So mad I could Vomit with rage!!!!

mark129er · 11-01-03, 11:18 PM

I was at the "grocery" store getting rats and ran into a guy also waiting for a rat. We started chatting and he said he has a bp about 3.5 ft long. This guy said he feeds it a small/med rat once per month "so it won't get too big." If that wasn't bad enough he said he just dumps the rat in live so "he doesn't have to touch it." My god, it took all of my restrain to avoid slapping some sense into him.

Sorry for the rant but I had to get that off my chest.

Reticman · 11-01-03, 11:25 PM

Quote:

My god, it took all of my restrain to avoid slapping some sense into him.

mmmm yep you should have...people like that piss me off and dont deserve to be owners of any type of animal. that just makes me sick..poor lil Boa..he needs a real owner

unknownclown · 11-02-03, 01:13 AM

Um maybe someone should enlighten him on the average adult BP size. I mean its realy not that large at all and I dont see why anyone would want to stun a BPs growth. It just doesnt make sense.

Its a shame really how many people buy animals not out of love for the species but just for the bragging rights of owning such an awesome animal. I just dont get it.

Slannesh · 11-02-03, 06:31 AM

Umm isn't 4 feet roughtly average adult size for a BP? I think 6 is the biggest i'd personally ever heard of So really the only thing he's doing is probably starving his animal to death for no reason not to mention the risk of severe trauma from rat bite.

Moron. If you aren't ready for ALL the aspects of owning any animal don't get it in the first place. *shakes head*

tai_pan1 · 11-02-03, 07:26 AM

Did you attempt to enlighten this guy? A lot of times, these folks don't have a clue about the proper care of the snakes they have. Perhaps a little friendly advice and the offer of your phone number so he could get in touch with you if he had problems may have helped this guys snake out. Who knows, before you know it he might be a regular on the ssnakess forum. I'm not saying you didn't do all this, but you didn't mention it in your post. The best thing we can do for our hobby (in my opinion) is to educate people. This means kids in school, adults, and yes even the occassional reptile owner who is clueless.

Mike

ChristinaM · 11-02-03, 08:12 AM

uggggggg.

Love the people who get "exotic" pets to say hey loook at what I got, wahoooo, and don't know a thing about them. And, don't care to know either.

I'll go outta my way to spend an hour typing the most extensive answers to someone's questions, IF, big IF, they are researching, and curious, and doing what's best. I'll still answer, but maybe more point blank and to the point than extensive, for the others. PET PEEVE: buying without research, over and over. I can't say buying without research period because I have done it. ONCE. And I learned my lesson. Now it's, I see something I want and don't know anything, I come home, learn, then go and get or not get.

But yah, I'd be ticked too

Would be diffrent if he turned and asked questions or something, cuz obviously he is in need of some education.

Ontario_herper · 11-02-03, 09:52 AM

Perhaps all of you should be enlightened. As someone already pointed out, this is a full-grown animal and there is no risk of stunting it.

Secondly, feeding a BP once a month is a suitable feeding schedule. If the animal starts to look a bit thin at any point than you can just increase feeding. If the animal is full-grown why feed it more than once a month?

I have a BP at home and it gets fed monthly. The snake is very healthy and enjoys life to it's fullest. Oh yea, it also goes off food for several months of the year. Is this animal being cruel to it self. NO! It is doing what comes natural. These animals to NOT need to be fed everyother day. An adult animal (that you're not trying to beef up for breeding) needs not to be fed more once or twice a month.

You guys may want to learn a little of the natural history & captive captive care of these animals before you go jumping all over other keepers.

BTW I do not agrre with feeding live food itmes! In any way.

ohh_kristina · 11-02-03, 10:10 AM

If you have a problem with someone's methods of care, you should give your opinion! You may change their mind about something. Or, it could be a complete waste of breath. Either way, it's always better to try.

Like Ontario_herper said, feeding an adult once a month isn't really a problem. I feed my BPs when they are hungry. With one, my 6 year old WC rescue, it's every 5-7 days. With the other one, it's about every 10-12 days. They both know when they want to eat, so I leave it up to them.

I don't agree with feeding live..but you should have said something to the guy! You could have said something along the lines of "you wouldn't have to TOUCH the rat if it were dead, either. You could just pick it up with tongs." This man might not have even know that there was another way to feed (besides live).

Slannesh · 11-02-03, 11:03 AM

I seriously doubt a "small rat" is enough for an adult BP to eat only once per month. Granted I'm sure most of our snakes get much more to eat in captivity than they ever do in the wild... But i'm fairly certain that with most BP care sheets i've seen they suggest an appropriate sized prety item once every 5-10 days. I feed mine a good sized rat once a week, and she's coming up on 6 years old now.

