Euthanized Pet for Snake Food?

Question

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCrS1zxF0FM
(do not view if you're squeemish)

This guy shows what one has to do in order to feed his snakes using several different Humane methods. I post this to illustrate a point. Since we euthanize so many animals that are unwanted in shelters, why not sell those animals, dead of course to snake owners for food. That way, the shelter gets money in order to save more animals and mouse, rabbits, etc need not be killed in such a way, I'm sure vets can find a much more humane way of killing animals and still leave them edible to snakes. I don't believe the animals care once they die and you aren't wasting the meat. So here is the question, do you think this is a good idea? And two if yes, why don't we do it or is it just because of our own human prejudices for what we consider a pet?

Yes but does the drug ever go out of the system or is there another method they can use to kill humanely yet still leave the animals edible for snakes, come on people, think a little. All it needs is a little change in the way we do things.

Answer 1

The only ways to euthanize a pet so that it is still edible and not harmful for the snake to eat it, are not humane to the animal being euthanized. So, no, I do not think we should do it.

Answer 2

When animals are euthanized, it's done chemically.

Is it a good idea to give meat that was euthanized chemically to a living pet, even if it is a snake?

I think not.

You're talking about slaughter, which is not done chemically and would not be humane procedure for a "housepet".

There are other ways to "recycle".

About the Video -

I watched the entire thing and I must say that the pet owner knows that the methods he used on the mice was inhumane and the best way was to just give them to the animals live.

The basic reason why I don't own exotic animals and have a traditional cat, is because I don't have to feed it living food. If I had to do that, I don't think I could kill them before I fed the animal.

The only humane way besides feeding it live was the slam on the wall method, because the freezer, and the pencil were like slow torture.

Answer 3

Snakes do not eat dog food. If you want a live pet/snake, then think about getting one that is local, a garter or gopher snake. That way you can release him if you find it's not your thing. You can feed snakes 'frozen' mice- you have to thaw them first. Each snake needs a different enviornment, and a good enviornemnt is costly. They need the right size home, the right things to hide and hunt in, the right humidity and the right kind of light- plus each snake as a temperature range that is important. Snakes do escape. Check out Reptile sites on the web, and research. A better starter reptile might be a bearded dragon. Often a good pet of a different kind is a guinea pig or a rat.

Answer 4

Most euthanized animals at shelters are adult cats and dogs. Not only are they far too big for most snakes, they are the wrong kind of food in the first place.

Snakes eat primairly rodents or other herbivores, very rarely other predators- herbevores are simply more nutritious.

Even using such animals for food for other large carnivores such as bears or cats would not work well for the same basic reason- just not nutritious enough.

Now- if you want to find a use for these carcasses, you could send them to a rendering plant to be used for things like gelatins, raw proteins, hide glues, fertilizers, etc. but it is not a very economical practice with the rather small bodies of these kinds of animals.

Answer 5

so sad to see most people just believe everything they hear about! yes many shelters use chemicals to euthasie the animals, that are used by cardial injection it's cheaper and they can kill more animals in the same time than searching the venes and apply it there. if you ever have seen this you wont call it humane, this isnt a way you want to die cause it's very painfull! so there is no real reason they could give them away alive to be live feed to snakes the amount of agony and pain is pretty much the same. but there are still enough shelters left that kill the animals by the use of gaschambers and co2, these animals still would be usable for snake food. something you also should have to know about is the fact what will happen to the dead bodies of the anymals no matter the way they get euthanized. they get selled to the rendering plant where they get ground up in huge grinders and cooked, justa few days after you can buy them in form of cosmetics like soap (look for castor oil) and ingredient of big brand pet food (animal byproducts). so using shelter animals that need to put down for snake food isnt any worst. it more sickens me to feed them in shpe of fancy labeled pet food to my beloved cat or dog and make him an cannibal! not to forget about the fact that the chemicals they used to put them down survive the whole process and cn be detected in the produced pet food! and now to the bullsh!t about the nutrience, this is just wrong! carnivores deliver more than enough nutrience for the snake by low fat the asians have prove it more than once snakes feeded by dogs grow bigger and stay healthier than on a diet of chickens and pigs. it's just kind of missinformation spreaded by people that dont know it anybetter and is often used by some ignorant to the facts pet lovers that cant accept there will be people that dont care about feeding unwanted cats and dogs instead rabbits and rats. the nutrious value is only bad when you would raise carnivores just for the suppose as feeders and this because you would need to feed them much more than you would need to feed to herbivores or omnivores! the nutrience value the animal delivers to the shake is not a point of this calculation. of course it would be an ecological nightmare if you would breed and raise these animal just for snake food but as long you just stay on the overpopulated and unwanted animals that already be there then it's not a problem!

Answer 6

A euthanized animal is not safe for a snake to eat.

Answer 7

Well......the drugs used to kill those animals would kill the snake. Unless we found some way to flush the animals' veins after it is dead. But just to feed a snake a euthanized animal would be inhumane because it would be harmful, if not deadly, to the snake. What that guy did is horrible. There are other ways to feed the snake. Why not feed it live animals? I breed gerbils and I do give some of them to my friends who have snakes. I know they don't use the "BAG" method to kill them.

Answer 8

when I buy insects and mice from the pet shop to feed my lizard I know where they have come from, what they were reared on aand I know that my pet will not be harmed by eating them. You can not guarantee this when you get you pet food from another source. Who knows what the animal was fed bfoe it was euthanised by the vet or what health it was in and unltimatly what daage or disease it would pass on to your pet snake or lizard. So NO a very bad idea.

Answer 9

Snakes eat live food.

Answer 10

That might not work,I mean you want to keep a snake as normal as possible you know what I mean? It's so use to catching and killin its on prey it might not eat it if it's not moving.