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How does a vegan feed her herps?

1K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  silva 
#1 ·
Nope, not a typo lol, herp is a short nick-name for reptile lol. Not herpes. Not hero (spellcheck)

Anyway, I have a ball python that I rescued from an ex-boyfriend’s impulsive brother about 15 years ago. Dumba$$ thought it would be cool to own a snake. So he got one. Learned zero about owing one, how to feed it, what habitat it needs, nothing. FF to 4 months later, it won’t eat so it’s dumb and so he’s gonna let it go in the woods.

So now I have a snake. And yes, I felt the need to rename him Eugene from “Hector the Booty Inspector.” Obviously dude took ownership of an exotic animal very seriously.

I’ve had him for 15+ yrs now, happy and healthy little guy, and Ive been feeding him live rats from Petco for probably the last 7 years or so. It’s the only food he’s ever known. I’ve heard that changing from live prey to pre-killed frequently results in the reptile not eating b/c it doesn’t know what to do with it.

But now we’re vegan.

Obviously I wouldn’t go out and buy an exotic animal of any sort to own one NOW. But now I have one, and I’m ok with feeding him rats. I think live is sh*tty for the rat but it’s objectively the natural way for him to eat, and probably the only real excitement in his life is the once a month or so he gets fed. And honestly, I’m loathe to keep frozen dead rats in my freezer. I also don’t know how they kill rats that are shipped dead/frozen, but if it’s going to be torturous (like in a gas chamber or something) I think someone in the equation should get something out of it, ie: at least Eugene gets to hunt and kill like nature intended him to. I don’t get anything out of it, but nature didn’t ask me before evolution happened.

My quandary is if anyone knows where Petco sources their feeder rodents from; I don’t want them coming from a rat factory or somewhere like a hoarder house rodent mill kind of place. I also wonder if there are any alternatives to this whole situation. I love my little Eugene, he’s my little buddy, but it’s hard hearing that rat squeak and empty its bowels every time they get strangled to death and then eaten face first.

Does anyone know where Petco gets their feeder rats?
Does anyone know any other sources to get feeders if Petco isn’t a good source?
Any thoughts on live vs. frozen now that he’s been on live for probably 18 years?
Or if Petco’s ok, great, anyone have any ideas to make the situation easier?

I could always go to a herp message board too, and I may still, but I’d like a vegan morals perspective first. Thanks all!
 
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#2 ·
If he's being fed in a cage it's really far from anything natural. I used to keep reptiles, mostly fostered, and had been very successful at introducing dead mice and rats. It's a terrible conundrum, I wasn't vegan at the time, and this started as my husbands hobby. The only animal we fed live mice to was a Savannah monitor. She got bit on the lip and had to have the area cleaned and debraded frequently.
We obtained them from a personal friend whose business was reptiles. I would try and avoid pet stores as much as possible, but there really is no good solution. I would suggest trying herp sites. You can order frozen foods, maybe someone could provide info on facilities?
I'm sorry you're facing this, but I do understand you are committed to Eugene.
 
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