Living

[rtboaman]

mmmm ok I know this is probably going to open up a can of worms but...here we go.

Now snakes live in the wild and in certain parts of the world, I understand that. what I dont get is why we have to baby them with feeding f/t or pre killed and with a certain susbstrate which they wont swallow, etc. I mean when they are hungry in the woods, does someone come up and knock the mouse out for them...or lay out freshly thawed mice/rats etc?

I understand they can get bit by these animals but it happens on a dialy basis in the wild when these animals eat. It kind of goes with being a snake...thier instinct is to hunt strike and constrict. #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& ive seen shows where they take a down a full size antelope, so why should it be any different at home?

Now with this said I do feed f/t. this was broght up when I started asking for a recommended bedding and was told to " stay way" from certain beddings...

i just dont get it thats all

[reptilemama]

Conditions in captivity are never going to be the same in the wild, no matter what we do. yes, in the wild they sometimes get bitten by prey, swallow a leaf, etc, but why should we take the chance on injuring them just because "it happens in the wild?" Would you let your child play with a knife because, hey, when they're out in the real world they could get stabbed? It's our responsibilty to take every precaution possible to avoid injury or illness to those in our care. Besides, in the wild prey items aren't locked in a little box with the predator, they have the opportunity to flee, so they don't have to stand their ground and defend themselves. As for the bedding, it's not likely a snake would encounter anything like what we use for them, so they are not equipped to handle a piece of bedding that gets swallowed. Yes, they could end up swallowing a stick or some leaves, but they could also die from impaction. Why should we take the chance?

[LdyDrgn]

Snakes are also opportunistic eaters. In the wild they do not always eat live prey, they will scavenge as well.

As ReptileMama said, it is our responsibility as keepers to give them the best we can: a safe and healthy environment.

[telefrag]

I run around the house with scissors almost every day after I wake up.

[toker]

I agree, just because it could happen doesn't mean we should let it happen.

I the wild a snake will wait for just the right moment, if its not right it passes it up and moves on, in a box its eat or be eaten.. there is no shadow games. that is a major difference there alone.

As for bedding? you ever get the feeling that the bedding you use is not as packed and hard as most dirt found in the woods? I doubt that a snake in the woods would nab a mouse that is sitting on a sand pile *shrug*

just my two cents

which would you rather have?

[faze]

just a added note.... if you have ever seen a few w/c animals sitting in a petshop if you look closely alot of them have scalerot and the such....

[JonnyB]

well I personally don't feed life for the risk of the food harming my snake however I do have one that only seems to want live I feed her with one small mouse at a time and Iwait till I know she's good and hungry I hate having to do that but she doesn't seem to want P/K or F/t ??????

[joerissa]

Just do the little things. Posting in the RIP section is no fun!!!!

[rtboaman]

Thanks for the responses guys. I just wanted to get other's perspectives. I do all that ive been told...cyoress, f/t..usually i feed once a week, sometimes once every 5 days..other than that im good

[captainmorgan]

Good way to bring this up, I feed p/k. I use that ecoearth for bedding. It's just like dirt. Even the toate I use has a little bit of the eco earth in it. I mean little as in what the snake takes with him over a period of time. Not a layer. Anywho, When they eat the rat, the ecoearth dirt will sometimes get on it. But in the wild for most species dirt helps digestation. I don't use the aspen or other shavings. I just use dirt any have been happy ever since the change. I do see all points, I just wanted to add about the substrate part.