Goosemoose Pet Portal

I just saw this ad on craigslist for ASF rats.  That alone is not a big deal but he is selling male and female pairs for breeding because, wait for this, they make great Boa food!

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/pet/742373981.html

Natal rats are not a common pet right now.
They're generally bred for snake food due to them being ab;e to get a picky eater to eat, HUGE litters, and quick breeding process.
Here lately, I've been seeing them more often in petstores.
I have some as pets.
They're very pretty girls, and friendly to boot.
Hopefully someone will come along and want to breed these guys for temperament, and make them into a pet.
They're aggressive when not socialized properly.

Sad it may be, but snakes gotta eat, too.  And as NightmareWolfie says they don't make the greates pets generally speaking.  I have considered breeding mice for my snake because I'm certain that I would raise them more humanely than the rodent breeders who sell the frozen mice.  However, since I don't even know where I'd get my hands on a CO2 chamber, and I just can't see being the one that ends their lives, even humanely, I'm sticking with the little plastic bag of mice I buy at Petco.

I guess I didn't think to see an ad specifically selling them to breed for food.  I'm not saying anything about being bad to feed to snakes, I do understand the snake has to eat thing.  I just didn't expect to see it worded that way.

Actually that is against CL rules - CL is not for selling, especially 'product' like food. It's for rehoming (adopting out) pets. So hit the flag button. You can't list something as a pet OR food. One or the other - and food doesn't go in pets, it goes in general for sale.

Nightmarewolfie hit it on the head- right now they just don't make great pets.  And, it's true that they're not stinky.  (At least, I've never noticed a smell from mine, but I only have 3.)  Mine are fairly nice- you can pet them, and they don't spook around me anymore, but you can't really pick them up and cuddle them.

I've seen lots of ads on CL selling mice and bug breeding colonies as feeding.  :/  I mean, if you have enough snakes, a cheap food supply is a must.  I'm not okay with it, but it's kind of the sad way things go.  (My aunt seems to think I'm a rat supply for her.  :/  She asks me EVERY. TIME. I see her for rats, and every time, I tell her no and launch on a "Why you shouldn't feed live food to snakes" lecture, and every time, she is the genius on rats/snakes and says such ridiculous things, I nearly have to pick my eyes off the floor due to rolling them so much. ::) )

Poor babies!  If ANYONE asked me to give them rats as feeders I would have to tell them that I don't ask them if I can have their pet snake to feed to my dogs and that I would appreciate them not asking to feed my pets to their snakes!  UGH...I would just have to tell them that not only do I not agree with what they do but that I have enough respect not to lecture them and that I would appreciate them having enough respect to not remind me of their ignorance and disrespect my love for my pets!   :BlueDumboSmileTongue:  Sorry, little rant...didn't mean to hyjack!   :puppy_dog_eyes:

Why is it everyone always uses that "snakes have to eat too" crap? They dont have to eat anything live. Yes, they have to eat, but that doesnt mean all you herp enthusiats need to look the other way at morons selling animals that are kept in lousy conditions.  A snake that wont eat prekilled prey has no business in someones home as a pet. Go talk to a few zoologists and see what they tell you. They dont even do live feeding in zoos for the most part. Yet here we have ma and pa dork that think thier snakes need to be fed live prey ::)

I don't approve of live feeding, either.
But I think if I had snakes, I'd want to breed my own food.
I've seen the squallor that the mice, rats, and ASFR have been bred in.
And then you feed that to your snake.
It's terrible.
I think I'd prefer to breed them, and humanely euthanize them, and feed f/t.
These guys are so pretty, and they really do have the potential to be as friendly as mice.
I just wish someone would breed them for temperament.
And I've actually given thought to doing just that once I have my own place.
Because it's a shame to see these mass produced and used as snake food.

The ad got flagged and removed.

He relisted but now only says rats for adoption. $5  That's better I guess.

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/pet/744032370.html