# Live food?



## angelallwayz (Jan 30, 2007)

Does anybody here feed live food to their ratties? My dad turned up with a tub of live crickets for my rats the other day, i was a little unsure as to whether they would go for it especially considering what a wimp my dumbo(Ronnie) is. I dropped one into the cage and within seconds they were chasing it all over, i kinda felt sorry for the poor little bug but the rats went crazy for them. Im only going to use them as a treat on occasion as they are high in protien, just wondered if anyone else had tried any live foods?


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## Evangeline (Feb 3, 2007)

OMG don't do that please. It's just as bad as when people feed live rats to snakes, they don't deserve that. Ok, I understand in the wild this is natural behaviour but in a cage the poor cricket stands no chance! Just because it's a cricket does not mean he is worth less than a rat. :' (


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## angelallwayz (Jan 30, 2007)

oh come on are u serious? If i thought the crickets were suffering i wouldnt do it, they are great for giving the rats stimulation and its really no different from the thousands of insects we squish everyday under our feet and on the windscreens of our cars. Have u never swatted a fly or a spider?


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

I'm not sure if their is any nutritional value to the crickets, if they eat them. It would be fun to see the rats chasing them.

As for being cruel, whatever. We eat animals, animals eat animals. It's a fact of life, whether in nature or in a tank. Some animals are raised for food, that is their purpose in life. People raise mice and rats just for snake food, just as we raise cows, chickens, and pigs (and others) just for food. I am not saying an animals life is worthless, as I love animals, but some just have a certain purpose. You can't save every animal in the world. If we are to keep meat eating animals in captivity then we have to raise food to feed them. That's just the way it is.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

giving live food is no different then us eating meat. yeah, its not a fun time for the food and its a very strong reason i won't own snakes or anything else that needs live food but when it comes to insects i can't really bring myself to care so much for them. like angel said, i swat at them all the time. what i would be worried about would be if they were safe to give to the rats or not and if they escaped the cage how the heck i would find them to get rid of them. having a cricket hiding in a big farm house is NOT fun to find at 2 in the morning when their chirping is keeping you awake. as far as giving them to your rats, i'm really not sure if its good or not. if they were bred for food i suppose they should be illness free but i'm really not sure how bugs for food work. maybe you should ask the pet store what goes into the bugs to make sure they're safe and all that.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

RatKiller said:


> Im going to breed giant killer mutent crickets so I can feed rats to them.
> FUP you all!!!! **** Rat lovers


if you aren't a rat lover or at least interested in rats as pets what are you doing on ratlovers forum?


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## angelallwayz (Jan 30, 2007)

twitch said:


> what i would be worried about would be if they were safe to give to the rats or not and if they escaped the cage how the heck i would find them to get rid of them. having a cricket hiding in a big farm house is NOT fun to find at 2 in the morning when their chirping is keeping you awake


ROFL :lol: 

That did actually happen the other day he he, i just watch carefully and grab the cricket if it escapes now. The crickets came from a snake store so i presume they are pretty safe and the idea actually came from a site that was linked on this one so im not the only one doing this monstrous act! :twisted: I was more interested in providing stimulation for my fur babies rather than the nutritional value and it definately worked. They seem to love chasing them and enjoy munching on them too and dont worry the rats ensure a very swift demise for the little buggies.


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## RFAdmin (Feb 25, 2006)

trolls comments deleted.


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## Lise (Feb 26, 2007)

As well as crickets, you can purchase mealworms/superworms as a treat as well.

My rats used to love mealworms as a treat... after a long time not buying them though, they wouldn't touch them the last time I did.


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## nativemic (Jan 24, 2007)

if the store buys them from a reputable dealer such as flukers farms they are raised on vitamin enriched foods. the crickets and meal worms are very high in proteins and other vitamins essential for the reptiles they are intended for so they would be good for the rats as well.


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

ratman said:


> trolls comments deleted.


