Rats, Ferrets, Snakes, other exotic animals.

[grimace]

It's done by either CO2 or cervical dislocation, far more humane than being frightened in an enclosed space and slowly crushed to death.

No species of snake crushes prey to death. The vast majority of pet snakes constrict, which suffocates the prey, as does CO2.

The only real problem I see with using live prey is danger to the snake. Being killed by a constrictor is not a very painful death, compared to almost every other predator.

 

That said, I'd personally use frozen due to the bite risks. Rodent bits can seriously mess things up.

[TheDarkCynder]

Actually, if I recall correctly, constricting is not being "crushed to death" or suffocated. Constrictions causes blood vessels to close in the prey animal. Because the blood is not flowing, it cannot properly circulate, causing the prey animal to die within seconds. If it were true suffocation, the task would take a few minutes, which would give the prey animal enough time to fight back.

 

 

[marhawkman]

At any rate, both cats and snakes love live rodents. It's their natural food.

 

When they are serious about eating a rodent they kill it pretty quick. Why? to make sure it can't escape.

[auria]

That's why you thaw it, silly. You don't just give a snake a frozen animal to eat.

 

I've heard the "dead either way" excuse before, and not just for snake feedings either. I'm sorry, but that doesn't justify causing something a painful death or risking your pet to bites. From what I've read here you don't seem to know how mice/rats are euthanised, and I'll tell you now, it's not by drowning. It's done by either CO2 or cervical dislocation, far more humane than being frightened in an enclosed space and slowly crushed to death. Google is your friend. Go to some popular snake forums and see how it's done.

 

That's what lazy people say.

I would just like to note here that sometimes the snake will refuse feeding if the mouse is already dead. I know from personal experience, and the waste of the money on the frozen mice...as well as trying to find something to do with the 4 I had left once I realized it was not gonna happen. Rune would NOT under any circumstances eat something that was dead.

 

I tried frozen that I heated in warm water to an acceptable temperature, I tried wiggling them around a bit in the tank to stimulate the prey drive, I tried knocking them out (yeah, be the 15 year old who is informed by a petstore that she has to physically knock out a mouse...>.> not fun), I tried everything I could find online. He wouldn't do it. They ended up sitting in his cage overnight, swelling because they were lying on the side of the tank with his heating pad stuck to the bottom.

 

Curious about why, I started doing a metric ****ton of research and found out this: snakes imprint on their prey. If they're born in captivity, and fed live, they will (typically) only eat live mice, because it's all they recognize. Some won't even eat other species unless they're almost starving. A friend that I met through one of the snake forums who lived in my area introduced me to her python, Angel, who would only eat pure white mice/rats. There could not be a single mark of another color or she would refuse. Rune had been feed live pinkies (which progressed to very small, young mice) the entire time he was in the pet store's care, and so he didn't recognize the dead ones as prey.

 

As for the painful death part, it happens. Maybe I'm desensitized because I live in an area with a lot of predatory wildlife, but I think suffocation/constriction of a mouse is not that bad an end in the general scheme of things. I've seen cows with their heads chewed off...among other wounds...from the coyotes we have in the woods behind my house...that could not have felt good. Nature isn't humane, and snakes don't have the neurological development to realize that constriction is painful and they should eat the mice that are already dead. I mean, if you're not careful with what you put in their tanks and the temperature of their heating rocks they'll cook themselves without realizing it. Just sayin. I'd rather be constricted.

And the potential bites? If you can tell me how to make a snake eat dead prey rather than trying to starve himself because he doesn't recognize it as food...I will gladly change my ways. As it were, he starts his 'hunting' routine as soon as he hits the bathtub and hasn't suffered a bite or scratch in the past 5 years.

 

ETA: Marhawkman: boids actually will constrict past the point of death to ensure that the prey can't injure them, as well as to make sure they the prey doesn't escape.

And just as a side note, cats who play with mice are typically doing it because 1) they're practicing their hunting or 2) they think you need to be taught how to hunt (which is kind of sweet, in a twisted, predatory way >.>). Otherwise, you are indeed correct. They kill them quickly to make sure they don't slip out and run away.

Edited November 18, 2011 by auria

[TheDarkCynder]

Like I said before, constricting prevents proper bloodflow, so the animal feels hardly anything before it's dead. I have seen people feed pre-killed with a more horrible way of killing a mouse than a snake would ever do.

 

I don't know about you, but if I had to die I'd rather die within seconds of basically passing out than be put into a bag and slammed against the table a few times.

 

~~

 

Having a snake as a pet probably isn't for everyone, but there are a lot of misconceptions about them which make them seem worse. I think they can be great "exotic" pets in the hands of the right owner.

