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Posted by Mr. D on March 05, 2003 at 01:10:05:

In Reply to: how can i explain my snake eating... posted by mealworm on February 26, 2003 at 17:31:21:

:i've been a vegetarian for a while now. For me it is a relief not to have to eat animals, but everyone always laughs at me and asks me why i feed my snake mice then. I need some help with a good answer. I like more people should be vegetarians because i don't think we have a right to slaughter so many animals... and i definatly feel bad feeding my snake mice, but i don't believe snakes should not exist.. and they are picky eaters as it is.. they're would be no way to have a healthy (if alive) vegetarian snake. Any thoughts??

:marie

Simple answer: You, as a human, can make a conscious choice to survive as a vegetarian. Snakes simply do not have an option. Period. Hopefully, you are feeding F/T mice as opposed to live as there are several benefits to feeding F/T.

Personally, I have a large problem with people (not necessarily you) who choose to force an animal whether their "pet" or otherwise to attempt to exist on foods other than their natural diets. Attempting to make dogs, cats, etc. suffer with a vegetarian diet is not only wrong but punishable to the extent of any applicable animal cruelty laws. There is simply no need of it and individuals who feel it necessary to do so should absolutely reexamine whether or not they really want to keep a carnivorous/omnivorous animal as a pet. Granted, every weeek when I make 50# of salad for the iguanas in my program I end up having to fork over 10% of the collard greens to the canine mafia who collects though my Parsons Russel Terrier/Beagle mix pound puppy but that's HIS choice. He also gets plenty of raw bones and rare red meat as often as I eat it and has commercial dry dog food available 24/7.
Bottom line - Snakes have no other option. In order to survive they need to eat meat. Mice/rats/hamsters/chicks/rabbits etc. are natural food choices in the wild. It only makes sense to provide them the same diet if we choose to keep them in captivity.

Follow Ups:

• Re: how can i explain my snake eating... phflea 03/11/03 (2)
  • Re: how can i explain my snake eating... waustin 04/04/03 (1)
    • Re: how can i explain my snake eating... cold_blooded 04/10/03 (0)