SCs and Snakes

[BookstoreEscapee]

Rat people tend to be hot. That's the one trend I've noticed in the rat community. When I meet a big group of rat people I'm usually surprised at what a large percentage are very attractive.

Hmm...maybe I should check out some rat shows...

LOL... well true. My sister always gives me a guilt trip whenever the subject of my mice in my freezer comes up. "It's murder. All those hundreds of tiny lives." I dunno... I think it would be murder if I let my snakes starve... >.>

Is your sister a vegetarian? If not, how is frozen mice any different from the chicken or steak in her freezer? Would she rather you give them live mice and let them die by suffocation (or however corn snakes kill their prey)?

As cute as I think meeces are, I eat things that were cute when they were alive, too, so how can I begrudge a snake a convenient frozen dinner?


My ex's roommate has a snake (don't know what kind; I've never seen it as it's in his bedroom, but judging from the size of his tank, he can't be all that big). When I learned that I had a pang of for little Pablo. He's been mistaken for a bunny before...a snake might think he's just a big mouse...

[TheSnakeLady]

Actually, she won't eat steak or pork anymore. She doesn't like birds as pets in general, so she has no qualms about eating chicken or poultry... (and she's too fussy to become a vegetarian!)

Heck, she tried snake at a restaurant once, and felt so guilty she couldn't finish her meal, since she knew too many snakes (the ones at my house). She's -trying- not to get too attached to my pet quail, since fish is expensive where I live (landlocked area).

...a snake might think he's just a big mouse...

Actually, I've had them mistake my hand for a mouse before... this usually only happens if I'm late with feeding day (cornsnakes eat about once a week or so normally, but can easily go longer). Most times the snake realizes immediately what has happened, but I've had the occasional snake who wasn't going to give up his fresh-caught hand... a quick dip under cold running water tends to change their minds rather quickly though.

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

I only had one snake as a pet (garter) ... she used to really freak out my mom

Unfortunately, no snakes allowed in HI, but someone always tries to sneak em in.

[petslave]

I LOVE snakes, but I'm owned by 8 pet rats, and have owned/loved many mice in the past, so feeding (even from frozen) is not something I could bring myself to do. I'm always catching and releasing garter snakes from my parents' yard, and playing with friends' snakes.

Nothing is cooler than being the one girl working in the petstore willing to reach her bare hand into the ball python cage and pick one up to show the 20-some year old guys. Got many impressed looks over that one.

[TheSnakeLady]

LOL... yeah... I used to have coworkers who'd been in the Marines... muscular guys in their 50s and still tough as nails... And they were deathly afraid of my snakes.

[petslave]

LOL, I see the same thing with my rats. Actually happened today in the petstore. I had one out on my shoulder, and the lady wouldn't even walk by me because *gasp* it had a tail. She near had a panic attack before I could get out of her way. Honestly, she had been petting a hamster that she had let her daughter hold not 10 seconds earlier.

Hamsters scare me. They're nasty vicious. Snakes and rats as a general rule aren't over nippy, and if they do nail you it's for a good reason. Hamters are just evil.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I love snakes. I did a course on animal care, and always loved holding the snakes; tho the milk snake, imaginitively called "Milky", was a bit pervy and always liked to slither up a girl's sleeve into her bra... seriously! He never ever did that to a guy, always to girls. Maybe cleave is warmer than chest? Anyway, I would love a pet snake but right now I can't really afford a pet of any description.

[Saydrah]

LOL, I see the same thing with my rats. Actually happened today in the petstore. I had one out on my shoulder, and the lady wouldn't even walk by me because *gasp* it had a tail. She near had a panic attack before I could get out of her way. Honestly, she had been petting a hamster that she had let her daughter hold not 10 seconds earlier.

Hamsters scare me. They're nasty vicious. Snakes and rats as a general rule aren't over nippy, and if they do nail you it's for a good reason. Hamters are just evil.

I feel the same way! 13 rats, but you couldn't pay me to own a hamster!

[zzapp the witch]

I bred rabbits for show and I'm still a member of ARBA. (Soon as I get a barn built I'm back in the biz). I had a friend who bred and raised the albino burmese pythons. I used to give him stillborns and such to feed to them. At one point he offered me one of his best ones (and my favorite) that had (I don't know the proper terms) the yellow rings with the rose colored center. And my mom wouldn't let me have it.

