Re: Hold off on the cat food...

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Posted by nathan on May 13, 2002 at 11:23:29:

In Reply to: Re: Hold off on the cat food... posted by Jon on May 13, 2002 at 10:01:49:

that's the gruesome part... the "how" of how they eat it. I keep boxies, and they will tear it up by biting it and pushing away with their claws. It's a fairly disturbing thing to watch. Boxies will eat just about anything they can catch, and the way mine reacted the first time I put a pinky mouse in (had some left over from snakes I was babysitting) seemed very natural... picking it up and trying to run away with it (perhaps natural instinct to avoid unhappy mother mouse?). Anyway, adult boxies will just chomp them down. Their jaws will cut right through them. Small redfoot babies shouldn't have too much trouble, especially at 3-4" long (the adult size of several of my boxies).

Just get a frozen pack of them from the store, when you wife is out somewhere, and separate them into packs of two (wrap in celophane or ziplock bags). Put them in an opaque container in the freezer then (so she can't see them). When you need them, take a pack out and set it in a cup of warm water. A couple of minutes later you can present it to the tortoise and avert your eyes. Frozen ones cannot scream, and are a great source of nutrition. Never NEVER ever put in a live one. I have a strong stomach but never did that again after seeing it the first time.

Follow Ups:

Not for the faint of heart... EJ 05/13/02 (5)
- good thing with boxies.... nathan 05/13/02 (4)
  - I always knew there was a reason I opted for a sulcata... wendi 05/13/02 (3)
    - nononono nathan 05/14/02 (2)
      - Very considerate of you wendi 05/14/02 (1)
        
        that's just creepy nathan 05/15/02 (0)

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: that's the gruesome part... the "how" of how they eat it. I keep boxies, and they will tear it up by biting it and pushing away with their claws. It's a fairly disturbing thing to watch. Boxies will eat just about anything they can catch, and the way mine reacted the first time I put a pinky mouse in (had some left over from snakes I was babysitting) seemed very natural... picking it up and trying to run away with it (perhaps natural instinct to avoid unhappy mother mouse?). Anyway, adult boxies will just chomp them down. Their jaws will cut right through them. Small redfoot babies shouldn't have too much trouble, especially at 3-4" long (the adult size of several of my boxies). : Just get a frozen pack of them from the store, when you wife is out somewhere, and separate them into packs of two (wrap in celophane or ziplock bags). Put them in an opaque container in the freezer then (so she can't see them). When you need them, take a pack out and set it in a cup of warm water. A couple of minutes later you can present it to the tortoise and avert your eyes. Frozen ones cannot scream, and are a great source of nutrition. Never NEVER ever put in a live one. I have a strong stomach but never did that again after seeing it the first time.

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