# All I want to do is save a feeder rat, and THIS is what I get!



## crazyratgirl101

All snake keeping idiots. I understand not all reptile owners are like this, but it seems to me a good amount of them are you know what's. I just was debating whether I should get a feeder mouse or rat and this happens. 

Answer one:
Neither. Feeder mice and rats are needed for the aniamls that need to eat them. You are nto saving anything. "I don't care if I'm "supporting their business" Of course you dont. All you can think of is yoru own selfish needs and dont care you are paying someone for a rat or mouse and they will just buy MORE rats and mice so you would have done nothing

Answer two:
Feeder mice and rats are necessary for the animals that eat them, it is their job on this planet; to be eaten. Go ahead and get whichever you want, but the species as a whole cannot escape their fate. It is just the way of the world.

The second one wasn't as rude, but still totally inconsiderate to the awful live these animals live. I'm making a difference to that rat and I know I may be paying the store, but I'm making a rats life much better so WHY is that soooo bad and how in the blank am I SELFISH for that?

Link to question: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ahe1ArKiaTnqNHKL0OSeZ1_wX3U6?qid=20140720073756AABptVp


----------



## Mrs.Brisby

You aren't selfish for wanting to rescue a feeder rat.


----------



## Hey-Fay

Darlin, all I get are feeders. They don't have a shot at life otherwise so I take them in and give them the best I can possibly give. You ignore the others who are looking to bring you down and you rescue a feeder. Haters.


----------



## LeStan82

All I have are feeders and pet store rats. I have 6 boys. 2 are pet store rats and 4 are feeders. Your right you cant save them all, but to the ones you do save it's priceless. I cant tell you how good it felt to bring home all of these ratties, and the look of happiness and excitement they showed when they saw how they were going to live. These poor babies are born in a bad situation and thrown into another bad situation. So if I can keep rescuing them and give them the life they deserve I will, no matter what others think. 

And saving a life is never selfish


----------



## Hey-Fay

Here's the three threads that I started when I got my two newest girls and they all explain why I've chosen to only take in feeders. 

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?171961-One-rescue-became-two...&highlight=back+store


http://www.ratforum.com/showthread....-back-to-that-pet-store.&highlight=back+store

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?175594-Feeders


----------



## crazyratgirl101

Thanks for the support. I actually answered the question myself and made it anonymous. (The one that was yelling at everyone else) just to kinda "reply" to them. And In case you were wondering I decided to just get another rat since I sadly don't have the money for the mouse's supplies.

There is one agouti at the store that is really sweet and I want to buy her. She has a sore on her stomach.  it angers me how these feeders are kept. My store is a lot like the one you got yours from Hey-Fay.


----------



## crazyratgirl101

Burning up inside. I asked another feeder rat question.
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsIrXFv_F7PFX4b.wpMu64TM_Nw4?qid=20140720144953AAejTPY

Grrrr


----------



## Kitterpuss

Yahoo answers is full of idiots and trolls. Best avoided imo


----------



## Lita

If you want an honest answer or good advice, never ask on yahoo answers. It is far to easy for people to troll and write stupid replies that will only upset you.


----------



## crazyratgirl101

I know... I hate the community there. But sometimes google just won't give me an answer and I don't feel like signing up for another forum just to ask one question.


----------



## QueenB1958

I don't understand why people make such a big fuss over feeders. How are they any different from pet store rats bred for pets? The pet store I got my feeder, Margo, from sells feeders and pet rats interchangeably. I actually really like that store because the employees are always happy when a rat gets sold as a pet because they know they are getting saved. Anyway, don't let idiots discourage you from doing what you know is right, go right ahead and save a fuzzybutt from being dinner!


----------



## CleverRat

I feel like in some cases, getting a feeder for a pet is better than a fancy if the conditions are the same because you know snake people will always buy them, whereas people don't have to get pet rats from pet stores. You also know that you most likely saved their life.


----------



## Kitterpuss

I'm so glad it's illegal to feed live rats and mice here in the UK, I don't think my heart could take it of I saw a bin full of doomed rats any time I walked into a pet shop!


----------



## Hey-Fay

Don't go to Yahoo for rat answers. This forum will answer all your questions and more. Don't hesitate to ask us!


----------



## crazyratgirl101

I forgot a made an account here but when I saw it on my "passwords for websites" paper I was like "Oh yeah rat forum..." I can ask about other pets here and that's really all i ever search about so I guess there is no need for yahoo answers.


----------



## Charlottesmom

This is one of my favorite quotes:

"The kindness one does for an animal may not change the world...But it will change the world for that one animal." 



That sums it up for me.


----------



## SpringSt

I've always been of the mindset of choosing a rat based on the individual, whether it's a feeder you like or a pedigreed and ethically bred rat. It's a pet in the end, after all, that you are after. It's any pet owner's right to be able to choose what and where their pets come from. Each one has it's perks and disadvantages.


----------



## gotchea

Kitterpuss said:


> I'm so glad it's illegal to feed live rats and mice here in the UK, I don't think my heart could take it of I saw a bin full of doomed rats any time I walked into a pet shop!


Feeding live food is very dangerous to the snake as well. So frozen is probably best for that reason. Every time I see a freezer with frozen rats, I just think of how awful it is to die that way. Scared in a dark freezer, maybe with other rats being super cold.... Sometimes I am not sure which way is better. Both are scary as heck and slow. Unless they do the Co2 method, but I don't picture people making snake food caring about that too much. Just might be a waste of money to them. Just my thoughts.