/sigh

Can you imagine how gorgeous she would be 10 years later?

[NateTheChops]

This is actually a very interesting discussion.

I thought about trying to breed rats for one purpose or another. I live in a college city so I imagine I could make a small killing off of the college students, school kids, etc.

Any suggestions from the experienced crowd? What was your business plan like if you don't mind me asking.

[Amethyst Hunter]

If you can't stomach defrosting a mouse and offering it to a snake, then do not get a snake. There are no vegetarian snakes, and I'm only aware of 2 types of snakes that are insectivores -- neither of which are common in the pet trade. Be careful of what kind of tarantula you get. Some of the larger ones may require similar feeding.

I likely won't ever get a snake. It's one of those things that I admire, but wouldn't necessarily really want for myself. Kind of like how some people admire luxury cars but don't want the expenses of upkeep, you know? (I realize that's probably a poor comparison, but you hopefully get the idea)

If - and this is purely a huge hypothetical if, as I probably won't get any spiders either - I got a tarantula, I'd go for something like a Chilean Rose Hair. Very docile, easy to care for as far as spiders go, and you don't even have to take them out of their cages (I've read in fact that it's strongly recommended not to do so, as 1) unnecessary handling stresses the spider, and 2) the urticating hairs on the spider's legs are an irritant to human skin).

Cats and fish pretty much do it for me.

[TheSnakeLady]

I love snakes. I did a course on animal care, and always loved holding the snakes; tho the milk snake, imaginitively called "Milky", was a bit pervy and always liked to slither up a girl's sleeve into her bra... seriously!

LOL... I had a snake that did that to my sis... Though I think it's a "warm person" thing and not a cleavage thing, since a friend of mine has a cornsnake that keeps trying to crawl up her husband's shorts.

Any suggestions from the experienced crowd? What was your business plan like if you don't mind me asking.

If you're gonna do it, do it because you love the hobby, not because you wanna make money. Can't speak specifically for rats, but I suspect it's similar.

[TheSnakeLady]

If - and this is purely a huge hypothetical if, as I probably won't get any spiders either - I got a tarantula,

A friend of mine has a few tarantulas... they hide all the time, she complains.

[Saydrah]

Nate-

Breeders who make money are what we in the rat fancy call 'bad breeders,' backyard breeders' 'feeder breeders' 'petstore breeders' and 'jerks.' The point is, you can't raise rats, treat them well, get the best stock available, provide them with a nutritious diet and appropriate caging, and produce loving, healthy pets without:

1. A lot of research and at least a year of getting to know people in the hobby and learning from them before you start breeding.

2. Spending a LOT of money. I drove 16 hours one way for my foundation stock and drive the same distance to the only show with respectable quarantine practices in the fancy in order to exhibit my rats before trained judges. That's just the beginning. I have spent more on my rats in the past year than I have on food and entertainment for myself, by a factor of about five.

3. Spending a LOT of time. You can't make money when you have one litter a month, which is the MAX I think most breeders can handle, with a couple exceptions. Babies need DAILY socializing, no exceptions.

4. VET BILLS. No matter how great your caretaking skills are, you will have VET BILLS and the caps are there for a reason.


If you want a business venture, I suggest that you look outside animal breeding. People who breed animals and do it right tend to lose money or MAYBE break even. A great rat is around $30-$50 at the MOST. That doesn't even cover one tank of gas for my 16 hour drives, and mine do not sell for that much- only one breeder I know commands that price for his rats, and it's for good reason. Other animals are much the same, though the numbers are different. The costs of doing it right are high, and the rewards are, at most, covering the food bill for the month. I do this because I love rats and I want to produce healthy, sweet rats that will improve the fancy overall. I love having babies around and I love being proud of the fact that my foundation rats are among the best in the Western United States. This is what a 'hobby breeder' is- someone who breeds because they love the animals and as a HOBBY- something you SPEND money on, not something you get money FROM.

[TheSnakeLady]

*claps*

Well said, Saydrah.