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How do you murder something so cute.

mele2511

mele2511

Was'nt me officer
Well i got 2 live gerbils............

These guys a really cute and they dont bite me. As you know they are for the sick royal.

I didnt think i would have an issue with feeding live IF i had no choice....... Well i do!!!!

They look lovely and do nothing to annoy me. I had they idea that if they bite me i would just throw them right in the tank with the snake and say "Ha i bet you wish you didnt bite me now, Dont you." but they wont bite lol.

Everytime i go to pick them up to put them in the tank i end up putting them back in there little tub because my conscience say no. I think that the longer i leave it, the harder its going to get.

Also if the snake does not eat it what then ?? I have no desire to keep them. At first i thought i would just hit them over the head to kill them and then put them in the freezer but i just cant do it.

I would post some pics of them but i think it is best not due to the nature of the tread and the legality of it.
 
What would you rather keep, gerbils or your B.P? You have to get over these feelings of guilt. You are not murdering anything, In the wild if a lion kills a antelope is that murder.No it's nature. If your willing and you should be, to do anything to help your B.P. Then you have a responsiblity to do anything to help your snake.
 
Awww...I know how you feel. I had to get some live rat pups and pinkies before and it was so hard. They were so cute and helpless. I had the hardest time giving them to the snakes. On the second one my husband saw how hard it was for me and asked me to leave the room and he did it for me. Thank goodness that kick started them eating and I could use f/t from then on. When you love animals that much it is very tough to do some thing like that. Can some one else do it for you and you just leave for a while?
 
To be honest i would rather do it myself because there is alot to be learned/gained from this.

I am going to wait a few hours till it is night time as this will increace the chances of success.
 
I totaly respect your decision, to do it yourself. I am a big animal lover and would never do anything to harm or distress an other living animal, but in nature one animal has to die for another to live.
 
mele2511 said:
They look lovely and do nothing to annoy me. I had they idea that if they bite me i would just throw them right in the tank with the snake and say "Ha i bet you wish you didnt bite me now, Dont you." but they wont bite lol.
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I'll admit that comment strikes me the wrong way. Animals bite for a number of reasons, like they're scared. They don't know what the giant predator that just grabbed them is going to do. They don't bite because they're mean or malicious, it's a survival thing and you can't fault them for it (I've been bitten by *lots* of small animals).

That being said, I eat meat and it's a decision. I don't just do it because everyone else does, I've thought about and I'm OK with eating other animals. Cute, loveable, fluffy animals. I'm sure it is hard to feed live, and I wouldn't want to do it either, but after a while your love of your snake will outweigh the cuteness of the gerbils.
 
djfreebase said:
What would you rather keep, gerbils or your B.P? You have to get over these feelings of guilt. You are not murdering anything, In the wild if a lion kills a antelope is that murder.No it's nature. If your willing and you should be, to do anything to help your B.P. Then you have a responsiblity to do anything to help your snake.
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I have a new appreciation for Silence of the Lambs now!

I agree though. don't let your feelings for an animal that rapidly reproduces and only lives a few years change your mind on feeding your lovely BP that in the wild may not even reproduce a dozen youngsters a year and can live in excess of 10-15 yrs.

I'd take the BP over the Gerbils anyday. Although when I bred rats for feeders I went through this too. Best wishes.
 
I want to add this to my first reply on this matter...

NO I don't "like" to feed live. But I didn't say I wouldn't do it to save one of my snakes. I have 42 corns right now some of which were very underfed when I got them. I do what it takes to make sure they are healthy. With that being said, it doesn't mean I don't feel a little bad for the mouse. :shrugs:
 
There is no real legal problem here, this is the biggest myth in UK herp-keeping. It is NOT illegal to feed live vertebrate prey in the UK, if it can be proved to be a necessity, as long as no intentional cruelty is involved, and as long as it isn't performed in public.
So, in the situation of a snake that is refusing f/t and losing condition, you can legally feed a live gerbil in the privacy of your own home. I'd say making a video of it for youtube could possibly lay you open to performing the act for entertainment and possible prosecution (I mean 'you' in general, not 'you' personally). I don't think there has been a test-case for prosecuting live-feeding in the UK yet, but the general public have been led to believe that it is a totally illegal act anyway.
Here's a couple of links for you
http://faqs.org/faqs/pets/herp-faq/part3/section-3.html
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmenvfru/52/4090727.htm
 
The one thing I would say, is that adult gerbils can bite seriously. I'd be reluctant to put the business end of a live gerbil anywhere near a snake that might not strike-feed. Could you possibly try f/k, using cervical dislocation to kill the gerbil and present it to the snake while it's still twitching?
 
