Snake Steak ... Again.

Syst3m · 08-30-02, 01:28 AM

Me and Kurzixs were talking about the whole snake steak thing and I was probably the one most concerned with it.

I'm going to list my pros and cons here and let us all debate them.

Pros

1. No fecies. Fecies = waste = poison. I'm sure that snakes are well prepared to handle waste products from animals but how can it NOT be healthy to have food product minus Fecal matter.

2. No Fur. Yes Imagine it... Someone is in a factory right now Skinning and disemboweling mice.... Wouldn't you like that job?

3. Links. Yes I said links. if you can get your snake started on one it has no coice but to eat the rest of them on the link. So for problem feeders if you can get them started on a smaller size easier it should make keeping them well fed alot easier.

4. Clean. I don't know about you but sometimes people in the house get creeped out when they reach for the concentrated minute maid and they drop a bag of pinkies on the floor only to see them shatter into pinkie bits... And to top it off. I hate Rats and mice with a passion so it would be nice to have sausages in my freezer instead of rodents...

5. Less chance of parasites, And less chance of injury to your snake from feeding it live food. Not quite as many advantages frozen. But it still can be an advantage.

Cons.

1. Takes all of the fun out of feeding your snake. Like I said. I HATE RATS AND MICE... So it make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see kurzixs BRB Slaughter helpless mice.

2. Difficult to start difficult to ween. Some snakes might take readily to this some might not. With Patience and care getting a snake to eat is all a matter of time. Same with the sausages. Getting your snake to accept them right away might be difficult and getting your snake to eat prekill or frozen might also be difficult after a steady diet of sausages.

3 Expensive. 6 females 1 male some hi quality mouse chow And you've probably got all the free food you can handle for small snakes like corns. On the other hand having a snake locked into feeding on sausages that are pretty much an internet only item could be a bad thing.

4. Ooops. What if someone decided to grill you up some sausages for breakfast and grabbed the wrong ones.... Ok.... So lets not think to heavily on that one.

5. Lets look at number 4. and reflect.

So these are the pro's and cons that I can think of. Anyone else feel free to chirp in on this one.

T-rex makes EXCELLENT products and The Snake Steak Sausages are by far NOT any different. Quality time was invested in the process and only 100% quality came out of the product. With the products like "mouse maker" and "Lizzard maker" , getting your stubborn snake to feed on f/t or Sausages is much easier then it would normally be otherwise. Personally I would like to see T-Rex start adding essential vitamins for snakes into the mix to make the meal a healthy meal, and they could also make a Sausage pump to force feed the larger breeds of snake with ease.

Maybe snake steak sausages aren't the greatest invention but would you say that they are a good or a bad product. Also would you say that they could be used in various ways to benifit keepers and breeders.

I am personally thinking about buying a small quantity of these little things to try them out. But as soon as I get my mouse making factory running I think they will be put aside for the cheaper and much more amusing diet of live mice.

thats my 2 cents. And with todays Exchange rate thats probably about 1.3 cents canadian.

Richard Welter · 09-01-02, 11:56 PM

I have to say the whole snake sausage idea is for rich people who are not that into mice and or reptile food items. The idea of taking a sausage and feeding it to your snake it just not my thing. I wander do they include all the drugs like calcium, D3, and all that other good stuff. I think snake sausages are for a rookie that jsut go into the reptile world. I would rather see people using rats, mice, and other real food items that can be eating on a normal level. I would see the snake sausage be more of a monitor/tegu type of food item. One more stupid comment, you said maybe they could have a large pump for larger boids and so on. Well why not have a snake roast for that hard to get eating ten food burm (Just make sure you preheat to 350c and save some for you lunch the next day

) Just my ideas I hope I did not hurt anyones feelings, (but you do what you go to do) Thanks Richard Welter

Quervo · 09-02-02, 12:56 PM

Well, my take on the whole thing is this:

Rats and mice are their normal food (for the most part), rats and mice are plentiful and VERY easy to breed. Why make up some processed, possibly chemicaly enhanced sausage that you have to train your pet to eat?? It's not natural for them, their metabolism is not setup for this kind of food (what's this comment about no feces???) These sausages are made for OUR convenience, not the snakes.

Syst3m · 09-02-02, 02:15 PM

they are made from ground up mice without fur or intestines.
So there will be no digestion of fecies that remail in the mice bowels after death. Not chemically enhanced as far as I know.
And they are also designed to be a more sanitary easier to maintain meal.

I never said they were better then mice or weather I was going to ever use them. But the lack of knowledge and the amount of distrust of this product is undeserved, Since keeping frozen mice is just as much as a convience as these are.

Quervo · 09-02-02, 04:55 PM

Quote:

I never said they were better then mice or weather I was going to ever use them. But the lack of knowledge and the amount of distrust of this product is undeserved, Since keeping frozen mice is just as much as a convience as these are.

Hmmm .. true .. maybe they have a bead rep just because they are associated with those nasty greasey sausages we love to eat for breakfast.

