cranky rat - Page 2

Freakonaleash · 06-17-04, 12:36 AM

how dangerous can an animal's natural prey be to it? i mean honestly... nature engineered them this way... mother wanted ball pythons to eat gerboas and gerbils... not rats =( . i also dont see any danger of the snake getting impacted from a gerbil... they are not that fuzzy.... no fuzzier than a rat =/ i think you all work for some kind of rat producing facility or something equally lame . but anyways... until my vet tells me to get the snake off of gerbils and starve it until it agrees to choke down a rat... i will continue with the gerbils

mykee · 06-17-04, 12:47 AM

Balakoth, I anxiously await with bated breath your opportunity to impart any words of wisdom. I suppose however, I will be waiting a long time. When and if that times comes, I will consider the source, and pass you off. As for explaining what was "ment", it was very clear what was said. Care for a definition of backpedal?

mykee · 06-17-04, 12:50 AM

Freak; Congratulations, after 9 minutes of owning a ball python, you've uncovered all the secrets and you are now officially an expert. Good luck to you.

da_illest · 06-17-04, 01:04 AM

sigh.... this is rediculous... i think snakes shouldn't be sold to young kids... as a rule of thumb, i never feed anything live that's bigger then a pinkie or maybe a fuzzy (depending on size and all)... why not try *SCENTING* the F/T or prekilled rats with GERBILS? lol... try it, see what happens...

now, freakonaleash, nature engineered these snakes to kill these animals IN THE WILD! not in a small tank with no escape incase the snake decides not to eat or to just flee for no reason... i HATE when people compare certain things like this to the WILD... THEY ARE IN A SMALL ENCLOSURE! lol... in the wild, if a gerbil/rat puts up a serious fight or if the snake strikes and the prey gets free, like in your other thread, it HAS the chance to FLEE... in a tank, it has no choice but to curl up in a corner with no escape while this rat in question bites it... we choose to keep these snakes, raise them, AND KEEP THEM SAFE! meaning not putting them in any danger they can't escape from... people like YOU should not have any f'n snakes b... your risking your snake and when it's all scarred up, if it doesn't die, your probably not going to appreciate it as much...

mykee · 06-17-04, 01:18 AM

Quote:

"Mykee....my first concern is safety, second is nutrition.."

Guess that didn't work for you, huh?

sapphire_moon · 06-17-04, 05:51 AM

Mykee is one of the few members on here that I took advice from when I was having problem with my bp's. He jumped down his throat for a reason.

He cares about the saftey and well being of the snake. Not whomever's feelings.

da_illest: freak REFUSES to "rub a dead gerbil on a rat" and he did say that in one of his other threads. I just hope no newbie coming on here reads the post that says "gerbils are great" and gets their poor snake addicted to them.

If you are going to start comparing things to the wild, go outside, get some dirt, some mites, etc...etc...set up your cage, and throw a live gerbil in there, because hey, thats how they do it in the wild.
As someone else already said, we are taking care of these animals, you have to take care of a captive ball python, like a captive ball python! Dead food (or atleast if you feed live, live restrained then), specific temps, nice tight hides, and paper towel substrate to watch for mites!

and freak how dangerous.......a itty bitty mouse, an adult, can KILL a 4ft ball python with one bite, all it takes is ONE bite (to the back of the head) all it takes is a few seconds, and I'm sorry your not superman, you wouldn't be able to get the mouse out of there in time, especially if the snake mis struck and got the midsection or rear and was coiled around it!

And your first concern should be safety AND nutrition!

EDIT:

Quote:

freakonaleash:
ok knoerr, now im not one of these mid 30's single herpetologists sitting in they're apartments with temperature controlled rubbermaids and a freezer full of dead rodents, fondling themselves to "Anaconda"

First off I'm not mid 30's, I'm early 20's, I'm not single, been with someone for going on 3 yrs, If you want to take care of your snake then temperature control is what it's all about, as is humidity control which is the big deal about the rubbermaids, dead prey is good, it can't kill your snake(which is what you want right?You would like a live snake?), although I thought anaconda was a funny movie I also hated it because it was just another flick that portrayed snakes in a bad light, which is what we don't need.

And if your "fondling" yourself to this movie, you got issues.

And there are people on here younger than me that probably knows more than me. Get it together. These people know their stuff. It's up to you whether or not you want to slowly MURDER your snake, because you to high of temps, low/to high humidity, or if your damned gerbil chews out the spine of your snake, or if you want to take care of it with proper temps, proper humidity, and dead prey items (or atleast live restrained)

balakoth · 06-17-04, 08:55 AM

Again your attitude shows thru which is what I was commenting on. There are many people able to give advice without being snappy. Wether you care for the animal or not, there are proper ways to get across information so that someone will retain it.

Your belittling is not one of them

Funny how I confront you on jumping down his throat and all of a sudden Im a complete idiot in your eyes too.

I feel people here need to concider themselves teachers of small children even if they are older than some of us. Consistant solid advice, without making the person feel like an idiot is one way for them to LEARN.

But by all means you'll go about doing what your doing, and many will disregard, some won't. Possibly learn to take some critisim, if you found what i said in some way offending I appologize, But I didn see how your first response was going to HELP the young man.

sapphire_moon · 06-17-04, 09:12 AM

balakoth: only in the first part was I responding to you (and no where did I even say the word idiot). The rest of it was to freak.

And the only reason it was so rude and "Jumping down his throat" was because he has been asked and told and pleaded with to take care of his snake properly. Some people only learn when they are holding a dead snake in their hands wondering why.

