my new baby (pic)!!

jsluder · Post by **jsluder** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:20 am

Caroluna wrote:It's hard to tell from the scale of the picture how large / small he is....??

(Emphasis added.)

Snakes conveniently carry their own set of scales, so they can measure anything they want to measure. It's not the snake's fault you can't read Parseltongue.

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:28 am

Cranberry wrote:
emmline wrote:
Cranberry wrote:The petstore sells them, humanely pre-killed and frozen.
Ok, I could deal with that. It would be hard to have to buy sacrificial mice and release them live into the snake's quarters.
A lot of people do that (feed live) because they don't know about training snakes to eat pre-killed. It's cheaper, healthier for the snake (freezing also kills many mites, parasites, and germs, plus a dead mouse can't scratch or bite the snake), and painless for the mice (the standard method of euthanasia is carbon monoxide).

My snake has only ever eaten pre-killed food. I made sure of that before I got him, and I made sure he was eating regularly.

I think at NW Seed and Pet, where I work, they take the pinkies and fuzzies and mice and rats that have died overnight and throw them in the freezer in the pet room. I know there's no euthanizing machine in the back, so unless they take them out to the car and stick a bag up to the tailpipe, they don't gas them.

I hate seeing the little mice sticking their noses and paws out the holes in the carrying box as I'm marking off the feeder cards for the customers.

People have really big snakes and feed them rabbits, which really makes me cringe. Sometimes the snake won't eat the rabbit, so they bring the rabbit back for a refund. One time another customer was in line behind the person bringing the rabbit back, and this other customer said "It's the ears the snake doesn't like. Just cut off the ears before you throw the rabbit in the cage and the snake will eat it just fine."

I really need to win the lottery so I never have to work any more.

I.D.10-t · Post by **I.D.10-t** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:29 am

Cranberry wrote:
emmline wrote:
Cranberry wrote:The petstore sells them, humanely pre-killed and frozen.
Ok, I could deal with that. It would be hard to have to buy sacrificial mice and release them live into the snake's quarters.
A lot of people do that (feed live) because they don't know about training snakes to eat pre-killed. It's cheaper, healthier for the snake (freezing also kills many mites, parasites, and germs, plus a dead mouse can't scratch or bite the snake), and painless for the mice (the standard method of euthanasia is carbon monoxide).

My snake has only ever eaten pre-killed food. I made sure of that before I got him, and I made sure he was eating regularly.

From what I have read, pre-killed mice also help to keep the aggression of the snake down.
~~
I am surprised that they use carbon monoxide. CO2 (when used properly) does the job quickly and painlessly and would be less dangerous for the workers.

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:49 am

Charlene's customer wrote:"It's the ears the snake doesn't like. Just cut off the ears before you throw the rabbit in the cage and the snake will eat it just fine."

Man, I would've been howling. I might have suggested it's the tail they don't like, but I would've been howling, nonetheless.

djm

jkwest · Post by **jkwest** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:24 am

Oh, Charlene...that was great!!

Btw, Cran...you should have let me know you were in the market for one of those buggers..

I kick them out of my garden all the time.

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:29 am

djm wrote: Man, I would've been howling.

So would the ASPCA...
not to mention the rabbit....

jsluder wrote:
Caroluna wrote:
It's hard to tell from the scale of the picture how large / small he is....??
(Emphasis added.)

Snakes conveniently carry their own set of scales, so they can measure anything they want to measure. It's not the snake's fault you can't read Parseltongue.

I went back to the picture and tried to use the scales to compute the size.
But I got a different answer three different times.
I guess I'm just not a very good adder.

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:49 am

Caroluna wrote: I went back to the picture and tried to use the scales to compute the size.
But I got a different answer three different times.
I guess I'm just not a very good adder.

I see what you did there...

BigDavy · Post by **BigDavy** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:51 am

Caroluna wrote:
djm wrote: Man, I would've been howling.
So would the ASPCA...
not to mention the rabbit....

jsluder wrote:
Caroluna wrote:
It's hard to tell from the scale of the picture how large / small he is....??
(Emphasis added.)

Snakes conveniently carry their own set of scales, so they can measure anything they want to measure. It's not the snake's fault you can't read Parseltongue.
I went back to the picture and tried to use the scales to compute the size.
But I got a different answer three different times.
I guess I'm just not a very good adder.

As a flute/whistle player, does that make you a Puff Adder

David

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:07 am

BigDavy wrote: As a flute/whistle player, does that make you a Puff Adder
David

:groans pitifully:

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:09 pm

Caroluna wrote:I went back to the picture and tried to use the scales to compute the size. But I got a different answer three different times.
I guess I'm just not a very good adder.

If your reckoning showed no loss would that make you a black adder?

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:40 pm

In my former life as a vet tech there was one job I refused to do- feed the raptors. ( As a state licensed wildlife treatment facility we almost always had an injured Red Tailed Hawk or some kind of owl) They had to have a live something to kill or they wouldn't eat. We had tanks of live mice just for that purpose.

While I've always liked watching snakes, and was one of only two techs at the hospital that would hold one for treatment, I never wanted one. No. I don't want any creature that I have to feed a live animal.

Cran, and I am honestly curious with this question, and my memory can be faulty,.... Aren't you a vegetarian or vegan or something? Don't eat meat?
How does this reconcile?

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:22 pm

cowtime wrote:Cran, and I am honestly curious with this question, and my memory can be faulty,.... Aren't you a vegetarian or vegan or something? Don't eat meat?
How does this reconcile?

I'm going to take a stab at this one (no assumption that Cranberry's answer would be the same,) because I'm almost a vegetarian. (I eat a bit of fish at times.)

I can choose to eat a primarily herbivorous diet for many reasons. The reasons that keep me there have to do with the appalling conditions in much of the commercial meat industry, and the ecological sustainability of a plant-based diet. (I realize there are arguments that would conflict with my basic tenets...and that's fine...this is just what seems to make sense to me.) I avoid meat primarily out of a respect for life, and a choice not to take it since I don't have to.
At the same time, it would be silly to pretend that all creatures could make such a choice. Of course they can't. Carnivores are carnivores, and respecting life pretty much requires one to respect this fact. So, if I'm fond of snakes, I'm going to have to accept that meat is required in my pet's diet even though I personally choose to abstain. I would, as Cran does, want that meat to come from an animal which had been treated humanely. This is really no different from feeding my cats cat food.

Life is full of these little paradoxes.

I'll also point out--and this is strictly my pov--that one can be a vegetarian and at the same time recognize that many people who aren't vegetarians came by their dietary choices by as much honest reflection as went into mine. They just reached a different conclusion.

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:27 pm

I am a natural omnivore. Omnivorous happy as when I'm eating chocolate.

djm

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:44 pm

Beautiful!

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:04 pm

djm wrote:I am a natural omnivore. Omnivorous happy as when I'm eating chocolate.

djm

Scavenging on Dead Animals
http://www.gerbrandt.com/matthew/chickadees.asp

We've all seen Chickadees eating seeds and berries but did you know that they also snack on dead animals? That's right, Chickadees have been seen eating fat from dead animals whose bodies have been opened up by larger predators and scavengers. These fat deposits are an excellent source of calories for Chickadees during the harsh winter months when food may be scarce.

I agree, the chocolate sounds like a better idea...

edited to make this post less unappetizing