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baby nicaraguan boa

ok look, i was very proud of how Gratch is doing, that's why i posted. i didn't think i was going to receive an ass chewing!!!!! judge me how you want, you will anyways! God knows how i take excellent CARE of my babies, you guys seem to like to rip me to shreads for your own entertainment and pleasure! SORRY i shared with you!! thanks for NOTHING you judgemental jerks!!!!!
 
ok look, i was very proud of how Gratch is doing, that's why i posted.
And you should be proud, Gratch looks great.

BUT, when you make a husbandry mistake, someone will point it out. Often people aren't very nice about it, but they truly have the best interest of your animal in mind. Your feelings... not so much.
 
Do you get this butthurt in real life when someone tells you that you're doing something wrong? How do you react at work or when a cop pulls you over? Do you get defensive and yell? If so, I'd consider some counseling based on conflict resolution. You internalize things waayyyy too much. All I was saying is those practices are bad for the animal and you should quit. What you should do afterwards is either ask how I know this to be true or do your own research from EXPERIENCED breeders. But, yeah, as we can see, getting butthurt and defensive is also an option. If you'd seen the injuries I had over the years from feeding live, you'd be saying the same thing I did when you saw someone feeding live.
 
I am extremely defensive when it comes to my animal children. Do you ever take your snakes out and play with them? Or are they just trophies dollar signs or do they actually mean something to you? You know nothing about me but yet You judge. I understand your point of what you have seen with snakes getting chewed up, but do also realize where Gratch feeds from im right in front of him and all my snakes when they feed on live, pre killed or f\t im very protective over them. Do you also realize snakes are very playful? Or have You not ever taken the time to get to actually know a snake?
 
They actually prefer to be left alone, but you'd know that if you really researched it out. I didn't and don't judge you, I just judged your very evident actions and the response to criticism. I don't know you from anyone, but I know that feeding snakes is wrong. It doesn't matter if you're right there, that mouse can still take a chunk out of the snake you claim you care so much about. You might be protective, but you're also misguided. Why do you feed live? I've found there are only two reasons to do so. One is a misguided belief that it is somehow better for the snake because of hunting instincts, etc. That's complete bs. The other reason is to get some weird satisfaction out of watching their snake kill a mouse/rat/whatever. This reason is just really disturbing on a lot of different levels.

I've owned individual snakes for over 10 yrs. I seriously doubt you can say the same. Anyone who had ever been to my snake room can attest that I knew the personality and behavior of every animal in my collection. That being said, you are anthropomorphizing them a bit. If you think you and your snake are buddies, you are fairly delusional. They don't have the capacity for that kind of relationship, period. They would honestly like you to leave them alone for most of their existence excluding food time. It's the nature of the beast.
 
I have 34 years experience with wild and domestic snakes. I'm not young either. I'm really really tired of trying to defend myself when all i wanted to do was show off Gratch, and you totally killed that for me. I'm not answering anymore because You think because You have a couple of years experience with snakes you are always in the right.
 
Stephanie, just ignore him. Based on this thread I can see that you obviously care a lot about Gratch and take good care of him. Instead of being praised for doing the right thing(asking for help), you were attacked for having a different method of feeding your snake. BTW, I would love to see the mouse that can do any serious harm to a boa that size. Its obvious from the updated pics that he is a good weight and healthy. If you read through this forum and others like it, you can see people trolling all over the place. Just ignore it.
 
Stephanie, just ignore him. Based on this thread I can see that you obviously care a lot about Gratch and take good care of him. Instead of being praised for doing the right thing(asking for help), you were attacked for having a different method of feeding your snake. BTW, I would love to see the mouse that can do any serious harm to a boa that size. Its obvious from the updated pics that he is a good weight and healthy. If you read through this forum and others like it, you can see people trolling all over the place. Just ignore it.

Agreed. Feed your snake the way that makes you happy, and as long as your watching carefully, then it should be fine. Don't let them get under your skin, that's exactly what most of them want. :thumbsup:
 
Even watching them closely it is a risk. I got lazy one day and tossed a live rat to my albino boa. I sat there heart sunk until she unwrapped the rat because it looked like the rats bottom teeth were in her eye, and blood on the paper towel. LUCKILY she was fine and the blood was from the rat.

Just because someone agrees doesn't make your position right. I've been chewed out on this site and off this site because of my reactions or someone misinterpreted a situation wrong.

You shouldn't feed live. That snake is going to get several more feet and you can't feed it mice forever. Maybe you need to look up some live feeding accidents and ask yourself do you really want that to happen to YOUR snake?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
Chris, JCCS, does not troll, he's trying to help.

