I have it up to my ears with pet stores. Twice now I have been into a major pet store chain and found myself hearing conversations of employees that had no business happening. They are there supposedly for the love of the animals (yeah sure, it’s a paycheck… I know) and yet they laugh at the idea of rodents being fed live to herps! While I am no fool and understand all too well that people go to these places for rodents to feed their snakes… I hardly expect to hear associates telling them the best way to do it. Might I suggest some neutral ground for these morons? You have to sell them the “feeders”, but you don’t have to give advice on the best way to get your herp a protein boost by feeding it an 18-day preggers mouse. I guess the “Live Feeding Is For Losers” t-shirt my daughter was wearing just didnt give it away huh? *rolls eyes*

I’m with Scott, lets go to an adoption event and ask to adopt a puppy or kitten.. .we need for food for our pet alligator. I have no doubt that would be met with hysteria and protests by everyone within ear shot. Of course, it’s a ridiculous notion, but it makes a very good point IMO. You wouldn’t feed a puppy or kitten to an alligator, then why do you think it’s OK to feed a mouse or rat to a snake? Natural diet? Sure it is, but not put in a tank and given no chance to escape. The foodchain allows for predator/prey relationships that have hunts that are sometimes successful and more often that not… they miss. This is the natural course of things.

I have no real argument with humanely euthed feeder animals. I understand this will be the way it goes. I would love to see live feeding made illegal so then at least pet stores wouldnt carry rodents anymore.

I’m done here… I am just irked.

Scott adds: The issue I have with the “natural diet” argument is one of intellectual honesty. My point is that there is nothing natural about any animal in captivity. How is it natural that you would feed the animal anything live? The animal is in a cage. What’s natural about an animal in a cage?

There’s nothing natural about it.