| Archive for scabies.myfreeforum.org Southern California Arachnid, Bug, Invertebrate, Entomological Society |
| DeniseCasey |
Rats-Suppose to be feedersOk, so Sean comes home with 2 female feeder rat babies for my two new snakes and here is what ended up happening:
*sigh* I need to be sure in the future to ask for white rats with red eyes!!!!!! One female is a black hooded and the other one is a cream hooded. These two girls are such sweethearts-basically they were too sweet to eat! 
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| Celeste |
They *are* awfully cute! |
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| ftorres |
Denise and Sean
Are Unbelivable!!!!!!! francisco |
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| Matt Kogler |
OOOOOOR, you could ask them to bring you "dead" ones, if you make those into pets, there really is a problem.... 
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| Matt Kogler |
Oh yeah, its wierd that you posted this post. I too brought home 3 little rats today, heres where they went.... (The 3rd is inside your Ball D... heh heh...)
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| DeniseCasey |
Yea, I know guys. There is no words to describe it. I just could not bring myself to do it with these two cuties. They had the most pathetic look on their faces.
Soo now I have to go tomorrow after work and get 2 rats! Matt, what kind of snake is in the picture? Its gorgeous! |
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| What |
See... there is an easy solution for this. Have the store give them to you already in the box/bag/whatever. Dont open it...
Take box/bag/whatever and if needed put it in a more sturdy container, take said container and swing it into a hard surface as hard as you can. You will then have prekilled rats with no attachment issues. 
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| DeniseCasey |
Yes, this is true. I just found out that the store will pre-kill them for you so I am considering this. I really do not like messing with the frozen rats so I might consider the pre-kill. There is no way to keep these as pets! For some reason, I have no attachment to the typical white lab rats. When I opened the bag and saw these cute girls, I felt bad. I use to constantly have rats as pets so getting these babies brought back the times when I use to keep them. Oh well, rats are relatively easy to care for. I will make sure the next feeder rats stay as feeder rats! I have to feed the hungry snakes!!! |
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| Matt Kogler |
D I totally understand (even though I like to make nasty jokes..::lol::), I used to breed rodents out in Vegas when I lived there (by the thousands), and I always got attached to a lot of my breeders, rats are awesome..
That is my female yellow bull, the males a bit lighter, she has a more golden appearance, I also have albino bulls, and hypos that are het for albinos.. I have a gorgeous leucistic S. pine I'm trying to find an albino male for, I'll post a pic of her now.. My yellow bulls are only just coming up on 3 yrs old, theyre gonna be huge (61/2- 8 fters...) 
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| BugMom |
Beautiful snakes! Okay, now when my hubby forgets that he told me "no more pets", I know exactly what I want! 
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| Matt Kogler |
::lol:: | ||||||||
| Steven |
Cute rats!
Nasty nasty snakies. 
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| DeniseCasey |
I was playing with my rats the other day and I noticed that one of the *girls* is a dude!
I guess I have a breeding pair now. With as many snakes as I have and the cost of food, I think I am going to raise some feeders! A large rat costs $6, the mediums are $4-5.
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| BamBaboons |
solution to your problem ::lol::. Frosen/thawed rats!
you cant get attached to something that's already dead (assuming your snake will take them)
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| DeniseCasey |
Yea, I am not doing the frozen thing again...Its way more work for me. I just supervise all feedings and I am ready with a handy pair of *very* large forceps so the rats do not bite my snakes. The breeding solves the problem too, especially for my smaller snakes that take pinkies and fuzzys. Thanks for the info. |
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| BamBaboons |
frozen rats come in all sizes  from pinkie to adult.
oh, yeah. Though, while supervised feedings are safer for the snake, I do imagine its still quite terrifying for the rats. Just a personal opinion though. |
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| DeniseCasey |
Yes, I know they come in all sizes, I just hate thawing them out. The store will prekill the rats though. I am sure its terrifying and I feel bad but the snakes have to eat! And I love my snakes! |
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| Celeste |
Oh, I see... you don't have the heart to feed the *adults* to your snakes, and you think you're going to be able to feed the *babies*??? Sure, Denise... (I'll believe that when I see it!) ;-> -- Celeste |
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| Matt Kogler |
Shes gonna have 6,000 "pet" feeders.....
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| Celeste |
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| DeniseCasey |
That's what my hubby is for! We can make him the official snake feeder!
The adults don't bother me so much, its the cute fuzzy ratties! |
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| crash714 |
Hey Denise, I've had rare problems and other snake keepers might have also with the snake accidentally nailing the forceps sometimes when doing live feedings. It can cause a broken fang/mouth damage. I'll give you a "special" set of forceps I use to prevent this at the BBQ.
Eric |
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| Herpetologyfrk |
This is why I do not feed with forceps, I use my hands
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| Celeste |
Yeah -- I just use my hands as well. Open the lid up a crack and dangle the deceased rodent by the tail. Gotta be quick, though! ;-) | ||||||||
| DeniseCasey |
PEOPLE -I do not use forceps for that purpose. I use the back part of the forceps for just an emergency once the rat is caught. I have had to put the forceps between the rats teeth and my snake while its being constricted so that it does not damage my snake. Its a safety measure since rats can still bite even after being caught.