[GavinB]

At any rate, both cats and snakes love live rodents.

So?

 

My rats love chewing on things, that doesn't mean I should allow it to chew on my hand-carved wooden chess set.

 

And auria, I already said I make exceptions to last resort cases. Yes, you're right, sometimes converting doesn't work no matter how hard you try.

 

No species of snake crushes prey to death.

 

Yes they do. That's pretty much what constriction does - if you don't want to use crush, then tighten/squeeze. The snake still has to apply pressure to suffocate the animal.

 

Like I said before, constricting prevents proper bloodflow, so the animal feels hardly anything before it's dead.

 

Hmm, yes, tell that to the squealing, wriggling animal while it's being constricted. In a perfect world, your case would happen - but it does not. The squeeze might be a little lighter, or has the mouse in a position where your scenario is physically impossible, etc. A few seconds? No way... I've seen live killings before and they take a lot longer than that.

 

Did you write that to make yourself feel less guilty about such things?

[Riverstrike114]

Rats are the best pets! My pet rat literally acted like a little dog. He came to his name when I called him and I even got him little shirts.

 

I also have a bearded dragon if that counts as exotic.

[marhawkman]

So?

 

My rats love chewing on things, that doesn't mean I should allow it to chew on my hand-carved wooden chess set.

 

And auria, I already said I make exceptions to last resort cases. Yes, you're right, sometimes converting doesn't work no matter how hard you try.

 

Hmm, yes, tell that to the squealing, wriggling animal while it's being constricted. In a perfect world, your case would happen - but it does not. The squeeze might be a little lighter, or has the mouse in a position where your scenario is physically impossible, etc. A few seconds? No way... I've seen live killings before and they take a lot longer than that.

 

Did you write that to make yourself feel less guilty about such things?

Enh. It's nature. We can't stop it, we can only live with it. and yeah, I used to keep Gerbils as pets. They're fun.

 

But, it's also fun watching kitties and snakes hunt. So, enh. Predators eat prey. It's just part of nature.

[Xyzaq]

i feel the need to share.

 

my hedgehog died today while i was at school. he was five, and his name was Felix. RIP, Fe.

 

my mother said that his playmate, Teasel, a little girl two years younger, was very upset. we're getting another one. but still.

[xhunter]

sorry to hear! hope you can get a replacement for it though it probably would not be the same without the other one.

[Dragonhatchling]

I used to have a Bearded Dragon but he died about a year ago to date... I've been trying to get another since, since my parents (of course I'm included in here) my friends and practically all of my family loved him. They were great pets and not spiny freaky lizard things that'll take any chance they get to eat your hand off like my mother thought the first time (come to think of it- I'm not sure how I talked her into getting one in the first place...).

 

I now own a Cockatiel and for all you out there that think birds are messy little things that make tons of noise... they do do that but not as bad as you pry think. They're only loud when they want attention real bad (and seeing as I usually give the bird a good amount of attention each day, I have yet to have him actually screech in my home- mimic the telephone sure but screech, nope.) and don't make a lot of mess. Everything has to go to the bathroom at some point and that's not a giant splatter of mess either. Just a small 'plop' of what ironically (to me) looks like lizard poop. Or lizard poop looks like bird poop... either way, not that bad and easy to clean since (unless you give them grape juice- which I never have but have read it and had a friend who accidentally gave her parrot a few grapes) it won't stain. And it's not watery either

[willapigfly]

I used to have three gerbils when I was younger.(for those who don't know what gerbils are, it's hard to explain, sort of like mouse/hamsters that stand like kangaroos[that's a horrible explanation. just google it!]) Anyways, it took a lot of convincing with my mom. We finally agreed that if she didn't see them or smell them, I could have them. They were super cute and I miss them a lot. I named them after spacey stuff, my first two were Stella and Luna. The one I got after Stella passed was named Xena(which is a dwarf planet, like Pluto). I really wish that I could get more, but my parents say that I can only have one species of animal in my room at a time, and that slot is currently occupied by a goldfish that I rescued from being flushed down the toilet.

Edited November 24, 2011 by willapigfly

[asuna123]

I owned many pets in my life, the question is whether you want to hear about the pets I owned and still lived, or the ones I had as a kid that all died (except fish).

Let me just mention the ones I owned reciently. I had a pet rabbit (palomino) for 11 months, gave him to a friend to take care of because of my landlady, and he was sent back to the shelter =[. But it was nice having him around.

A pet kitten named Lysette, I gave her to my boyfriend for the same reason but he and I share her so it's fine. Plus I visit her now and then to see her development =)

3 pet rats, a Himalayan named Lily, a black/white hooded rat named Katherine, and a blue rat named Blu. Lily + Katherine are both around 7 months old, Blu only 3.