From the Caresheet at http://www.ballpython.com

If you have purchased an adult or sub-adult ball python, about two feet in length, it will naturally eat larger food items. A feeding schedule of once a week will be enough to keep your snake healthy. It is important not to over feed your snake. A fat snake is not a healthy snake. Once again it will be important to train this snake to accept dead food items. Remember to leave your ball python alone for a couple of days after it has eaten.

From the Caresheet at http://www.ballpython.ca

Hatchlings should be fed every 5 - 7 days, and adults can be fed every 7 - 10 days. Try to feed the appropriate sized food item. We try to match the girth if the rat with the girth of the snake. This lead to optimum growth potential and healthy snakes.

ohh_kristina · 11-02-03, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Slannesh
I seriously doubt a "small rat" is enough for an adult BP to eat only once per month.

I feed my 3ft BP large rats every 10-12 days. It depends on the snake, really. I don't agree with feeding a snake a certain size to prevent them from growing, though. Definately not. But, not all snakes are the same..even in the same species. If he is feeding his snake one small/MEDIUM rat once a month and he is not thin, then what's the problem? People tend to seriously over feed their animals sometimes.

edit: You link to care sheets, but what do care sheets tell you? Nothing, really. You have to figure stuff out for YOUR snake. Like I said, every snake is different. You can't base your feeding schedule soley on care sheets.

Slannesh · 11-02-03, 11:22 AM

I linked to two caresheets both from very reputable people that happen to frequent these forums. I'm sure I could find 50 more that tell us basically the same thing. And I am quite sure I will find none or very close to none that advocate feeding an adult Ball Python only once per month.

There is a HUGE difference between 10-12 days and 28-31 days
Does he feed his dog only every 4 or 5 days? I hope not. How about his kids? once every day and a half?

Had he said a couple of times a month I wouldn't have really worried. Even my snake used to refuse an occasional meal, it happens. But when someone is feeding an animal only 25% of what most people who know what they're talking about recommend I get concerned.

Notice I haven't jumped all over you for feeding your snake every 10-12 days instead of 7-10. A couple of days here and there or even a week I could see as different snakes being different.

ohh_kristina · 11-02-03, 11:25 AM

you're completely missing my point. what works for you and other people may NOT work for someone else. do you see? You can say, "this is what most people do," and then someone does it and it works out fine. yes. no problem. but, if someone makes up their own schedule and it WORKS for them, then there is no problem with that, either!
See, we are both on the assumption end. You are assuming that the snake is severely underfed. I am assuming that the snake is healthy. It could be either way. It depends ON THE SNAKE. That is all that I am saying. Either of us could be wrong.

edit: also, you can't compare a snake to a dog or a snake to a child. you just can't.

Sunrunner · 11-02-03, 11:33 AM

1 small rat a month for a adult ball is NOT enough, if you think other wise you should not have these herps. I am not going to get into it anymore then this because it is wrong for way to many reasons, mainly a new herper comming on here and reading this thread going WOW cool feed it only once a month... stupidity like this leads to animals getting abused and to have them starve to death.
I am speechless about this whole thread if you JUST need something to gripe about which i understand so many ppl do go find another thread and please so it there.

ohh_kristina · 11-02-03, 11:35 AM

First of all, he said small/MEDIUM rat. Every snake is different. For some, that would not be enough. For others, that would be a good feeding schedule. A lot of people feed their adult snakes once per month.
Also, if you think I'm "griping" you're sorely wrong. I am stating my opinion. If you have a problem with that, go to another thread. I wasn't being mean or rude. This was a completely friendly debate.

Slannesh · 11-02-03, 11:43 AM

Now who's missing the point?

I agreed with you that snakes even of the same species are different and you can have very different feeding schedules that work. But there is a difference between a somewhat different feeding schedule and starving your animal.

The dogs and people description was for effect, not at all an accurate comparison but it gets the point across. Warm and cold blooded creatures have completely different food requirements.

I'll illustrate another way.

what would you say if someone said that they kept their BP at just ambient room temperature all year? No UTH, no basking lamp, nothing. Just however hot the room happens to be that way. They say the snake is fine and has been like that for years. Then when you ask they say that the ambient room temp is about 60 degreed F or so. Would you be concerned? What if they kept it at 120 all the time instead? Didn't provide any hides for the snake?

What if he kept his snake on Pine or Cedar shavings?

All the caresheets out there have the same basic husbandry for a reason. Trial and error in the early days, along with some basic common sense.