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| Matt Kogler |
I usually dangle them by the tail from my teeth.... | ||||||||
| Celeste |
I really don't recommend feeding live... (unless you want an injured snake). If your snake absolutely won't take dead prey (even if you hold it between your teeth and dangle it like Matt...!), you can at least stun the prey before feeding. |
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| BamBaboons |
yes! i totally forgot to mention stunning. safe for the snake, and less horrifying for the rat. |
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| Herpetologyfrk |
another reason why I pre kill on the spot. They only snake I cannot feed pre-killed is my white lipped python. |
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| DeniseCasey |
everyone has their opinion and everyone is an expert on this subject.
I think its best to do what works for you and your snakes. |
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| BamBaboons |
whats best for the snake is to minimize injury risks as much as possible. the best and most effective way is to pre-kill or stun. Your making it sound like its to much effort on your part to thaw out a frozen, or pre-kill a rat, yet you insist on supervising the whole ordeal and having to keep the forceps between your snake and the rats teeth seems to me to be much more of a hassle. im not trying to start any thing, i just don't understand the problem here. |
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| DeniseCasey |
You are tyring to start something and this is not what the orignal topic was about. You do it your way and I will do it mine |
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| BamBaboons |
I'm not trying to start any thing.. you just seem to be very closed minded about any way but your way.
I know this isn't what the thread was about, but its slowly turned that way and it wasn't just myself that steered it in this direction. |
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| DeniseCasey |
For your info, I have done it both ways. Thank you. |
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| BamBaboons |
really, there is no need to get defensive.
there are more than 2 ways. |
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| Matt Kogler |
Oh boy, time for me to go to bed... | ||||||||
| Herpetologyfrk |
I've always pre-killed on the spot. I don't trust the companies that pre-kill for me. I love all animals (Including "feeders") I just like to know they were pre-killed in the most humane way possible. An instant death is better then a slow suffocation, or an envenomation from anything else.
Not saying anyone is right or wrong, just stating this is the way I feed mine, becuase I feel the most comfortable that no animal will suffer when I feed, including pets, and feeders.
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| What |
Umm... To be totally honest Denise, Bam is making an excellent point. Now... As for the feeding live/not feeding live and people who claim their snakes will not take prekilled... If you want to say that your snake will not take prekilled, you are admitting you are doing something wrong(or just dont want to feed prekilled, at all. To those that might want to feed prekilled but have been unable to get their snakes to take the food as of yet: Your snake will not starve, to save some money, buy live and prekill. If the snake doesnt take it, freeze it and thaw it out the next week(then discard if the snake doesnt take it). With stubborn snakes I have kept in the past it generally only takes a couple weeks(2-4 weeks) of no food for the snake to start taking prekilled/thawed prey. <mod hat> Denise/Bam, we can start another thread about ways to prekill, freeze/thaw, and feed... You both obviously have different opinions and have something that "works". If Denise wants to spend the time to stand around making sure the snake doesnt get scratched/bitten/chewed on/etc then fine...If Bam wants to feed prekilled w/o having to stand around then fine as well. Lets just leave it be, ok? </mod hat> |
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| BamBaboons |
a new thread is a great idea! people could post weaning tips, as well as how to humanely pre-kill. as well as other safe feeding options..
All in favor? I :edit: done. please feel free to contribute! http://scabies.myfreeforum.org/sutra26701.php#26701 |
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| Herpetologyfrk |
Everyone of my snakes will take pre-killed, BUT the white lipped python. Not because I am doing something wrong, but because the snake was fed live by the previous owner all of it's life prior to me. I've tried and failed many times at trying to convert it. It just won't happen, it prefers live prey to pre-killed. That is not my fault. 
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| BamBaboons |
That is understandable. I've read some species are harder to convert from live to pre-killed, I'm sure if you post in the feeding options thread, someone will be more than willing to share weaning tips/tricks, maybe there's something you haven't tried.
On another note, I believe that we should stop derailing this thread and get back to the original topic. All other feeding talk should go in the feeding options thread. Sorry this got a bit out of hand Denise. My apologies. :edit for additional info, and capitalization errors: |
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| Herpetologyfrk |
Yeah, i've converted many of my carpet pythons, and boas. The white lipped is very picky. Even if I disturb a him little, he'll stop eating. He's always been very hard to coax even into eating at all. | ||||||||
| DeniseCasey |
I think I was not the one being defensive in this situation. I think if you read back at the wording some of you have chosen, I think you find that its not appropriate. Maybe your intentions were meant to be given as sound advise but instead it came off wrong.
I am open to suggestions however, I have chosen my method of feeding and what works for *my* snakes. There are many *professionals* that will not disagree with any of us, including me. I am not new to snakes and I have used both methods. BTW , Kevin, I have a point too! Nuff Said. |
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| Matt Kogler |
Good morning, oh wait its still going back an forth.. D is right and has a point, Bam has a point , Rodney King had a point.. Lalalalaa.. "Cant we ALL jus getta long???'..(::lol::)
We all do things in our own style, is there a right or wrong way to do something, of course there is... Is there a way to do something right that works for us individually, of course.. Live feeding when not necessary is risky, pre killed fresh vs. thawed, isn't really an issue.. We all have our unique ways of doing things that work for us, as long as no one is endangering "MY" animals (meaning ALL herps) its all good... |
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| DeniseCasey |
Thanks Matt! I figured if you let me adopt a couple of snakes from you, you completely trust me. Your boys are doing fine!
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| Matt Kogler |
Of course I trust you, you love your kritters... (I actually just wanted to throw that Rodney King line in, heh heh...) | ||||||||
| WBurke17 |
Nobody is questioning your love for your critters Denise, It was just some suggestions that were takin out of context and misinterpreted. | ||||||||
| WBurke17 |
So hows everybodies pets doing? | ||||||||