I wondered who you were talking to, Twitch! :lol:


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## Evangeline (Feb 3, 2007)

Sorry, I know people have different opinions to me but I'm Buddhist and I strongly believe that every animal is equal so just as much as I care about cats, dogs, rats etc I care about all insects, so squishing a spider or fly or feeding a cricket to a rat would be out of the question. Like I said I understand that this happens in the wild but I couldn't personally do it.


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

ok i have been breeding rats for 6yrs now most of them go for snake food but i try to get them in to pet home when i can and yes i have snakes and lizards that eat mice and rats. i also want to say that i love all animals i even have a spider as a pet but i do have to keep all animals feed and happy. now that i have said all that i have feed my rats and mice even my pet rats mealworms crickets and crayfish and i have never had any problems with my rats. the live food i feed are more or less treats there main diet is a mix of things like hamster seed dog food left over human food. i have tryed those lab blocks and my rats would not tuch them. i know some on here will look at me as a bad person but i will say that i have had about ten or so rats that were just pets and i loved them like i do my dogs or other animals in my home.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

I hope you feed frozen prey.


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

freshly killed is what my snakes prefer. unless i have baby snakes than i have to feed live pinky mice but i wean them to killed. i have a freind that breeds reptiles and i sell him frozen mice and rats that were put down as painless and qiuck as posible but realy that is my bf job i dont really like to put down animals. i am the one that feeds the reptiles thou.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Uh, I don't really see why you're on this forum. This is a pet rat forum - don't you see how the fact that you KILL rats would be somewhat disturbing to us?


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

as you sed this is a pet rat forum she does keep rats but i dont c why its wrong to feed mice ect to snakes thats what they need to eat! every 1 has their own opions and in my opinon a snakes gotta eat and if its rats they need thats how it is, but its not like they are pet rats she is feeding to the snake that would be different! although i do not think this is the place to discuss it as it may upset ppl


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

i dont want to upset people and i do keep a few rats as pets only but i also want to be honest. and if someone ask me a question i want to answer it honestly. i came here to hopfuly learn a little more about rats as pets. and as i said before i try to find as many pet homes for my rats as i can. most of my snakes eats mice.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

dont worry sme people just try to pick fights end of the day a snakes gotta eat!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

As long as you and your boyfriend do everything ethically, in no way harm the rats, and keep them in adequate cages (IE - no tanks or storage containers), I'm fine with you raising feeders.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

a while ago u said it was disturbing!


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

fallinstar said:


> a while ago u said it was disturbing!


I think she meant how the person went about describing how they fed the snakes.
Like here:


camel24j said:


> freshly killed is what my snakes prefer. unless i have baby snakes than i have to feed live pinky mice but i wean them to killed.


 It was a bit gut-wrenching for me. Not pleasant...


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

i no that but night said it was disturbing then it was ok im getting very confuzed


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

The only thing that disturbs me, really, is her mentioning the issues that she has with her feeder babies, and actually talking about putting them down. I mean, snakes and reptiles need to eat, obviously, but since I'm a pet rat owner, I don't necessarily want to hear about someone feeding rats to their snake.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

fallinstar said:


> i no that but night said it was disturbing then it was ok im getting very confuzed


The part of Camel's post I quoted was the disturbing part, the fact that she bred an raised feed4ers humanely was the OK part.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

oh ok sorry


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

my rats have a big cage i think it was ment for rabits it has a big plastic tray and a wire top with 2 big doors they have a wheel and i put in cardboard tubes the only time my rats are in tanks is when they have babys becuse when they were in a cage with pinkys they would pick them up and push them out of the cage through the bars and when they are in the tanks they get fresh beding every day. when the babys are to big to fit through the bars they go back into a cage.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

thats good


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Honestly, usually manufactured rabbit cages aren't usually that big, even for rabbits. What are the dimensions of the cage and how many rats do you house in it?


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

im sorry night but u really are getting on my nerves she knows what she is doing so plz stop trying to pick faults you seem to think you know everything and its so annoyin how do u expect to make friends when all you ever do is pick faults?