I used to feed live as well as in a separate container because that was all I knew and had heard about. After years of additional research, education from other keepers and first hand experience (watching a live rat chomp repeatedly on my adult boa as she was constricting, yes supervised) I changed my methods. Sure, others feed live all the time (especially in the BP community) without issues but just because there hasn't been an instance in their own collection doesn't mean it can't happen. Personally, I don't see it being worth the risk when most snakes, especially boas, will readily take prekilled or f/t and I feel it's more humane for the rodents as well.

Stephanie, I also see that you care very much for your boa based on your posts. Just because someone offers another option or advise doesn't mean they are putting you down. Please do not get upset. We all really want what is best for the animals.
 
It isn't so much what was said, it is how it was said. Who talks to someone they don't even know as if they are a child that needs to be reprimanded? Could have just said "I suggest looking into feeding F/T rats because it is safer for the snake". Am I wrong? No one else sees how tone had a lot to do with the argument that followed? People would be a lot more willing to accept your advice if it isn't forced down their throats.
 
THANK YOU Steve!! You know this whole post amazes me that people can't just be happy Gratch made it with ALL of God's my husbands and my care! if it makes all of you happy i'll switch Gratch to frozen thawed. and Steve is right ever since i started this post most have been very aggressive with me.
 
Steve, coming at it from the angle you suggest would inherently put the two options as equal. They are not. No experienced, knowledgeable boa keeper I have known feeds live past the first few feedings. It is a bad practice for many reasons, only one of which includes direct physical harm to the snake. Those mice/rats can be full of all sorts of other nasties which can be passed onto the snake if not killed prior. I'm not going to sit around and play patty cake with someone. If my suggestion doesn't at least encourage her to do some research, then her being that easily offended and thin-skinned does nothing but harm her snake's care. I don't know how you guys get feedback in real life but in my world, it's direct, to the point, and it's not particularly regarding your feelings. Something needs to change, change it, next topic. It's not meant to hurt your feelings, but if it does, so be it. I don't have time to come on here and therapeutically ask people if they are ready for change. I simply didn't want something traumatic to happen to this woman's snake which she's done a nice job bringing back from some obviously crappy care prior to her owning it. That mouse takes a chunk of that snake's neck and it's going to be a lot of hard work down the drain, and a poor dead animal for absolutely no reason whatsoever other than her not using best practices.
 
So just because you think its ok to talk to people in that manner, I have to agree? You have no time to be nice about it but you have plenty of time to tell her she was "butthurt" and other things? That's the kind of stuff I look for when i'm looking for someone to take advice from. Im not looking for an argument here. If you truly feel what you said was ok, then I cant and wont try to change your mind. Again, just to be clear, im not saying the content was bad. Just the delivery.
 
Jccs no one asked you to come to this thread and pass judgement on any of us. Just because i feed live once in awhile does not mean i Don't care about my kids! You think your way is the ONLY way to do things and everyone else is wrong. I care more about my kids then You'll EVER think of caring about yours past the almighty dollar sign!!! I wish you wouldn't have ever posted in my thread. People who actually KNOW me KNOW how much i care about my kids!!
 
You have no time to be nice about it but you have plenty of time to tell her she was "butthurt" and other things?

Nothing Chris posted in this thread has come across as even remotely out of line or over the top. If you guys want to cite "tone" as the reason for knotted knickers, you may want to actually read the OP's responses to Chris' very civil comments. There's no question about just what tone she's using; "butthurt" is a very apt description of reactions that seem better suited to a teenaged girl going on an emo-rage.

If you have a problem with anything that's been posted here, it tells me that you're actively looking to be offended; you don't appear to have any problem with manufacturing drama that isn't really there. Considering some of the foolishness the OP's spouting, I'm fairly impressed with how non-condescending the tone has remained.

If you guys want yes-men who aren't going to point out issues that they know, through extensive firsthand experience, may cause problems for your animals, you may want to just avoid the internet altogether. Personally, I'd much rather be surrounded by people whose interests are geared more toward safe, effective husbandry practices. If the pursuit of banal niceties is your thing, I'm sure you can get plenty of that at your local pet shop. It often gets served up with a large helping of grossly-misinformed, self-serving advice.

kalismom3 said:
P.S. I feel very SORRY for the poor snakes that are stuck with you!!!
See "teenaged girl" comment above. :rolleyes:
 
Dan, thank goodness you chimed in. I was afraid this thread was just going to fizzle out without more pointless arguing. Im so happy someone who had nothing to do with the thread, before now, stopped in to.... how did you state it? Manufacture drama, yea that's it.
 
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