do you want cages of small animals and let your snakes and rodent feeding reptiles to die?

i personally say NO..

i love my snakes just as much as i love all my other animals (the several hundred feeders included) but when it comes to FOOD day.. all bets are off.. FOOD is FOOD to me when my snakes and geckos need to eat

ill admit ive fallen in love with quite a few of my rats over the years.. most of them are my big breeder males, who i end up keeping until they simply die of old age

dan

*chuckles* Not wierd I know alot of people like that I just don't happen to be one of them. Feeders are meant to be food..indeed some of them become pets but their basic function is to feed your pets. I work on an individual basis with my animals.. even my feeders. According to personality of the ones I allow to grow up, I keep the best and feed off the worst. Of the pinkies.. yeah they're babies but if I didn't feed any off I'd have a major over-population problem so that sort of solves any complaints I have about it. Its simple to me.. if I own an animal... I do the best I can to feed and house that animal properly. I've made a promise to provide that animal with whatever it needs and if that happens to be baby animals.. then thats what it gets regardless of how I feel about it. My Savannah was just such a thing.. He requires either young rats or adult mice right now...so thats what he gets... regardless of my feelings in the matter.

But I'm not going to stop eating prime rib because baby cows are cute.

You just have to categorize them.

I have a FEW PET rats. MOST of my rats and all of my mice are LIVESTOCK. I have to think of them that way, or I would not be able to feed them out. Never name livestock, no matter how long you are keeping it. If you name it, it becomes a PET, and then yes, it would be very difficult or impossible to feed it out.

I have mice that I have gotten attached to as well as a few rats. However, I have had rats that I have named, none of the named ones ever became food. The mice on the other hand never get names. Some are friendly to the point that they will crawl into my hand and climb my arm, even lick me like my nice rats do, but when that mouse stops producing nice babies for me it becomes a part of the food chain. I will admit that some stay around longer than others, like the old female who was still producing 12-18 babies a litter at 1 1/2 years old. When she started developing fatty tumors though, I put her down and fed her off. Never named her, that would make her like my cat or something!

I guess you have to forgo raising your own rodents if you can’t handle the kill and go with purchased frozen feeders. Personally, if I didn’t love my reptiles I wouldn’t have to kill baby animals. But I do love my reptiles and for me it’s easier to raise them than to purchase frozen in bulk.

Marcia

Me personally i have no quams in breeding , and feeding rats be it small or large to my snakes.I look at it in the way as i had my snakes first i owe them my full devotion when it comes to chow time . its my responibility to make sure "dinner's on the table" My 5 yr old neice who lives beside me comes over EVERYday to visit my snakes and my rat breeding setup. she will even handle the baby rats and baby boa's WITH me there to help hershes a perfect child not scared of anything....lol but i dont let myself become attached to the rats i will however sit and watch the mothers care for and rotate the stockin there tubs . as for naming the rats ... only names i know are Breakfast ... lunch.... dinner and occasionally snack.
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