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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
 Posted - 05/07/2011 : 18:18:36
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In my crusade to find a rat breeder in hampshire I stumbled across this article on rats and snakes and to be honest, might just be that I dislike rats, but it made me laugh.
http://spazrats.tripod.com/snakefood.html
The advise about feeding snakes sausages was rather a foolish thing to include and the personal attack on snake keepers in the snakes brain section was a bit unnesesary but aside from that it's essentially the view of a rat lover on our hobby.
What you guys thing? Feel a pang of guilt or you just laughing?
As for the poll at the end, do any of you keep rats as pets alongside your snakess? |
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Edited by - Kelfezond on 05/07/2011 18:19:11 |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 18:40:40
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I dont feel a pang of guilt at all, gassing is the most humane and quick way to die while still keeping the meat edible, I wouldn't live feed but not for the rats sake but for the snake, a snakes constrict is so powerful and perfectly adapted it can stop the heart and kill the rat through cardiac arrest almost immediately and not to mention the rat is very likely to go into shock and be dead before it has chance to figure out whats happening. To say I wouldn't feed my snakes rats would also mean I wouldnt crack open a tin of duck and rabbit dog food, or tuck into a juicy steak.
I wonder if the writer of the article only has herbivore animals, and is a vegetarian or would she consider it OK if snakes ate something else other than her beloved little rats.
SPEEDY EDIT TO ADD: Google obviously see the funny side of this too as the advertisements on the top of the page are for pest control and frozen reptile food suppliers, HAHA.
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Edited by - Lotabob on 05/07/2011 18:43:06 |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 18:43:38
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| Hahahahahaha! I didn't notice that you just made my day bob |
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hodgie
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1197 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 18:54:43
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| Complete piffle, this bit made me laugh though - I heard a story once where a friend obtained a pet rat from a friend who had a pet Boa Constrictor. The snake was not hungry, but the rat was forced to live with the snake for 3 days before the snake owner took the petrified rat out of the aquarium. My friend took the rat in as a beloved pet, but the rat was forever traumatized.. |
Royals owned "lots"
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 18:58:43
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| Lol yeah that bits good I had an image of some kind of mental hospitol for rats full of vietnam war veteran rats who keep seeing flashbacks of sleeping snakes not harrasing them lol |
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hodgie
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1197 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 19:09:42
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I think she has serious issues 
I just won't own an animal that requires a diet of the rats that I have come to be obcessed with. Yes, obcessed.
Have you, the pet rat lover, ever bought a rat from a pet store only to find out that she was pregnant when you bought her? I did. I made arrangements with the store owner to return the babies to the store when they were weaned. When the time came, I just couldn't do it. I had raised these babies from new-borns, watched them grow and mature, and fell in love with their little puppy-dog faces |
Royals owned "lots"
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Edited by - hodgie on 05/07/2011 19:10:32 |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 19:13:23
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| Lady really loves her rats ;) |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 19:25:55
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Hmm... didn't read it all. I can see 'where she's coming from' as the jargon has it. She obviously loves her rats in the way we love our snakes, BUT -
I adore rats; I would keep them if I didn't have some very inquisitive ex-feral cats who would see them as prey/food/blood sport. As a rat-lover myself I feel far more indignant about the really horrible and INhumane methods of exterminating wild rats. The effect of rat poison is vile and slow.
As for a horrible snake eating poor ratty alive - has she ever seen what cats do? I adore my cats too, but I sure don't tolerate blood sports on the premises. Has led to some arguments with the cats, but NO. Not even a moth.
I've never witnessed a live feeding 'live', but having watched videos on youtube for info, it's struck me that the prey doesn't really seem aware of the danger. I remember one clip of a curious rabbit actually hopping over and rubbing its chin on the snake's nose... (Sorry, rabbit lovers, it's just that the animal really didn't seem afraid.) The snake took action straight afterwards, and was very quick. I once had to rescue a mouse, squealing in terror, trying to hide beneath a wheely bin as the cat watched it.
CO2 sends rodents to sleep before it kills them - no more traumatic than an anaesthetic. I know it's not pleasant knowing that rats are part of the petfood chain if you love rats, but there are worse fates, as above ... |
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Edited by - n/a on 05/07/2011 19:28:44 |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 19:29:35
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Indeed, I disagree with pest control poisons and you're rright cats enjoy a nice bit of torture.
