Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, went to the pet store to pick up frozen pinkies for Russia....Behind me in the line their were a couple w/ a little boy who were buying crickets....When I put the frozen mice on the counter...they looked at me like I had just killed a bus load of orphans.....The woman gave me a extreme look of discuss and asked "why do you have to freeze those guys?".....The store owner answered before I could really say anything....And he said "because it just easier to deal w/ and you can keep them longer".....They count. to asked many questions like "how can you hurt those little things?" and before I left I looked at the woman and said "Btw...do you have meat in your freezer right now?" and the woman looked at me oddly and said "aa yea" and I said "Well, I dont really see much difference here....you have cow bodies in your freeze I have mice in mine"...."have a nice day".....true story.
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KRISTI Mommy 2 Autumn Rose (daughter) 2 1/2 yrs
Reign Michael(son) 6 months
Duncan (Budgie) Passed away 5/11/2004...Love you duncan
Asia (Juvie Leopard Gecko)
Russia ( Baby Albino Cornsnake)
OH, And Ron the geckos #1 FAN!!! (owned by BlizzardGecko)

I had to grab some rat pups today the guy i get them from was out.I got (THE STARE) from a lady who was buying hamsters and a playset for them.And then the kids wanted babies(ratpups).If i wasnt a giant size ogre looking type Im sure I would have heard something negative.I have been flamed before,many a time and all I do now is smile.If they love rodents so much why dont they just adopt some sewer rats.Not all encounters are bad some have many questions and Ive learned to keep my cool.Just stay cool we dont need anymore enemies of reptiles,we have enough.Peace....Paul.

Sometimes my students are upset that my classroom snakes are fed mice. "I'm going to find your house and let all your mice out..." they would say to me. My response is... "We have cats, the cats will eat the mice, and what aren't eaten by cats will drown in the swimming pool, or die in the garden. I tell them that I love my rodents as much as my snakes, and that except for those who need smaller critters, I try to make sure that the mice that are at the end of their lifespan are the ones offered first, so that all of the mice get a good chance at a fulfilling life before going on. One girl said "that's not nice for the poor sick old mice," and my response has always been, "if I don't feed an older mouse, then I feed a younger one. Every older mouse offered up gives the younger ones longer to live. Luckily hatchling season is during the school break. All those pinkies!

I think that those who are rabidly into the well being of ANY animal to the complete ignorance and detriment of other living things needs to have a complete re-evaluation! There is nothing intrinsically BETTER about a cat, or a dog, or a mouse or a cricket or a rat or a snake! They are all living things, born to fulfill a specific niche in the wild, taken from the wild so that we must make certain that they fulfill their proper place. The cricket feeds the lizards, the mice, the others.... the mouse feeds the dog, cat, snake... it's all a big circle of life. It is more ennobling to consider the mouse in its larger place than to think of it only as a squeaky little pet with no real purpose in the bigger scheme. I honor the mice and rats I raise, I see them for the individuals they are, and for the place they hold in the real world... but I also know that they have to die sooner or later.

To some people the consumption of living things is lack of civilization in the highest degree. As long as there is ANY living thing on this planet, there will be consumption of living things. I accept this and embrace the world, flawed as it is
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~Sasheena

I actually had someone yell at me in a pet store about feeding mice to my snakes, the whole time wearing a leather jacket. Irony, the spice of life...
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1.0 Hypo Okeetee - Wesley (Princess Bride)
0.1 Ghost - Sydney (Scream)
2.0 Striped Amel - Jay and Aiden (Kevin Smith movies)
1.0 Snow - Silent Bob (Kevin Smith movies)
0.1 Anery - Columbia (Rocky Horror)
1.0 Creamcicle - Brandon (Mallrats)
0.1 Zig Zag Anery - Pepper (didn't name her)
0.1 Normal - Bindy (Croc. Hunter)
0.1 Motley - Craven (Underworld)

Petsmart sells all there rodents under the name fancy.They charge almost 4 bucks for a stupid black and tan mouse.If you ever want to see a store clerk call or run for management just walk in and say you need 40 mice.There stores wont sell you a mouse that they even think will be a feeder.What kills me is they sell crickets for food,have goldfish for food,have ground up lamb in there dog foods.They have toy mice for your cats to
mame and sell animal bones,pig hooves,ears for your dog and call them a treat.And to top it off they sell disposible iguanas to little kids.And the truly sad part is the have the best selection and best prices on reptile supplies around.

And they were buying their crickets to keep as pets???????

What's the difference??

Their crickets are going to be fed to??........and so are you're mice.......

Hypocrites!!!

Aw, he11, let's all go hug a tree, I give up...

Mice, it's what's for dinner!

Kerby...

I sometimes felt a bit guilty about the mice in my freezer, but what you said makes perfect sense!

to the question of the "poor little mice" is a very sweet, innocent "Oh, I'm sorry, are you a vegetarian?" So far, nobody has answered in the affirmative. When they say no, then I very innocently (it is important not to let much, if any sarcasm in your voice) say "you mean you eat cows? They are one of my favorite animals - they have such beautiful big brown eyes. I don't think I could ever eat one of those". (Of course, I really DO eat them - but it is a white lie to benefit the education of that customer). I noticed that if you don't sound sarcastic when you say it, the kind of irrational and hypocritical people who question the feeding of mice, are EXACTLY the kind of people who will feel REALLY guilty for eating beef, once you get them to thinking about those big, brown eyes. They are the kind of people who are so divorced from nature that they have tried to put out of their minds the idea that meat doesn't actually get manufactured in the back of a grocery store and then get packaged in plastic wrap. I feel it is good for them to be reminded of those facts once in a while. If they can't handle it, they should stop eating meat, or at least stop complaining about the equivilent of other animals eating meat.

I don't REALLY let it get to me anymore after all of this time, but it does still irritate me a little.

np

I'm more sarcastic than is good for me, I suppose, but I might answer questions such as that with something like:

"Well, there's LOTS of ways to hurt 'em ... you can flip them in the head, thump them on a table, let the snake kill them, or any number of other methods! I buy them like this in the hopes of them having died a more humane death, but if you'd like to come over to the house I'm sure we could practice on some of their live cousins for a while to find a way that suits YOU!"

Of course I'm fairly big and hairy, so that approach tends to work for me. I'm not certain I'd recommend it for everyone.

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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

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KRISTI Mommy 2 Autumn Rose (daughter) 2 1/2 yrs
Reign Michael(son) 6 months
Duncan (Budgie) Passed away 5/11/2004...Love you duncan
Asia (Juvie Leopard Gecko)
Russia ( Baby Albino Cornsnake)
OH, And Ron the geckos #1 FAN!!! (owned by BlizzardGecko)

Btw...I bet most people that saw this topic thought I was feeding beef to my snake LOL.
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KRISTI Mommy 2 Autumn Rose (daughter) 2 1/2 yrs
Reign Michael(son) 6 months
Duncan (Budgie) Passed away 5/11/2004...Love you duncan
Asia (Juvie Leopard Gecko)
Russia ( Baby Albino Cornsnake)
OH, And Ron the geckos #1 FAN!!! (owned by BlizzardGecko)

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