BTW not everything is sweet with cherries on top. Sometimes people need a good slap in the face (be it physical or verbally) to get something across.

mykee · 06-17-04, 11:08 AM

Balakoth, if you did YOUR research, you would have noticed that recently, in other threads started by our 'subject', that a great deal of other members, including myself, attempted to give great advice. If said advice would rather be completely ignored, causing the snake to then be put in direct danger, than your darn tootin' I'm (we're) gonna be pi$$ed! Regarding your 'idiot' comment, I'm glad you said it, and not me... If you want to ride in on your white horse and stick your nose in an ongoing discussion with ZERO prior history, then yes, your new label is deserved. Wear it well.

PugLuv83 · 06-17-04, 11:27 AM

Yeah, anyway, if you guys are done....

Why not just feed your BP big mice more often?

That's what we do for my boy....

You can try alive, stunned, or newly killed...

Also, I have noticed that once your snake latches onto a mouse, if it keeps kicking, then grab its tail and told it tight or wiggle it. This will do one of two things - if you wiggle the mouse, the snake will coil tighter; if you hold the tail, the mouses feet will not be able to scratch the snake.

When we feed live, we hold the mouse by its tail in the corner of the container we feed them in. That means that the mouse stays pretty much in the same place so the snake can strike, and that it won't be going after your Ball.

Feel free to e-mail or PM me if you want to talk more about your BP with me, and not risk getting ridiculed.

Ginny

sapphire_moon · 06-17-04, 11:46 AM

if your snake strikes midsection or rear end of the mouse, the mouse can bite, and unless you are superman, there is no way you can get something infront of the mouses mouth before it takes out an eye or worse, kills the snake by bitting it in the back of the head.

If you are going to feed live. feed live restrained.

mykee · 06-17-04, 11:54 AM

They're coming out of the woodwork now aren't they? Though you do have a point, Pug. Any attempt to restrain the food item is better than a free-for-all in the enclosure.

Freakonaleash · 06-17-04, 01:02 PM

/sigh ... the prey is DEAD before i give it to my snake. DEAD DEAD DEAD , dead gerbils dont bite =) , my snake LOVES gerbils, so i will continue to feed it gerbils. this is my experience thusfar and im sticking with it. mykee i dont like you... period... i never said i was an expert (infact im sure i clearly stated i WAS NOT an expert) , i was just trying to help the guy out like everyone else... i wanted to share with him how it is working for me, this IS the purpose of the website right? Da Illest, as i said earlier in this very paragraph, as well as earlier in the thread, the gerbils are dead... they dont fight back. sapphire, my aquarium has been at a stable temp of 90-97 on the hot side and 80-85 on the cool side for atleast two weeks now... and i have accomplished this in a "gasp" NON rubbermaid enclosure, i have also been able to keep the humidity at an almost constant 65+ since the shedding incident. my exotic animals/reptile veterinarian said that my snake is in perfect health and condition, and to continue doing what im doing. so thats what im doing. and once again... the gerbils cant kill my snake because THEY ARE DEAD... dead gerbils CANT KILL A SNAKE. holy hell.... and im sure no one will come on here, see this "experts" (mykee's words not mine) advice about feeding theyre ball gerbils, and then get the poor lil bastards addicted to em. not unless they maybe.... STOPPED at my reply... aaaaand.... like... didnt read ANYTHING else on the website.... be realistic. in my reply to knoerr... yeah maybe i was a little smart *** to a few of you... but damn... you deserve it. i was just telling him what worked for me. and i even said that... so get off my freaking back... i am not SLOWLY KILLING my ball python.

Cake · 06-17-04, 01:05 PM

Maybe it is the movement of the live prey which your BP is keying on. This is what I discovered with my BP, for a while is was feeding him live rats unrestrained but never felt comfortable with it. As i observed him eating he seemed only to strike when the rat was moving. Im one of my labs at school me were doing a smooth muscle experiment on rat small intestine tissue. We kill the rats using cervical dislocation. this results in the rat twitching for up to 20 sec.

It takes some practice to do it correctly but when done properly the rat feels almost no pain and dies quickly, although it is not for the faint of heart but if you have no problem throwing a gerbil into concret to kill it you shouldn't have a problem with it.

Now i get my BP's attention but holding the rat in the enclosure till my ball pops his head up and begins to investigate the smell, then i simply break the rats neck and drop him in. My BP allways takes the rat right away and the twitching seems to set him off.

all you need to preform cervical dislocation is a heavy cylindical bar approx 1 to 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
take teh rat in one hand and whack it accross the back of the head with the bar to stun it. use one hand to grab the tail and the other to press the bar against the back of the rats head, then pull teh tail and push the bar down and forward at the base of the skull. You know you did it right when the rat starts to twitch uncontrollably.

Freakonaleash · 06-17-04, 01:13 PM

And to everyone but the flamers (Mykee/ Sapphire) ... these people DO know what they are talking about. They are like, professionals. That is why i use this website almost exclusively. I have followed every bit of advice that has been given to me, except feeding rats, and except for putting my snake in a rubbermaid... thats it. That is ALL i have refused to do that i have been told is best. i use newspaper now, i have two digi thermo's/hydro's in the aquarium, i have a UTH, i have smaller hides, i have a larger waterbowl, i TAKE HIM TO THE VET, i feed fresh killed (so the gerbils dont eat the back of my snakes head), i have ventilation holes drilled, i changed the lighting to an incandescent bulb, i handle him for 15 minutes a day, unless he has eaten in the last 36 hours, i constantly monitor and record the temperatures and humidity, THIS IS ALLLLL STUFF THAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED TO ME ON THIS WEBSITE.... the only bits of knowledge i have ignored are the rubbermaid, and the rats. so quit talking to me like im a beligerant little kid whos going to do whatever he wants no matter what others say. after all, whos raising the snake... me or you? can i not make a decision or two?