I wouldn't say I love my snakes in the way she loves her rats though, I had pet rabbits I never thought that they shouldn't be fed to burmese pythons hehe. Mine was called diget, awesome little rabbit. Had two rats too.. Didn't care for their violent conduct though, wish I still had them actually would be nice watching THEM get bitten for a change hehe, I kid. :p |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2011 : 19:33:45
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LOL - you know you're a big softy really.
I'm afraid that when I used to keep rabbits, they were intended for the pot ... |
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Dio
Yearling
United Kingdom
297 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2011 : 15:21:56
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That woman really needs some help lol.
This bit really annoyed me
"And please, do not tell me that you are a tried and true lover of pet rats when you keep them as pets in your home, and then obtain dead, frozen, or live pet rats to feed to your snake/reptile. An honest to goodness pet rat devotee would never perform such an act."
I guess I'm not a true rat lover then.
Has anyone voted on the bit at the bottom? i like the fact that 'Yes, a person can easily disassociate himself from the rats that are meant for reptile food and still love his pet rats' has the most votes with 50%. |
0.0.1 Royal Python (Dio)
0.1.0 Angora Cat (Blue)
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2011 : 16:56:37
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| Yeah I noticed that, I guess I wasn't the only person trying to find a rat breeder for some food lol |
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reptilemadd
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
969 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2011 : 17:48:50
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| Lol it never ceases to amaze me that these sort of people seem to think because an animal is part of the pet trade it shouldn't be used for food, but I bet the same person would be quite happy classing wild rats as vermin and kill them, I've got to admit that I do on occasion have a pang of guilt feeding my roaches to my lizard but thats just nature for you everyone and every thing needs to eat |
1.0.0 beardie "magic"
1.1.0 100% Het Clown "Cerberus" and "Artemis"
0.1.0 Poss Calico "Ariadne"
1.0.0 Lesser " Kronos"
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2011 : 17:55:54
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| It's just crazy how she seems to think it's cruel, i'm guessing she's a vegan since cows and sheep go through much much much worse. |
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BlueDragon
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
876 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2011 : 11:35:58
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I don't like people like this, so judgemental. And so mixed up. I keep pet rats and a snake that eats rats too and I love them all equally. I keep a cat, and I eat meat as well. I have rules though. I only eat truly free range meat that I reserch how it's kept and killed, the rats that are for Tig are from a home breeder, not a big farm and I know how they're kept and killed too ('cause I asked).
I take on recue rats and I could tell you about some of the horrific starts some have had in life but I certainly don't see feeding Tig his natural food as cruel. How can you? It's so bizzar to me, I don't get it. I have no conection in my head between the rats Tig eats and the ones I cuddle and care for upstairs. Does she see all carnivores as some sort of evil then? Should we all go out in the night with torches and pitch forks and kill the lot of them for being the way they are? Or should we 'teach' them the supposedly 'true' ways of life, having them all live off tofu?
I'm glad she doesn't own snakes... she'd probably force them to eat salad or something. Silly cow. |
Just me and my zoo. |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2011 : 16:56:57
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LOL - I wouldn't put it past her!
Mind you, I bet if I wiggled a mushroom on tongs for that Ziska it would be halfway down her gullet before she realised it wasn't rodent!
Yeah, on a more serious note the writer of that website, though obviously loving her rats, spoils it by half-baked info - not a mention of laboratory rats, for instance. Leaving aside the pros and cons of laboratory research, rats destined for reptile feed have it cushy compared with laboratory animals. Just a pity that any of them have to die, eh? |
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Edited by - n/a on 07/07/2011 16:59:53 |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2011 : 17:29:01
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She did speak about t rex sausages whatever they are... They sound delicious lol
And a 'mouse maker' which sounds less delicious, the links were broken so I couldn't find out but her talk of rats being unhealthy for snakes was enough for me to stop taking notice. |
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BlueDragon
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
876 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2011 : 11:04:08
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| Ah, so we should be feeding them tofu then? Well, I never knew that! You learn something new everyday, right? |
Just me and my zoo. |
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Topic |
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snakes and rats
