I joined this site two months ago in hopes of learning how to care and enrich my pigs life. And in all honesty, I have learned quite a lot from some helpful users, from feeding, treats, housing and even bedding. So much that I apply it at work to people interested in owning guinea pigs.
But...there is somewhat of a trend I've noticed on here, among the users. And it's reptiles.
When I see someone even mention reptiles, or reptile owners I feel like they disdain them or dislike reptiles and the people who own them. I don't know if it's just me being silly or what, but I just found it...odd. Uncomfortable almost.
I own reptiles myself. I own a lovely 3 year old ball python who's sweeter than pie, a Mexican Black Kingsnake who has quite the attitude but packs such a personality, and two leopard geckos. One who loves me unconditionally, probably more than my cat, and a female who's just a tad bit on the shy side.
And you know what? I feed both my snakes live. I used to feed them frozen, but I switched them over to live; why? Faster growth, gives them the enrichment of hunting that they don't get in captivity, and because they love live over thawed. Do I like seeing the mouse die as its crushed to death, listening to its bones break as my python makes his kill? No, I don't. Do I get some weird thrill out of seeing my animals make a kill so they can continue going on? No I don't. But I love my snakes, and I know they have to eat.
In the wild, my ball python would wait patiently in the bush for a small creature to stray close enough to him so he could make that killing blow; in the wild, my kingsnake would venture out from underneath a cool rock to look for a nighttime meal, such as a small lizard or even a rodent den. Do my snakes smell my guinea pigs? Oh yeah, especially when they're hungry. But do I keep them all in the same room? No, the reptiles get their own room while the piggies stay in mine. I love all my animals, I do the best I physically can for them, heck I sacrifice a large majority of my paycheck on them, just so my ball can have an 80+ gallon tank, so my gecko and his mate can be warm and have plenty of hiding space, so my king has plenty of bedding to make her tunnels, so my guinea pigs could have a cage that's almost ten feet in length.
I'm a reptile lover, I love them with all my heart. To the point that if you get me started, you have to tell me to stop so I don't chew off your ear with all the information and talk I could give you on how to care for, say a pit viper, beardie, toad, frogs, insects even! I can tell you why people buy baby guinea pigs for five bucks on craigslist for their snake, and that's because sometimes companies that profit off of selling feeder mice don't keep them in good conditions, and are sometimes infested, and we don't want to introduce mites to our collection. Sometimes, someone will own a snake that will refuse to eat frozen and will only take live, and unfortunately people will make caring for their pet all about money...
And as my snakes grow, I'll have to get them bigger things. But would I ever feed my snakes a baby guinea pig? No. Would I feed my ball a rabbit when he gets max size? Of course not! Not only do I love rabbits and have always wanted one, but the screams are dreadful. I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't categorize every snake owner as the same stereotype because some in the community take some kind of thrill out of "feeding time" with their snakes.
Okay. Rants over; sorry for the long read and not making it really about guinea pigs.
But...there is somewhat of a trend I've noticed on here, among the users. And it's reptiles.
When I see someone even mention reptiles, or reptile owners I feel like they disdain them or dislike reptiles and the people who own them. I don't know if it's just me being silly or what, but I just found it...odd. Uncomfortable almost.
I own reptiles myself. I own a lovely 3 year old ball python who's sweeter than pie, a Mexican Black Kingsnake who has quite the attitude but packs such a personality, and two leopard geckos. One who loves me unconditionally, probably more than my cat, and a female who's just a tad bit on the shy side.
And you know what? I feed both my snakes live. I used to feed them frozen, but I switched them over to live; why? Faster growth, gives them the enrichment of hunting that they don't get in captivity, and because they love live over thawed. Do I like seeing the mouse die as its crushed to death, listening to its bones break as my python makes his kill? No, I don't. Do I get some weird thrill out of seeing my animals make a kill so they can continue going on? No I don't. But I love my snakes, and I know they have to eat.
In the wild, my ball python would wait patiently in the bush for a small creature to stray close enough to him so he could make that killing blow; in the wild, my kingsnake would venture out from underneath a cool rock to look for a nighttime meal, such as a small lizard or even a rodent den. Do my snakes smell my guinea pigs? Oh yeah, especially when they're hungry. But do I keep them all in the same room? No, the reptiles get their own room while the piggies stay in mine. I love all my animals, I do the best I physically can for them, heck I sacrifice a large majority of my paycheck on them, just so my ball can have an 80+ gallon tank, so my gecko and his mate can be warm and have plenty of hiding space, so my king has plenty of bedding to make her tunnels, so my guinea pigs could have a cage that's almost ten feet in length.
I'm a reptile lover, I love them with all my heart. To the point that if you get me started, you have to tell me to stop so I don't chew off your ear with all the information and talk I could give you on how to care for, say a pit viper, beardie, toad, frogs, insects even! I can tell you why people buy baby guinea pigs for five bucks on craigslist for their snake, and that's because sometimes companies that profit off of selling feeder mice don't keep them in good conditions, and are sometimes infested, and we don't want to introduce mites to our collection. Sometimes, someone will own a snake that will refuse to eat frozen and will only take live, and unfortunately people will make caring for their pet all about money...
And as my snakes grow, I'll have to get them bigger things. But would I ever feed my snakes a baby guinea pig? No. Would I feed my ball a rabbit when he gets max size? Of course not! Not only do I love rabbits and have always wanted one, but the screams are dreadful. I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't categorize every snake owner as the same stereotype because some in the community take some kind of thrill out of "feeding time" with their snakes.
Okay. Rants over; sorry for the long read and not making it really about guinea pigs.