feel like such an odd ball wanna be snake ower for this.

kala83 · 01-16-16, 01:42 PM

so this post is more me saying this cause personally I think its just odd as hell and kind of funny.

I want to be a snake owner even having several if I can. lol but I am also a HUGE Rat, and general rodent lover.

I have kept pet rats for as long as I can remember and I get super attached to them....and have just gotten used to the fact that I am just gonna be one of the THOSE PET OWNERS that always keeps rats.

It just seems ironic since lol well I KNOW what snakes eat. lol and I almost felt bad when I had my last snake Loki and would get him out and the rats would see him.
Cause well they are not dumb and I am sure they knew that things was unsafe to be around. When I get a place of my own with my new boyfriend and I am going to keep the snake and rodents in entirely different rooms.

I mean when I did get Loki out the rats where in their space and he was in his and they all never acted like they noticed each other at all.

and I am sure one can own pet rats and pet snakes just fine.

its just still an odd head space when you think about it. but I am a very scientific factual based person so I find humour in odd odd things.

Sorry if no ones get this....if that’s the case lol not gonna say I would be surprised.

prairiepanda · 01-16-16, 01:55 PM

There are members here who keep rats and/or mice as pets in addition to their snakes and love them just as much if not more, so you're not strange at all

I myself quite enjoy keeping rodents and used to breed gerbils. It's not like you're feeding your beloved pets to your snakes; the rats you feed to snakes are bred and raised specifically for that purpose and were not at any point someone's pet.

Keeping snakes and rats in separate rooms is definitely a good idea, though. Also of course don't forget to wash your hands very well in between handling them, as always. Some snakes get very excited when they smell rat on your skin, and not in a good way.

riddick07 · 01-16-16, 01:58 PM

I've had both before and it is kind of an odd thing to some degree. I had a lucky few feeders become pets instead of snake food. But I feed all frozen now so I don't have that problem anymore. I do remember feeling bad at first but I got over that pretty fast.

kala83 · 01-16-16, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riddick07

I've had both before and it is kind of an odd thing to some degree. I had a lucky few feeders become pets instead of snake food. But I feed all frozen now so I don't have that problem anymore. I do remember feeling bad at first but I got over that pretty fast.

oh yeah I know that some snakes especially balls are super hard to get to feed frozen but if I can any snake I would keep I would prefer to feed frozen I mean its just better on the snake and on the rodent.

and I don't know as a rodent owner if I could feed the snake live. lol I would probably end up looking into the things eyes and end up not having it be feed. lol and no food for snake.....

which does not seems like i would be that snakes favourite person just then lol.
but I also know how much damage a rodent can do to a snake if they get the chance to and if you have a nice morph that you paid a fair amount for that just does not seems fair.

prairiepanda · 01-17-16, 11:33 AM

Quite often fresh-killed works as a transition from live to frozen prey, if you can bring yourself to put down a rat by hand. For me, that would be easier than potentially watching a rat be swallowed alive, since you do have to watch for the safety of the snake.

Live pinkies aren't as bad though since they aren't so vocal or mobile and still have their eyes closed. I know it's a horrible thing to say; they're still rats and probably still feel the same way, but it's much easier to accept. And it usually starts with pinkies, right?

I don't think I would buy a snake that wasn't already eating frozen/thawed, unless it was an insectivore. But I also wouldn't turn away a snake in need of rescue if it was strictly eating live. I've killed animals for food for myself before, so I think I could do the same for a snake, I'd just rather not.

Jim Smith · 01-17-16, 11:53 AM

I have one snake that has become a very picky eater, and I've had to resort to feeding her fresh killed mice because she was refusing FT. I would buy six mice at a time to avoid having to travel to get live mice every week or so. This last time, I found I was becoming attached to the last mouse, almost to the point of naming it. I think it would be very easy for me to swing over to keeping both rodents and snakes so I try to avoid having live prey as much as possible to avoid that "trap".

Klaire · 01-17-16, 02:23 PM

Well if you consider yourself odd then i am odd too :P, I was a massive rodent lover as well for a long time right up until these past few years the only reason i stopped owning rats was because i got very heartbroken when they died after 2-3 years i decided to opt for a pet that had a longer lifespan hence why i now own and absolutely love snakes just like i still do with rodents but i am also in the same mind frame as you i think about the situation scientifically and even though i love both it's the cycle of life and snakes just happen to have rodents as a large portion of their diet so your not alone with thinking your odd

ManSlaughter33 · 01-18-16, 05:58 PM

I have a lot of snakes but I have a beloved Pet rat as well..
People keep dogs and chickens, yet lots of dog food is made with chicken

Zelg · 01-19-16, 04:07 PM

I initially thought about getting mice/rats. Mice I have a dislike now because one bit the heck outta my finger. I dont blame the lil guy but I got over feeding my ball live mice pretty quick. Rats on the other hand I find to be incredibly smart with all of their movements. Very inquisitive and good at learning. Whiiiiich of course leads to them figuring out that my Ball Python is a total wuss and gets scared so they just charge him. Of course hes not eating rats yet so Im sure thats part of the issue. Either way I gave up on live.
Currently doing pre killed mice. He'll take prekilled really well but f/t not so much.

Anyways, the point is that you'll be either killing way more mice and rats than you'll like and you'll certainly want to keep some as pets, especially if you have them for a few weeks because your snake didnt eat and you obviously dont want to just kill a rat and throw it out for no reason.

If this is a conflict for you then you really have to loook at how much you enjoy snakes and how much you adore rats and mice.

And ManSlaughter has a great point. So called opposing species are often kept by people without much issue over it.

prairiepanda · 01-19-16, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zelg

Currently doing pre killed mice. He'll take prekilled really well but f/t not so much.

Do you serve your f/t warm or at room temperature? With f/t, after it's done thawing I warm it up in hot(from the tap) water, with the rat in a bag to keep it dry. The heat tends to inspire more interest from the snakes. A lot of them won't eat a room temperature rat.

Zelg · 01-20-16, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairiepanda

Do you serve your f/t warm or at room temperature? With f/t, after it's done thawing I warm it up in hot(from the tap) water, with the rat in a bag to keep it dry. The heat tends to inspire more interest from the snakes. A lot of them won't eat a room temperature rat.

I was using warm water for a bit but realized I had an extra heat mat available so I began using that...setting the temp to i think 84. It was definitely warm to the touch though when I took them out of their bags they smelled like urine. He didnt even inspect them. So next time I'm gonna open them first and give a smell test.

Not sure if their bodies should be warmer. I seemed to have trouble gettting their temp up in warm water..the water cooling down too fast.

ManSlaughter33 · 01-20-16, 04:23 PM

I toss my rats directly in a tub of warmer water until thawed, I don't even bother drying them off I just taken them out of the water and on to a plate and feed. rarely have any refusals

Sasha2 · 01-21-16, 06:42 PM

I also throw mine in a tub full of hot water. I do use a rag to get some of the excess water off.
I think rats make excellent pets.Ive had pet rats off and on for 30 years now, even had some litterbox trained. I had one big male dumbo that I would let run around outside, he would come to his name, I miss that boy.
I currently dont have any pet rats but will again Im sure.