Jobs

[CJR]

So as several of you folks here know, I work at a family-oriented chain restaurant that I refer to simply as "The Barrel"... it's an all right job, not too terrible or anything. I'm a "server assistant" and I only work weekends. It basically makes my "chin money", lol.

BUT. I think I may be getting a new job - an additional job. Where, you ask?

At a pet store about 30 minutes away! And I will be working solely with rodents! (They have about 16 chinchillas, probably 8 rabbits, hundreds of mice, dozens of rats, maybe a dozen guinea pigs, a couple hamsters, seven ferrets... I think that covers it.)

It's not the nicest pet store in the world, but it's not the worst. One of my friends, M, works there and he knows a good bit about chinchillas... so they aren't as badly kept as they could be. I'm hoping to change that.

In any case, I am way excited! My parents have forbidden me to bring in any more animals into the house, so I'll just have animals "outside" of the house (so to speak)! I'm really looking forward to the change to educate people about little rodent friends!

 

[greychins]

Haha that would be great!

 

[mishellyshel]

well........congrats to you!

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

That's awesome, Ash! Congrats on the new job.

I wish I could find a job like that, lol. Beats being a housekeeper, lol

 

[3CsMommy]

Nice. Congratulations.

 

[AZChins]

Congrats on getting out of the barrel for a bit, at least, it will be nice to have a different job that doesn't involve bringing food to people. I hope that you enjoy the new job! Maybe convince them to stop carrying chinchillas..somehow...I can try to push my agenda...

Let us know how you like it. I am positive you will get that job, after all, if you want it.

 

[caiti]

Pash is gonna save the world!!! YAY!!!!

 

[menagerie]

At a pet store about 30 minutes away! And I will be working solely with rodents! (They have about 16 chinchillas, probably 8 rabbits, hundreds of mice, dozens of rats, maybe a dozen guinea pigs, a couple hamsters, seven ferrets... I think that covers it.)

Are they a feeder store? I am troubled by the number of mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits.

 

[CJR]

Are they a feeder store? I am troubled by the number of mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits.

Yes, the mice and most of the rats do/will become feeders. I'm sort of against it, but other animals need to eat too... Like I said Meanie, it's really not the best conditions, but I want to help these animals (the chins especially) get the care they deserve, as well as teach others about them.

To be completely honest, the conditions sort of horrify me just a little bit, especially the mice. :sigh:

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. And I know there is a reason why this job came along and you were the one to get it. Maybe you can be the one to teach the store owners about the different conditions of the different animals and how they should be, as to how they actually are. Maybe you were sent there to watch over the animals and make a difference in their lives..either way it can only work out for the better..for the animals and for you!

Good Luck on the new job!

 

[3CsMommy]

Since that's the case, maybe you can encourage them to stock frozen feeders of their most common sizes? People often don't feed humanely pre-killed because all they see is the $100 to buy and ship a bag of them and think just letting the snake "eat naturally" is cheaper/better. In reality, feeding live is often dangerous to the snake on top of being cruel and unreliable, and more expensive in the long run besides. But, without shelling out that $100 twice a year (mostly for shipping) frozen feeder prey is hard to find.

 

[CJR]

Since that's the case, maybe you can encourage them to stock frozen feeders of their most common sizes? People often don't feed humanely pre-killed because all they see is the $100 to buy and ship a bag of them and think just letting the snake "eat naturally" is cheaper/better. In reality, feeding live is often dangerous to the snake on top of being cruel and unreliable, and more expensive in the long run besides. But, without shelling out that $100 twice a year (mostly for shipping) frozen feeder prey is hard to find.

I don't know how much I'll really be able to change, I plan on going very slowly. I mean... I don't want to make the owner mad first off the bat.

I do have a question though - what about reptiles/frogs/whatever that won't eat dead feeders? I've had several friends with snakes who would rather starve than eat a dead animal.

 

[tunes]

Yes, the mice and most of the rats do/will become feeders. I'm sort of against it, but other animals need to eat too...