I'm just not a fan of pre-processed foods (for us .. that is) and I guess it influences my thoughts on snake steaks.

One more thought .. just to fuel the fire again

. Why do we always assume our way is right. You mention that these things don't contain fur. Is that necessarily a good thing? snakes have evolved to process that fur .. for all we know it might clean their esophagus or some bizzare thing like that. We remove it because WE wouldn't like to eat it.

I know .. kind of a long shot, but a valid point.o>

Kurzix · 09-02-02, 05:32 PM

lol i think the fur is actually removed because snakes do not digest the fur... just my guess

Syst3m · 09-02-02, 07:38 PM

Well I'm not going to run out and buy stock in the product. But I might give it a go with my corns. I plan on breeding mice soon so I know they are healthy and clean and feeding them to my snakes live. I've got no problems feeding live animals wich I would prefer but when I move up to rats I'm not sure if I want to breed them or not, and I'm not sure if I want to feed them live or not.

But having a snake that accepts the sneak steak on occasion when you dont have a proper size for him and you dont have any confidence in your local pet stores feeders. It would be nice for sick snakes too, like I said about the links
if you can get him started on one since they are attached they have no choice but to eat the rest

So if he is in need of alot of nutrition without alot of physical strain it could be in the snakes best interest.

But I'm not sure if I want that as a staple diet by and means.

Dom · 09-02-02, 08:34 PM

hmmm interesting convo ..

My take on it all is that it defenetly is a huge waste of money. Don't get me wrong .. they end up eating the excact same thing(HOPEFULLY???) but in a defferent form, so they do get all they need. I just don't see the point of it all the.

As for the excrements .. there will be some .. there has to be some. Even if the snakes could digest 100% of the "Sausage", he will not. He might digest a good 95% of it but I doubt that he could get the would thing down .. there is a very good reason why many animals eat their own feeces. I know this maily applies to herbivores but still valid with carnivores). I also happen to think that they NEED to pass bowel movements ..

Lets say there were no feecees, after being on these sausages for a long time, what happens when a year down the road he eats a real rat .. How do u know his digestive system is still fully functional.

PS snakes dont digest keratine.. from nails to hair to teeth ..

My whole take on this is that it trully is for the kinda ppl who simply are againts feeding meat to their animals cause the have pity for the rat and by feeding these sausages they don't see it so the owner feels less guilty .. although it ends up being the same .. (plus chemicals.. I doubt they do it with out chemicals .. there has to be..)

I also think that is is defenetly not a better diet than WHOLE animals and that it could only be worse for them...

Just my thoughts..
Dom

Syst3m · 09-03-02, 11:30 PM

I don't mean the snakes will not have fecies thats just a product of digestion.. I'm talking about the Mouse or rat Urine and fecies that remains inside the mouse or rats body. Unless the snakes are getting some sort of nutrition from it.

This is the Actual URL for the MFG Website.

http://www.t-rexproducts.com/Dynamic/default.htm

Yes they are good for people who are not comfortable feeding mice to snakes, But there are other uses too that can be a bonus to many snake breeders. And a Danger to inexperienced people trying to "powerfeed" a healthy snake.

I hate mice and rats, but thats why I like feeding them to my snake. I also hate disease wich rats and mice are known well for carrying. Wich is why I was looking into a alternative diet for my snakes. But price is pretty much the deciding factor in my case. I will be able to raise enough mice to feed my snakes on faster and cheaper, then I could possibly by them. And I would prefer it if my boa were able to eat live food too.

Christina · 09-18-02, 10:03 PM

Well we can look at the snake steaks like this. How has people and their food intake differed over the years and what are they finally learning about all of these TV dinners etc?
To me the same will go for our snakes some day down the road some scientist will go WHOA what are we doing to our snakes, this may be the reason for what ever changes may occur!
Yes I believe eventually it will effect the digestive system of the snake, as well as the nutritional intake. Once you take something and hash it all to bits and remake it how much is really lost and has to be replaced chemically?
I dont think a Big Mac would make a good dietary supplement?
( they are a good treat once and awhile though cant fight those cravings! )
A snake steak just might be the future Big Mac for the snakes!
Now if only our snakes could look up and say to us "Hey I feel like a snake steak with special sauce lettuce cheese please!"
Take care all Christina

Lisa · 09-24-02, 07:38 PM

mice and rats bowl functions are part of their last moments, i don't know how many floaters i've had when thawing my mice and rats(they just drain away with the water). also the snakes do digest the fur, and need it to get the full nutritional value of the snake.

tai_pan1 · 10-20-02, 09:05 AM

We left out a very important pro. When your fighting with your wife, you can make up by making her breakfast in bed the next morning. Eggs, toast, a little suasage. She doesn't need to know that you just fed her suasage made from mice. She's happy again and you get satisfaction knowing you slipped one past her. You'll both smile all day long!

Syst3m · 10-20-02, 01:56 PM

I think the bone fragments might give it away.

tai_pan1 · 10-20-02, 06:38 PM

Yea, but it will be too late by then!