Whitney Price <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>>Also keep in mind- in many european countries its not legal to sell or use
>live animals for "feeders" (ive bene told). In the USA it IS.
>
>If this is true, please tell me what reptile keepers in Europe feed their
>animals. Do they drop a tube and inject puree?
>
>Reminds me of an episode of "Emergency Vets" in which a woman brought in a
>rabbit she had rescued from her boyfriend's boa constrictor's tank. The vet
>asked her if she had told her boyfriend that she had done it. No, she was
>hiding the rabbit. The vet points out that now the boa is being
>abused/neglected because it is now starving, and the boa's keeper isn't even
>aware.
Despite what I have heard said here and elsewhere, I am unaware of any
species of reptile that will simply not eat dead food. Humanely killed
animals are fed. If a reptile will not eat it then the feeder will be
warmed up and may even be sprayed with chemicals that encourage eating.
There are various other techniques that are used.
Most UK petshops have a freezer full of humanly killed mice and rats in
various sizes. Far fewer have any pet mice or rats for sale.
Of course some people will feed live animals, but it is heavily
discouraged. For example, I know of one reptile fair where all stall
holders were written to in advance and told that feeder animals were
prohibited from the event. I have seen any reptile magazines and I can't
say I have ever seen anyone advertise live feeder animals in them
(frozen ones yes).
--
Julian
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* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
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