----------



## Kitterpuss

gotchea said:


> Unless they do the Co2 method, but I don't picture people making snake food caring about that too much. Just might be a waste of money to them. Just my thoughts.


Apparently it's the law here to kill large quantities of rats micee and chicks using CO2, but I'll bet a lot of our frozen mice/rats are imported from places with less stringent rules. I think there are also plenty people under the radar here that will quietly purchase pets for their snakes.


----------



## gotchea

Kitterpuss said:


> Apparently it's the law here to kill large quantities of rats micee and chicks using CO2, but I'll bet a lot of our frozen mice/rats are imported from places with less stringent rules. I think there are also plenty people under the radar here that will quietly purchase pets for their snakes.


Really? I don't think that is a law here. But that would be nice. I had to watch this video of all the male chicks be put in a blender. It was awful!! Haunts me for life. I guess that is what hatcheries do since there isn't much use for male chickens in the egg industry. I buy my hens from local farmers.


----------



## abratforarat

They came into the world to be eaten!? That's just *&#$! Get as many feeder rats as you want! They shouldn't even have feeder rats! They are evil hearted!


----------



## Jaguar

gotchea said:


> Feeding live food is very dangerous to the snake as well. So frozen is probably best for that reason. Every time I see a freezer with frozen rats, I just think of how awful it is to die that way. Scared in a dark freezer, maybe with other rats being super cold.... Sometimes I am not sure which way is better. Both are scary as heck and slow. Unless they do the Co2 method, but I don't picture people making snake food caring about that too much. Just might be a waste of money to them. Just my thoughts.


Any feeder breeder that says CO2 euthanasia is a "waste of money" really means to say "I don't care about treating these animals humanely". CO2 is extremely cheap after the initial few hundred dollar investment of a tank and regulator, which will likely outlast any feeder breeder business and retain its value for welders or aquarium hobbyists. My 10 pound tank costs maybe $14 to fill, and depending on the size of the euthanasia chamber and frequency of use, that tank fill could last months.


----------



## crazyratgirl101

gotchea said:


> Really? I don't think that is a law here. But that would be nice. I had to watch this video of all the male chicks be put in a blender. It was awful!! Haunts me for life. I guess that is what hatcheries do since there isn't much use for male chickens in the egg industry. I buy my hens from local farmers.


Wait... Were they live??? Because if they were then I swear I'm going to scream bloody murder and throw my phone at a wall.


----------



## gotchea

crazyratgirl101 said:


> Wait... Were they live??? Because if they were then I swear I'm going to scream bloody murder and throw my phone at a wall.


Yea they were alive. It's considered the most humane way to kill them because it's so fast. Male chicks aren't useful at all for people in the egg business. Even most places that sell chicks kill the males because people only want the hens. Hatcheries are really sad. It is proven that chicks learn from their mom from inside the egg. At hatcheries they take the eggs away from the mom and put the eggs in incubators. It's why local farmers are the best way to go. But this is all my research on certain places. Not everywhere is the same. I would post the video, but I really don't advise watching it. You can google it, the chicks in the meat grinder. But You can picture what it looks like....


----------



## gotchea

Jaguar said:


> Any feeder breeder that says CO2 euthanasia is a "waste of money" really means to say "I don't care about treating these animals humanely". CO2 is extremely cheap after the initial few hundred dollar investment of a tank and regulator, which will likely outlast any feeder breeder business and retain its value for welders or aquarium hobbyists. My 10 pound tank costs maybe $14 to fill, and depending on the size of the euthanasia chamber and frequency of use, that tank fill could last months.


Yes you are probably correct about them not really caring. I think co2 would be the best way to go about killing animals for snake food. I didn't know it was so cheap though! I only really heard about the tank and what not being so expensive. I haven't had snakes in a few years so I am probably out of the loop nowaday.


----------



## crazyratgirl101

I'm might get a ball python in a few years, but i would never ever feed live even if the snake refused to eat for months. I would much rather brain the dead rat with my hands then feed live.On the chicks, I'm am not even daring to google the video cause I will start crying and then my family will be like, "what's wrong??" And I'm not showing them the video because my mom I sensitive when it comes to stuff like that.


----------



## kksrats

There is a pet store here that is notorious for not being able to differentiate between male and female and ends up with accidental litters due to their incompetence. When asked once what they do with the pups they replied that they'll sell them as feeders until they're a certain age and the ones that don't sell are killed. When I asked "killed for what?" I didn't get an answer...so they're basically throwing out rats because they end up with too many because they're incompetent. I buy as many of the litters as I can to raise and rehome as pets, but I almost feel like that's encouraging them to let it keep happening...ugh. At least places like petsmart only carry 2 or 3 rats at a time and I've NEVER seen an accidental litter there. Honestly, I think I probably live in the most disgusting, rat abusing city in the south west.


----------



## wadefarrow

I bought feeders, three boys, one passed away :/ but I feel like he had a better quality of life while he was alive with us than he would have otherwise! But yeah it's sad that they have such a terrible fate ahead of them, so I like saving them!


----------



## thatprettyarcanine

I'm a snake owner, but my 3 mice and my 2 baby rats were saved instead of feeding them to my snakes. I love my babies so much, I couldn't imagine feeding them to my snakes. I tend to feed my snakes frozen/thawed rodents now anyways. Makes me feel a little bit better.

People that say things like "they're brought into the world to be food", are a little too ignorant for my taste.


----------

