Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys- In the wake of hurricane Jeanne, 10 or so pigeons have decided to live on my neighbors roof. I have been hired to eliminate them in any way possible. I have a big Tegu that would love a fat pigeon. Can I give him one? Thanks! Brooks

Well, I have no problem with you feeding the bird.. but the fact is it might contain some things, you just don't want to give your herp.. Parasites, disease, toxins, etc.. too bad though, I'm sure your tegu would have loved it Guess he'll settle for big fruits hehe
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2.4.1 Leos
1.1.13(eggs) Beardie
1.0 Burm
0.1 Common Boa
1.0 Bp (Turns out, it's a 2nd burmese)

I would check with your fish and wildlife first. Pigeons in some areas may be protected by law, hence why they are a pain in the butt in the cities. Up here in canada what is commonly called a pigeon is actually a domesticated form of rock dove, or at least I think that they are, been too long since I researched it and the books with the info, are all packed away in a box somewhere..

All Pigeons(IE most of what you see in the cities) are actually a form of Rock Dove... some are more common than others really...Many times cities and towns prefer you not to kill them.. ESPECIALLY out of season.. like with anything else there is a season for Doves, Pigeons and other game birds. I would check with my local F&W before you decide to shoot them.. there are probably also laws concering the use of firearms within walking distance of a house or road even if its private property...
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
3.5.3 Leopard geckos (2.0 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 0.1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short), 1.0 Rainwater Albino (Mycah), 0.4 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, Rain and Aris) and 2.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas, and Mystic))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
3 cats (Ashe, Sahara and Hercules)
6 Fish (4 Red Danios, 1 Cardinal Fish, and 1 Tiger Barb)
8 Ramshorn snails
"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!"

I'm going to go against the grain of this thread and say if you were to acquire the pigeons (via whatever means) and hard freeze them for at least 4-5 days you could probably safely feed them. I did a study recently on the life stages and expectancies of various bacteria and protozoa (can you tell I'm a graduate student) and very very few can actually live at -32 degrees F. Those that can endure freezing temsps. longer than that are not harmful in nature.

Of course if your reptile will not eat frozen thawed than don't collect the birds as they would be wasted. I also remember reading several posts about captive born lizards in the past that wont eat birds unless they are plucked, so if you're not willing to experiment it's best to tell your neighbor "sorry" and let the animals live in haromony within their suburb. Chances are as water recedes and insect populations climb (post hurricane) they will move on to more natural habitat shortly anyway.

Kerry in Dallas
>>Hey guys- In the wake of hurricane Jeanne, 10 or so pigeons have decided to live on my neighbors roof. I have been hired to eliminate them in any way possible. I have a big Tegu that would love a fat pigeon. Can I give him one? Thanks! Brooks
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verrykerry@yahoo.com
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."Calvin and Hobbes

I appreciate the advice. Brooks