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

39" long 21" deep 19" high we have two of them and we keep 3or 4 rats to a cage is normal and we also have smaller cages met for gueni pigs sorry cant spell. that we use from time to time.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

fallinstar said:


> im sorry night but u really are getting on my nerves she knows what she is doing so plz stop trying to pick faults you seem to think you know everything and its so annoyin how do u expect to make friends when all you ever do is pick faults?


You seem to be the one jumping to conclusions, here.

Night simply stated a TRUE fact(I've had two rabbits in the past and had to combine two cages for a decently adequate living space) and asked for some information so that she might help the other person better him/herself.

Just calm down, and look at what Night says neutrally, not with the hate you seem to have built up.


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## nativemic (Jan 24, 2007)

camel i am in the same boat as you, i work at a pet store that sells snakes so we do sell feeder mice and rats. i try to sell more frozen but the fact is some snakes just wont eat them so it must be live. 

and on the other hand since i started working there i have sold more "pet" rats" in the past 3 months then the store has sold in the past 10 years lol.

i love my boys ( rats ) but i also have a small snake that i have had for several years and would be disturbed if i lost him too.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

vixie im sorry if you dissagree but every where night posts she picks faults and not in a very nice way yes i no this forum is here to help but in a friendly way! this is slowly becoming a unfriendly place to be! it may be a true fact but she could say it a bbit nicer!


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

fallinstar said:


> vixie im sorry if you dissagree but every where night posts she picks faults and not in a very nice way yes i no this forum is here to help but in a friendly way! this is slowly becoming a unfriendly place to be! it may be a true fact but she could say it a bbit nicer!


I fail to see how she put it negatively, she pointed out the fault of the manufacturers that lie and say the space is enough for a pet rabbit, not the person who she's talking to.

I've had a look see through quite a few rabbit cages, and most of them are pretty darn small.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

vixie this isnt only about this post im on about a lot of other posts


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Yes, I am aware of Night's history here.

Yet I do think she's toned it down a bit.


With that said, I would like to also say you should tkae another look at the very post I made that you agreed with.

My mother(whom I have a very deep respect for) lives life by her golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Though that doens't justify someone being nasty right back at you, it's very true. When you treat someone like an idiot, they will mark you as a jerk and it will stay in their minds when it comes to you needing the help.


That whole paragraph could very well be directed at you right now. You have taken Night's history and held it against her, and now you've jumped right down her throat, assuming she meant something negative. You are now the attacker. Just because she was rude before doesn't justify you ruffling your hackles every time she posts soemthing.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

im sorry but she is still in my eyes being rude to me and until she refrains from this i will continue to stick up for myself i havent insulted her or made her feel useless, i have had problems like this before altough not on the net and i have just ignored it now i have no confidence and struggle with day to day things like walking to the shop i do not come on here to be made to feel useless.


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

ok this is more than i ever thought i knew i would get some people upset at me but i figured with all the poeple her you would if not anything try to make me see your point of veiw and i really do love rats but i also love my 11 snakes and my lizards and i try to do things in a way that is better for all the animals in my care. but can i ask a question do you ever get wild rats and mice in your house and how to you take care of that peroblem? do you 1 use snap traps 2 use poison 3 use live traps and set them free


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Fallinstar, you're following Night now.

She's made quite a few posts on here you've just stuck your nose in on that had nothing to do with you. Your personal life is none of our business, but I don't think you should drag it here.

I have anxiety, I suffer from panic attacks. At FIFTEEN years of age, I've had four panic attacks, each causing me to strain msucles and hyperventilate(sp?). You wanna complain, start complaining when you've gone through that in your sophomore year of high school.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

camel24j said:


> ok this is more than i ever thought i knew i would get some people upset at me but i figured with all the poeple her you would if not anything try to make me see your point of veiw and i really do love rats but i also love my 11 snakes and my lizards and i try to do things in a way that is better for all the animals in my care. but can i ask a question do you ever get wild rats and mice in your house and how to you take care of that peroblem? do you 1 use snap traps 2 use poison 3 use live traps and set them free


Hon, this has nothing to do with your post, it really just is a case of people holding grudges against others. Please don't feel in the blame. 