I just have to ask this, because it really bugs me when someone says this - would you feel the same way if they were feeder chinchillas? Yes other animals need to eat too, but if you have this mentality going in then that's all the rodents there are going to be - feeders. NONE of them should be live feeders, ever. Chinchillas are no more special than any other animal you listed, depending on what your favorite small critter is. I happen to think rats are hands down THE best small pet there is. Rats have tremendous personalities, so do mice, and guinea pigs and all other manner of small pets.

I agree other animals need to eat, but in the wild they hunt for food. They don't get it thrown terrified, live, into their tank with no means of escape.

I do have a question though - what about reptiles/frogs/whatever that won't eat dead feeders? I've had several friends with snakes who would rather starve than eat a dead animal.

If you speak to someone who has a lot of experience with herps they will tell you that most ALL herps can be switched over to frozen food. The only people who can't do it are the people who are either too lazy to try or completely uninformed in how to go about making the switch.

And, at the risk of alienating folks who are snake and frog and whatever enthusiasts - tough. Find a way to feed humanely or don't get that kind of pet. Feeding live is not now, nor will it EVER be considered humane. Whether it's fresh kill from smashing it's skull or from throwing the animal live into the tank, either way it is completely revolting.

 

[Mikayla]

I agree with Peggy, my old science teacher feed mice to the snake and lets the kids watch, I never watched but the idea was horrifying.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Not all fresh-kill is inhumane, some people do cervical dislocation (including many AZA certified zoos, and they put very specific protocols down for the zoos).
Granted, this may still be considered inhumane by some people.
Is feeding crickets and roaches live inhumane? You'd be hard-pressed to get a tree frog or the like to switch to dead crickets.

 

[tunes]

I have a bearded dragon. I refuse to feed him any live. He does just fine with freeze dried mealies and crickets.

An experienced zoo vet doing cervical dislocation is just a little bit different than a home dufus banging a rat's head on a counter to kill it, don't you think?

 

[Laurie]

What the french Pash!?! How could you leave 'the barrel' and all that yummy mac n cheese and chicken n dumpling goodness! LoL!

FYI remember how I asked you to send me some of the stuff being served at the previous job? Please don't do so with this new one!

 

[Sycamore Chins]

An experienced zoo vet doing cervical dislocation is just a little bit different than a home dufus banging a rat's head on a counter to kill it, don't you think?

Pretty sure I didn't say banging their heads on a counter was humane.
And it's not the vet doing the cervical dislocation, it's the keepers - there wouldn't be enough hours in the day for the vet to kill mice.

 

[tunes]

Pardon me, experienced trained zoo personnel as compared to a dufus banging it's head on a counter. That better?

 

[3CsMommy]

I don't know how much I'll really be able to change, I plan on going very slowly. I mean... I don't want to make the owner mad first off the bat.

I do have a question though - what about reptiles/frogs/whatever that won't eat dead feeders? I've had several friends with snakes who would rather starve than eat a dead animal.

When the time comes, I'd approach it in terms of how much less he'd have to spend keeping the mice/rats alive and fed v keeping a chest freezer running. No worries about cannibalism, disease, and all the other nasty things that come with milled rodents, and probably far less space required to store supplies.

The captive reptile/amphibian that will never eat f/t is very rare, and are generally either unethically wild caught or unethically started by the sort of people that shouldn't be breeding these animals in the first place. Almost any animal can be switched to f/t with patience and guidance from an experienced herp keeper, which I think everyone should have when getting into the hobby anyway. (I did it w/ my chins, and my snakes.) Encouraging people not to buy wild caught or "captive hatched" reptiles is a good start at curbing the "need" for live feeders. (Captive hatched generally means the female was taken from the wild, often while gravid, or the eggs were collected from the wild and incubated in captivity... and those practices kill twice as many animals a year as they put into pet situations.)

That said, the transition process from live to f/t can take months or years in some cases, and the reptile shouldn't be allowed to starve in the mean time. However, captive reptiles tend toward 'overfed' anyway, so many of them can go longer between feeds during a transition than worried owners think they can.

Personally, I would not offer live prey unless it was truly a case of "this snake needs calories within the next 72 h. or it dies" <i>as part of the transition process</i> and a forced feed of prekilled has failed. But I will always support a pet store that realizes the type of snake owners that get kicks out of watching rodents suffer and die are the minority and are willing to help those of us with empathy for both animals take the suffering out of the process.