Were mice unavailable? I don't know how it works over there, so forgive my ignorance.

I agree that feeding live is not easy and I honestly get no joy whatsoever out of doing it with Butter. In fact, last night Butter refused to feed (just tuned clear and will shed in a day or two) and we were all relieved just a little for the 'lucky mouse' who got a treat before going back in with his tub mates.

But I'll repeat what I said on the other thread and what has been said above. It is not murder. You are feeding your snake in a manner consistent with nature and his needs. If snakes could be converted to a soy and vegetable diet, many would, and I might even try it. But they can't (or at least haven't been). So, in my mind, I made a decision to keep carnivores as pets, knowing that a carnivore must have a carnivore's diet, which could mean (and has for me) that I might have to feed a live prey item. I'm okay with that.
 
djfreebase said:
What would you rather keep, gerbils or your B.P? You have to get over these feelings of guilt. You are not murdering anything, In the wild if a lion kills a antelope is that murder.No it's nature. If your willing and you should be, to do anything to help your B.P. Then you have a responsiblity to do anything to help your snake.
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Although I agree, it's not really nature because you're confining both of the animals in a relatively tiny space. The gerbil has absolutely no chance of escape (unless the BP refuses and he gets taken out again lol).

Merlin'sPop, I think he's feeding a live gerbil because they are part of their diet in the wild. He's tried F/T mice/rats plus a number of methods like braining etc. So this is why he's trying live I believe.

I'm also a big animal lover, but I understand that one animal has to die for another to live, and your snake is more important than a gerbil.
 
As far as I know, there is no market here for live feeders. You can't go into a shop and buy live pinks or fuzzies at all, and if you went into a random petshop and asked for live rodents for your reptile (even if they sell frozen feeders) you'd be shown the door. Most people believe it's illegal here.
I was lucky that I've used my local petshop for years and know the owners well, from when I used to breed gerbils and zebra finches. When I explained that my syringe-fed corn needed a live pinky to try they had an accidental nest of pinks in the nest they looked at for me, but they were too big for Lil. They gave me my first breeder mice and I now trade pretty mice for dry foods.
The owners know me well enough from supplying dry foods, bedding or pets over the years that I am a caring pet owner who sees having to supply live mice as part of caring for my snakes, not as some sick bloodlust hobby. If I went to a shop where I wasn't known though, I'd risk being treated like a murderer.:shrugs:
 
Yeah I'm not sure Gerbils would be a good idea with an emancipated BP.

As for the other thing, handle some food and then handle the Gerbils and I'm sure they will bite you thinking your hand is food.
 
Hot F/T mouse rolled in gerbil bedding? (And who gave that emaciated python the vote?):rofl: (Sorry Kev, couldn't resist)
 
Well i did it.

Just so you know the 2 girbals where only small like a few weeks old and not adult.

Both of them are now dead. I put in the first girbal and i could not belive my eyes. The snake went upto it in seconds and eaten it with no problems.

Girbal 2 got put in and went straight to the snake and bit it on the tail area. This made the snake a bit scared of the food. Snake then struck at it but idnt get a clear shot off and then stayed away from it.

Because the snake had struck at the girbal and injured it i finished it off. I slapped it around my drain pipe and put in back in the tank. Snake still didnt est it because it was scared of it. after a while i just took it out and it now lives in my freezer as it could be usfull in the future.

THe bite on the snake is ok from what i could tell but i put on a little bit of iodine just to be safe.

I am just happy now knowing the snake has a little bit of food in it.
 
Glad to hear, he has eaten something. This may mean feeding him live for the rest of his life though. Iv got my fingers crossed for him
 
I might just try feed it the frozen one in a few days. If it refuses i will feed live for a few weeks and see how it goes.

I am hoping i can get back onto F/T mainly for logistic reasons. I am sure if i go to pet shops ever week asking for live they will probobly get funny with me and stop selling me them.
 
mele2511 said:
I might just try feed it the frozen one in a few days. If it refuses i will feed live for a few weeks and see how it goes.

I am hoping i can get back onto F/T mainly for logistic reasons. I am sure if i go to pet shops ever week asking for live they will probobly get funny with me and stop selling me them.
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I keep gerbils as pets... no way I could ever feed one to a snake.

But I understand sometimes you have to do what you have to do... in any event... could you try just scenting frozen mice with gerbil litter or the gerbil itself?? :shrugs:
 
IF it did bite the snake and scare it that much it might refuse..
Why did you put the second one in live if it was taking dead?
And why did you buy two for it's first feed?
MIKE
 
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