I see nothing horribly wrong with your methods. While I'm sure there are areas that could be improved, you're not making extremely costly mistakes. Many people should realize that each animal has to eat, whether we like it or not.


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## Darksong17 (Feb 11, 2007)

camel24j said:


> ok this is more than i ever thought i knew i would get some people upset at me but i figured with all the poeple her you would if not anything try to make me see your point of veiw and i really do love rats but i also love my 11 snakes and my lizards and i try to do things in a way that is better for all the animals in my care. but can i ask a question do you ever get wild rats and mice in your house and how to you take care of that peroblem? do you 1 use snap traps 2 use poison 3 use live traps and set them free



I don't think this is really relevant to the forum seeing as it's for pet rats but if you can use live/humane traps obviously those would be the best route. If you MUST use a trap that kills, snap traps are FAR more humane than either glue or poison traps. Poison is an agonizingly painful way to die as is starving or suffocating in glue.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

vixie i am 17 years old and have suffered since i was 13 u have had 4 panic attacks ? i have more than that a week and have been addmited to hospital for 20m of them, u can start complaing when at the age of 13 you have to home schooled as you cant cope im not comlaining i am simply postin my point i am not following her i am simply posting and using the forum as i always have, if you dont like that its your problem not mine i am simply posting my opinion


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Thank you, Vixie. I have done nothing wrong, and haven't flamed anyone. I've made it a goal today to be completely respectful and nice to everyone on this forum, and just genuinely try to help. But, fallinstar continues to basically attack me for absolutely no reason, even though I'm doing nothing to her.


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## Darksong17 (Feb 11, 2007)

I've definitely noticed Night's effort to be more respectful, I think she was just a little overwhelmed at first. It can be frustrating when you see so many things you want to immediately try to help correct and then you tend to end up coming off rude. I agree, fallinstar it's time to let things go and move on.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

I'm at a loss of what to do...

Fallinstar, let's not make this into some contest of who is the one with more mental prblems.

But I really must ask you to back off of Night. She HAS improved, not once in a while has she said anything to insult anyone. You've just taken great leaps where they were not required, or even conceivable, for that matter.

Really, just back off and start over with Night, see she hasn't been as rude as you say.


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

Vixie said:


> I have anxiety, I suffer from panic attacks. At FIFTEEN years of age, I've had four panic attacks, each causing me to strain msucles and hyperventilate(sp?). You wanna complain, start complaining when you've gone through that in your sophomore year of high school.


i have the same problem and i know that some of this has nothing to do with me. but i think i got it started a bit.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

camel24j said:


> Vixie said:
> 
> 
> > I have anxiety, I suffer from panic attacks. At FIFTEEN years of age, I've had four panic attacks, each causing me to strain msucles and hyperventilate(sp?). You wanna complain, start complaining when you've gone through that in your sophomore year of high school.
> ...


No, no, no. It TRULY has nothing to do with you posting this. Please don't feel to blame...^_^;;


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## Darksong17 (Feb 11, 2007)

It's alright Camel it definitely isn't your fault =)

And honestly I'm seeing a trend in rat owners... I'm no stranger to mental problems myself XD


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

this is between me and night now i have pm'ed her please stay out


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Darksong17 said:


> It's alright Camel it definitely isn't your fault =)
> 
> And honestly I'm seeing a trend in rat owners... I'm no stranger to mental problems myself XD


Haha! Silly! XP


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

this is acutly kinda cool to meet others with this problem i have never known anyone else i know this is not the right place but i have never taken meds for it becuse i do not like meds all the side afects and i think i can admit this but i have not left my house in the last two months i have made my bf who i have lived with the last 6yrs go to the store and so on. 


