Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had someone say to me today, "I can't believe you want a snake...you know you have to feed mice to it and you love animals. How could you do that???" For some reason that has bothered me ever since. I do love all animals. I think it's obvious by the list of animals below that I care for as pets. I am also the type that gets extremely upset when I see animals not being cared for properly and/or abused. I could never own a snake if I knew that I had to feed the mice live. But, since I found that alot of snake owners feed frozen mice (thawed of course ) I considered buying a snake. It still bothers me that these little animals are killed, but they are what a snake eats. Is it really that much different than feeding meat to dogs, cats, or even ourselves? I don't know what I'm really looking for in a reply from those reading. I guess I just need to vent. Part of me feels like a horrible person for knowing that these little animals are raised and killed for this animal that I have chosen to keep as a pet, but the other part of me knows there is nothing wrong with feeding the mice. Has anyone else ever felt this way at first?? Or am I just overreacting??
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

Those are the same people that use glue traps and mouse traps.If you have a problem with feeding rodents you could try a garter snake.They eat worms and minnows...Paul

I really don't have a problem with it since they are serving a purpose as a food source and I don't have to kill them or watch them be killed. It just bothered me that someone would think I was cruel for feeding mice to a snake. I guess it could have been more of a surprise to them that I would feed mice since I once let a mouse go that was still alive in a mouse trap...I just felt horrible because it was not killed and suffered caught in the trap...long story...

Sorry, like I said earlier, I just needed to vent...
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

Ive gotten used to it.I love the people who stare and make the ooooooooh noise.I dont hold a grudge against them or even argue with them anymore.I have 4 jumbo rats ordered every week for pick up and I get alot of OMG what eats those things.They dont think 2 pound rats are cute...Paul

I just got a cornsnake and I'm not used to the OMG you feed mice!! thing yet. It just caught me offguard since I finally got over the sqeemishness about feeding mice and decided to get a snake (somthing that has fascinated me for quite awhile) I guess I'll get used to it! Thanks for replying to my stupid post!
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

Not a stupid question at all.It happens to everyone sooner or later.The guy I get mine from calls me and tells me to meet in the parking lot of the petstore.If Im not home I have to get them at full price from the counter.There's nothing like getting 15 rat pups and 4 jumbos with a crowd of people watching your every move.I could buy frozen,but I choose to feed fresh killed.I dont have to whack the rat pups but taking out a 2 pound rat with an attitude can be exciting...Paul

LOL, I bet that would be pretty interesting buying a bunch of rats in front of people...gawd...I can only imagine...

And as for the rats with attitudes...just be watchin' out for their buddies...LOL

Thanks for your replies!
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

>>I bet that doesn't bother them. A big sad eyed cow just grazing in a field.
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Remember, My posts are MY opinion only!
Jimmy (draybar)

I didn't think there was anyone who felt the same way I did when I got into snakes. I always had a curiosity for snake but never thought I'd own one....much less 4, simple because you had to feed it live mice (or rats,if is a large snake). Then when a friend of mine at work said you could get frozen mice I thought 'really'. That would be great. The thought of feeding a live mouse to a snake never, an still doesn't, appeal to me at all. I used to have pet mice when I was a kid. They were SO cute. In fact I was thinking of getting mice again for pets but think that would drive my snakes wild, not to mention the cats.

Now it doesn't bother me at all as long as I can get frozen. It's like you or I pulling out some frozen chicken or steak from the freezer. AND, f/t is much safer for the snake. In the wild it's natural for snakes to eat live rodents. That is what God intended. But in captivity the snake has limited space to get away from the prey if it becomes the preditor so feeding f/t is much safer.

For me I got into snakes for pets..only. I don't intend on watching my snakes devour a live prey for my entertainment. They are great pets and as long as they'll eat f/t that is what they get.

I have a jungle carpet python.....Safari
ghost corn..............Janome
amel corn..............Diamond
tangerine dream hondurna milk.....Zorro

You have no idea how much better I feel now! I was so afraid to post this whole thread because I thought that people would just say, "Well, Don't own a snake then!" I am just fascinated by snakes and always have been...just wasn't thrilled about watching a little mouse die right in front of me. Frozen is sooo much better. I just fed my corn today and it was so interesting to me how he eats! All that muscle! It's amazing. He's my first corn and today was the first feed. Anyway, thank you so much for replying! I'm glad I'm not the only one and glad that I made you feel better too!
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

I think anybody who truly loves animals is going to find the idea of feeding one to another at least a little difficult at first. I know I had problems with it at first. A couple of years ago I would have said that I would never be able to feed whole animals to others, but then I got a gecko and started feeding crickets - much easier than mice! Then I got my first corn - with frozen thawed it wasn't so bad and at keeps getting easier. I did have to buy a live feeder a few weeks ago because my shop was out of f/t. I wasn't giong to feed for another few days, but I also wasn't going to have the chance to get back to the shop - so I bought a live fuzzy and put him in the freezer. I felt a little like mengele - and it was a lot harder to look at that tiny, frozen face; but I did it. I just don't think I'll ever be able to look at the frozen bunnies and not feel bad...

