OK to freeze and use?

Mark Taylor · 03-21-13, 01:38 PM

My son's pet rabbit died today

. It was OK this morning but when we got in after work the rabbit was dead, not sure how it died but I was thinking would it be OK if I freeze it and use it for food for my boa?

Reason I ask I don't want what ever made the rabbit die affect the snake.

Hurrok · 03-21-13, 01:44 PM

I guess it depends on how it died, if it was a medical problem then it might not be safe. I'm not 100% sure but I think it is something to consider first

reptimama · 03-21-13, 01:45 PM

Based on what I've read freezing won't actually kill whatever killed your rabbit. If the rabbit was sick with a bacteria or virus freezing would probably cause them to go dormant but wouldn't kill them. I wouldn't feed the dead rabbit to my snake if it were me, always better safe than sorry IMO.

Mark Taylor · 03-21-13, 01:53 PM

That's pretty much answered my concern thanks. Not sure how my son would have felt about me feeding it to my snake lol.

KORBIN5895 · 03-21-13, 03:29 PM

Well if it was a virus that killed it then it won't affect the snake. If it was a disease it will not affect the snake. If it was a bacterial infection then I highly doubt it will affect the snake. The only way I could see it affecting the snake was if it died of poisoning.

Freebody · 03-21-13, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Well if it was a virus that killed it then it won't affect the snake. If it was a disease it will not affect the snake. If it was a bacterial infection then I highly doubt it will affect the snake. The only way I could see it affecting the snake was if it died of poisoning.

this is what im thinking, I would freeze it first tho, but I would feed it if it were me.

Mark Taylor · 03-22-13, 06:05 AM

As I have no clue as to why it died and the little fact that it was my lads pet I wont be feeding it to my boa. You are more than welcome to have it for free

reptimama · 03-22-13, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Taylor

Not sure how my son would have felt about me feeding it to my snake lol.

My son had guinea pigs and they did pretty much the same thing as your rabbit. I can just imagine his horror if I were to then feed them to one of the snakes (though I don't' have any big enough for guinea pigs

) He's already asking for new GP's.

**Aaron_S** · 03-22-13, 08:57 AM

This sounds a lot like a teachable moment!

I'd feed it off and then make the kid watch the scene of The Lion King where Mustafa talks about the circle of life and Simba asks "Dad, don't we eat the antelope?". Mustafa responds with "Yes, but son, when we die we become the grass and the antelope eat the grass..." There's more but I can't quite remember the quote.

I believe kids would understand talking lions easier.

reptimama · 03-22-13, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

This sounds a lot like a teachable moment!

I'd feed it off and then make the kid watch the scene of The Lion King where Mustafa talks about the circle of life and Simba asks "Dad, don't we eat the antelope?". Mustafa responds with "Yes, but son, when we die we become the grass and the antelope eat the grass..." There's more but I can't quite remember the quote.

I believe kids would understand talking lions easier.

I think everyone understands talking lions a lot easier

We also use Nemo with "Rats are FOOD not friends".

Mark Taylor · 03-22-13, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

This sounds a lot like a teachable moment!

I'd feed it off and then make the kid watch the scene of The Lion King where Mustafa talks about the circle of life and Simba asks "Dad, don't we eat the antelope?". Mustafa responds with "Yes, but son, when we die we become the grass and the antelope eat the grass..." There's more but I can't quite remember the quote.

I believe kids would understand talking lions easier.

That sounds like a good idea but he is so sensitive when it comes to things like this. It was only the other day we had to put our dog to sleep

To much for him to take in at the minute.

NCHornet · 03-27-13, 09:44 AM

Is it worth the risk? I would not risk the health of any of my pets to save a couple dollars. But that is just me. YMMV?

KORBIN5895 · 03-27-13, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCHornet

Is it worth the risk? I would not risk the health of any of my pets to save a couple dollars. But that is just me. YMMV?

Please explain these risks you are talking about.

**Aaron_S** · 03-27-13, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Taylor

That sounds like a good idea but he is so sensitive when it comes to things like this. It was only the other day we had to put our dog to sleep

To much for him to take in at the minute.

I should have disclaimed that it is dependent upon each individual child.

Chu'Wuti · 03-27-13, 05:13 PM

I'm so sorry your son's pet rabbit died; it's so hard to lose a friend, even a pet friend. Could it have been old age?

Re feeding it to your boa--nature isn't as soft-hearted as we are; nature isn't philosophical at all and doesn't ceremonialize death like we do. These are things that make us human. I think not feeding it, even though it's probably physically safe, is honoring your son's love for his pet and respectful of his feelings.