I want to feed my corn live?!

My father in law feeds live and you will never change his mind. My husband thinking like his dad (hunting, natural, exercise) thought it would be best, we did it once. His snake got bit while supervised and dangling the mouse so he could grab the mouse by the nose. He then agreed that frozen was best.

So I don't have anything really to add to this thread but I know here is AZ a parasite vet visit could cost up and even over $200. I am lucky that I was a vet tech so I can have a friend that works at a lab, look at poop then I just call one of the doctors that I worked for and they are willing to look up doses and get me meds. But I know my sister in law has paid over $200 for a parasite visit, med, and recheck. And she pays $150 per snake for just a well visit. I am sure that it is because he is one of the few strictly reptile vets in my area but it is insane. I will not got see him as long as I have other resource and don't have too.

Well, I love my vet so I don't mind paying for his expertise and _time_. I never feel rushed when I am there.

Well that is good. I don't really like this guy he has a major chip on his shoulder.

Well I've read and skimmed through some posts. To the OP I'm glad that you changed your mind. I am against live feeding if it can be avoided. But I'm not going to harp on anyone who does feed live. Just know that to only do it because you are curious might come back to haunt you (it still bothers me to think about). It's not a pretty sight and it's not pleasant to hear either. I've seen a live pink being eating and it screamed until the end even though it was constricted first (it didn't die). I've seen a live rabbit being eaten by a python. Not only did the rabbit scream in pain but you could hear it's bones cracking and popping.

As for the whole vet thing. I would love if there were a vet that would only charge like $15 just to see my snake. Anything other than a cat or dog is considered exotic by all the vets I've tried (4 places so far) and they all charge sky high prices for exotics! It cost me $79 when I brought my snake it to have it sexed. The vet didn't even sex it. Told me she didn't know how. Still got charged for it. I paid $750 to have my rabbit spayed. So, I can believe $200 to deworm a snake or whatever.

It really is unfortunate for vet bills to be more expensive then the pet itself, unfortunately in my case if he gets sick before i get a real job (after university) which is in 4 years then I will most likely have to give him away to someone who will to pay it due to such high costs. Of course I would give a look to vets around here first and find out prices. It saddens me to be honest but it does give me more of a reason to be vigilant and ensure proper care is done to make sure that never happens!

No worries. If I didn't think my snakes could get parasites from another source, it would be pretty silly of me to get them checked at all, LoL.

Originally Posted by Checkersthecornsnake

It really is unfortunate for vet bills to be more expensive then the pet itself, unfortunately in my case if he gets sick before i get a real job (after university) which is in 4 years then I will most likely have to give him away to someone who will to pay it due to such high costs. O

If someone cannot pay for the care of their pet, they should not have gotten the pet in the first place.

I hate the way so many people seem to selfishly acquire animals only to give them up as soon as any problems or financial burdens arise.

P.S.- (I know this is mean, but I've read this entire thread and it's been torturing me...) Can you spell "spell check"?

Originally Posted by Katie612

P.S.- (I know this is mean, but I've read this entire thread and it's been torturing me...) Can you spell "spell check"?

Oh, come on. Auditing someone's spelling skills does nothing to solidify your argument.

Originally Posted by Cassie16

Oh, come on. Auditing someone's spelling skills does nothing to solidify your argument.

Nor does auditing my financial situation.

Although I love my snake and will do everything I can to ensure it stays healthy if I simply can't afford to bring him back to full health I will do everything I can to ensure he does even if its not with me. I dont think thats selfish at all.

There's one problem:

Why would anyone want to adopt an ill snake and take on those medical bills when they could get a healthy one for less money?


Pets should not be 'fair weather' purchases. By your thoughts, I should have re-homed my dog the first time he got sick. It would have saved me some $10k in medical bills. But it would have then either fobbed that cost onto someone else, OR Kumo would have been euthanised. The latter is most likely.