[Magdalen]

Well my exotics include 1 rabbit and 3 leopard geckos oh and fish, 3 pencil fish. Nothing too fancy. Used to have a Kenyan Sand Boa and if I had room I would love a bearded dragon or a black headed python (as long as it ate frozen haha).

[TheDarkCynder]

Hmm, yes, tell that to the squealing, wriggling animal while it's being constricted. In a perfect world, your case would happen - but it does not. The squeeze might be a little lighter, or has the mouse in a position where your scenario is physically impossible, etc. A few seconds? No way... I've seen live killings before and they take a lot longer than that.

 

Did you write that to make yourself feel less guilty about such things?

Uh, have you ever seen a snake eat live? I don't think so. The animal stops squirming within seconds. I see snakes fed live all of the time; my neighbor has multiple snakes which eat live, and he often asks me to help him.

In addition to my personal experiences, the Discovery Channel would like to have a word with you.

 

Sorry, but I think you're a bit biased.

[TLOSpyrogirl]

Do Bearded Dragons count? I think they're common, but they are very intelligent. I used to have one, but we had to give him away. And the first one had some sort of disease. He wouldn't chase his crickets and he had to have his leg amputated after we gave him away.

 

I also used to have a hamster. I'm not sure if that counts as exotic or not, but they fall under the category of rats and mice, right? She always got out of her cage, and we have no idea how, because it was one of the plastic ones with no holes...we had to give her away too. D: After we caught her again, anyway...

 

I think mice are cute, but I don't like rats very much. Not because I think they have diseases or are mean, they just kind of freak me out for some reason. Mice are adorable, though.

[Xyzaq]

as a follow-up to my previous post about Felix dying, we're getting two new hedgehogs - tomorrow. They would be Felix's niece & nephew - Carter and Castillo. I'm so excited, and I think Teasel is even suspecting someone knew is coming because I've set out new food dishes and everything. /excited

[TLOSpyrogirl]

I didn't know people kept hedgehogs as pets.

 

Snakes are nice, but they're a bit too slow for me. If you put them in a tank, they don't really do anything. And I'm not sure how to tame a snake so it doesn't bite, so I couldn't take it out. And sitting in a glass cage all your life when you should be slithering through the glass sounds like a miserable existence...

[Xyzaq]

I didn't know people kept hedgehogs as pets.

 

Snakes are nice, but they're a bit too slow for me. If you put them in a tank, they don't really do anything. And I'm not sure how to tame a snake so it doesn't bite, so I couldn't take it out. And sitting in a glass cage all your life when you should be slithering through the glass sounds like a miserable existence...

they do.

 

actually, snakes don't bite unless provoked. so you wouldn't exactly have to 'tame' it. and you'd be surprised - my friend's aunt has a snake who lives a very happy existence. of course, he's a fat snake who just likes to sleep, be fed, and slither around his owner's shoulders, but shh.

[TLOSpyrogirl]

Well, doesn't picking them up count as 'provoked'? o.O What makes a snake angry?

[aurora344]

Several years ago I purchased a hairless rat from a breeder...his name was Yoda, he was such a wonderful pet, so friendly, he would sit on my shoulder and his tail would wrap around the bottom of my chin. Most of my coworkers thought I was insane for owning a rat, they would not come to my house thinking I would bring Yoda out!. Sadly Yoda hass passed and I now own a Leopard gecko, an African fat tailed gecko and a whitefaced cockatiel.

[TheOwlT-shirt]

I read in an article in National Geographic that through selective breeding, a research group managed to domesticate artic foxes. That sounds like a really cool pet to have, if you ask me.

[7Deadly$ins]

I read in an article in National Geographic that through selective breeding, a research group managed to domesticate artic foxes. That sounds like a really cool pet to have, if you ask me.

No, they're red foxes. The project has been around for quite some time but they're not very easy to get ahold of.

 

Regular red foxes make decent pets, though, even if they aren't from the Russian experiment. They're easier than a lot of exotics but not for everyone, of course.

[TLOSpyrogirl]

I think that foxes are adorable, but I'm willing to bet they're not quite as friendly as Viva Pinata and Disney makes them out to be...then again, it's all about how you raise them, isn't it?

[Asteris]

I've had rats in the past, the last time I had rats I had four boys: Angus, Arthur, Mikito and "Dumbdumb" (boyfriend named the blue dumbo this and I never came up with a better name) and four girls: Kanyi, Saret, Nariko and Gabby. Great pets; sweet, entertaining, etc. They even got along well with our cats and dogs (though I would never suggest that with just any dog/cat and rats)

 

Unfortunately I don't have the financial means now to properly care for more rats so I haven't had more since the last passed away a few years ago