I had a friend blow me crap when I did this. I talked about how hard it would be to feed live or prekill. I told him that I had to get a live pink and my snake wouldn't eat it. So i took it out of the cage and put it in the freezer. He said he thought this was worse than if I "thumped" it first. The more I thought about it, it probably would have been more humane for the mouse to kill it first but much easier for me to put it in the freezer and just let it happen. I just tried to not think about what the pink was going through. Oh well, just something we have to deal with to keep our snakes. It's a small price to pay.
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0.0.1 Amel Motley Corn (Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.1 Shephard mix (Dylan 5yrs, Porter 17weeks)

I was in getting some frozen mice a few days ago. My local shop has a large, top-opening freezer where they keep everything from pinkies to bunnies. Someone took a look in a said that it was disgusting. The woman getting me the feeders calmy responded, "I know, it's almost as bad as a butcher shop. Are you a vegan too?" After a long perplexed stare the customer asked what that had to do with anything (obviously a little slow to grasp the point). The woman, once again, calmly responded. "I don't eat meat because I don't have to. Those poor little snakes don't have a choice". Feeding mice isn't cruel. It's natural.

Good points. Thanks I'm feeling better after reading all the replies to my post. I fed my new corn today and was just amazed at how interesting it is to watch...
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

Being a non-vegetarian, I have this dilemma every time I go to eat a steak or a piece of tuna. I figure if I can manage to cope with that issue on a daily basis, then it'd be hypocritical of me to suddenly develop a complex about frozen mice unless I was planning to become vegetarian.

I have friends who say the same sort of things as you're hearing, but then they have a house-full of dogs. Cecause their food comes in nice neat tins, they can't see that they're essentially doing the exact same thing for their pets. It's just that dog food comes with the hooves removed!

I agree completely Thanks for your reply! I'm just gonna have to get use to those comments and forget about it.
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
1 African Cichlid (Arnie)
3 Red-Eared Slider Hatchlings (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted Hatchling (Milo)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

First off, I've got you beat on the personal zoo . I love animals too, ALOT!! And I go to great lengths to make sure that all my animals are happy, healthy and well taken care of. I also breed my own rats for feeders to save money and my breeders are also pets and very social and well loved and in fact VERY spoiled. In trade they make me lots of babies and my snakes eat very well. I don't like the thought of killing baby rats but I'd much rather do it my way and have a freezer full then feed live or buy from somewhere where the rats where raised in unknown conditions with unknown food and NO love. My husband and kids give me greif all the time, but they also understand that the snakes need to eat and they love my snakes just as much as they do the breeding/pet rats. Out of respect for my family, I don't tell them when I am going to do the deed of taking out the babies and freezing/eutheithizing them and I let them pick out the next generations of breeders and socialize them and name them.

It made me sad at first when I had to do it, and I still don't like it, but it gets easier as time goes by. Buying them frozen, now that's a cinch. Who cares what other people think. Like everyone else said, most people poison or trap mice when they are in the way and then flush them or toss them in the trash, what a waste! At least you are using the mouse to feed another life. A life that cannot live off of veggie burgers and soy milk and make a choice like we can to be a vegetarian.

Chantel

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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

1.3 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
1.1 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet)
1.2 Firebelly toads
2.3.0 D. tinctorius (Surinam Cobalt)
0.0.8 D. azureus
0.0.1 Clown Tree Frog
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
1.0 Betta (Sushi, Charlie)
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
2.7 Rats (Mouse, Socks, Sugar, Squishy, Fox, Lucky,B**CH & Tinker)
1.3 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
2.0 Betta (Sushi, Blue)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

usually not.......

in Pa alone...millions of cows,millions of chickens,millions of pigs...add turkeys....pheasants,,,,rabbits...etc etc etc....even fish farms....

all raised for one thing....to die..to feed another critter..

US........

.......IF we didn't raise them at all.....they would never exsist at all.......

?....is it better to live a little and die or to never live at all?.....

we live 75 years they say........

14 year olds think that is an eternity.....

68 year olds think it is way too short of a time.......

....I am 44......halfway alive?..or halfway dead?.......

....keep smoking I guess....closer to the end?>.......

anyways....

as soon as the snake grabs the prey.....it goes into shock .......and knows nothing from that moment on......it just stops beathing...and the pain stops......

average lifespan of wild rabbits and squirrels...3 and 4 months.....

.......

.....done.....
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people are stupid....are you a people?.....
thought so.......
having fun yet?......