My concerns are whether the kitten was killed before being fed to the snake and whether the snake could suffer harm from eating sick food. Also, whether the “ailing kittens” were already known to the students, as maybe classroom pets.
whether the “ailing kittens” were already known to the students, as maybe classroom pets.
Very sure a juicy tidbit like that would have been highlighted in a tabloid article like this.
The meal being fed either alive or dead are both common practices with snake owners, and the sickness should not be a problem given the extremely different physiologies.
Oh, I know feeding live and dead prey are both common with snake owners. I’m a dog/fish person myself, but I follow a few snake people on youtube. I also know some snakes are picky AF and refuse pre-killed prey. I was worried about the comfort of both the kitten and the snake–a live kitten might struggle and hurt the snake. And I don’t know if the kitten had any parasites it could pass on–I’ve seen warnings about not feeding wild mice to pet snakes for similar reasons.
Edit: or maybe the ailing kittens had been poisoned. We just don’t know.
My concerns are whether the kitten was killed before being fed to the snake and whether the snake could suffer harm from eating sick food. Also, whether the “ailing kittens” were already known to the students, as maybe classroom pets.
Very sure a juicy tidbit like that would have been highlighted in a tabloid article like this.
The meal being fed either alive or dead are both common practices with snake owners, and the sickness should not be a problem given the extremely different physiologies.
Oh, I know feeding live and dead prey are both common with snake owners. I’m a dog/fish person myself, but I follow a few snake people on youtube. I also know some snakes are picky AF and refuse pre-killed prey. I was worried about the comfort of both the kitten and the snake–a live kitten might struggle and hurt the snake. And I don’t know if the kitten had any parasites it could pass on–I’ve seen warnings about not feeding wild mice to pet snakes for similar reasons.
Edit: or maybe the ailing kittens had been poisoned. We just don’t know.