on the other hand i did mention something about traps becuse i was more wondering i have had some problem with wild mice and my 2 cats are to lazzy and i have the live trap but they chewed through it so it is useless and i have resorted to snap traps but they are not as humane as you think just the other night the traps went off and this poor mouse had one foot in one trap and one foot in another this is why i asked bad question i know expecly with a few on here with a little battle. also how did this go from live food to what ever i think we are braking some rule some were. i guess i should not ask some things and not answer others and keep this thread what it was intended for sorry for the things that were my fault and hope the other stuff gets straited out.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

camel24j said:


> this is acutly kinda cool to meet others with this problem i have never known anyone else i know this is not the right place but i have never taken meds for it becuse i do not like meds all the side afects and i think i can admit this but i have not left my house in the last two months i have made my bf who i have lived with the last 6yrs go to the store and so on.


Anxiety problems are quite common, especially in adult women.

I'm still working to find my triggers...and I've never taken meds because of my age and I would just rather work through it myself then hide behind the meds. I feel I'll have a geater sense of self-reliance and confidence if I work to get over it.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Well, people don't "hide behind meds," really. A lot of psychological issues stem from depression, which is essentially a chemical imbalance in your brain. All that medication does is correct the imbalance. True, though, when you get more in-depth with your psychological issues, a lot of drugs basically work like sedatives, so I understand your statement.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

i was givin the choice of meds or ride it out i choce no meds as ive hurd you can get hooked and at my age (17) i really didnt feel like taking pills every day for the unforseeable future my friend who has simular problems and is on over 10 meds a day! i find rats do help in my situation as they have a calming affect only problem is when they do pass on it adds to the problem!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Some anti-anxiety medication (IE - Xanax and other "sedative" type drugs) can be fairly addicting in the wrong situation, but for the most part, the medication is a great resource, though I think it needs to go hand-in-hand with therapy and other things, not just be used by itself.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

HAha, thankfully you understood that. 

I posted it and said...wait....I be tsomeone is gonna take that as totally off the wall...xD


But yeah, I didn't mean for it to be offensive to anyone(this is for other's reference), most of the anxiety meds I've been given the option to take were explained to me as to work like a 'mood stabilizer', and I've talked with a few people who took the meds and they felt like they were in a drugged stupor while they were on them. So I just chose not to take them...xD


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

the best thing i found is a natural remidy called batch rescue remidy and its flower extracts and it encorages the body to calm down


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

i have so many health problems and being only 25yr till june anyways that i try to stay away from all meds as a kid i was on so many meds and i got so sick of going to the docs and asking simple question only to get a new meds that i have wised up and have not taken any meds exept blood presure. we should start this conversation in the right area like the lounge part.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

ok make a new post n shall chat about it there


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## camel24j (Feb 27, 2007)

ok made a new place to discuse this further with all of you the topic say dont know what to put here lol didnt want to try to spell anxity there lol but please lets keep discusing this i am very happy to here how everone cops and what not thanx


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## angelallwayz (Jan 30, 2007)

wow i really wasnt expecting this post to cause so many problems, sorry but maybe in a way i have brought people together awwwww. n e way back to the matter in hand, thanks for all your posts and i think ill keep feeding the crickets on occasion just to see the little fur balls havng fun. thanks


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

is it expensive to buy a few crikets? do you have to buy a certain ammount? its sounds like the rats really enjoy them and i'm beginning to think about trying some with mine as treats as well.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

i know my robs would murder any live food in seconds lol bless him


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Crickets and other live food's really inexpensive. I don't know if there's an amount you have to buy, though.


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## angelallwayz (Jan 30, 2007)

I had to buy a tub of them with about 20 in for Â£2 but you can keep them for a while if you put them into a larger container and provide some food, or you could breed them if you really wanted.


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## tasha (Oct 16, 2006)

Just wondering how long crickets can live after you get them home?


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