In lines with this question: Would questions on keeping a colony of ants be on topic here?
The discussion brought up the topic of raising feeder animals, and that they seem to be on the border of what we would consider on-topic here.
They could potentially be off-topic because it's about farming an animal, even if it is to feed to a pet.
They could be potentially on-topic, because feeding a pet is one of the most basic requirements for it's care. How to keep the food alive could then be considered a part of pet care.
I personally think that questions on raising feeder animals should be on-topic because it's a part of caring for a pet. The more exotic a pet is, the less likely it is to have commercial diet options available. To me it's a process that's similar to making your own dog or cat food.
The problem is, that this is about keeping other animals alive, up until the point that they are being fed to the pet. This can be a controversial subject when the animal that's being fed is a mammal.
With this in mind, I think we could benefit from having a discussion now, rather than having a heated discussion involving someone who asked a question with good intentions.
The fact of the matter is, mice and rats are fed to snakes. There is really no other option. They cannot chew anything so a commercial snake food isn't an option, they're biologically designed to swallow prey whole.
For the most part, snakes that are kept as pets can survive off of mice and/or rats, and it is generally not recommended that they are fed to the snake while still alive.
But..
- That doesn't necessarily mean that people won't want keep a colony of feeder mice or rats.
- There are people who keep snakes that are too large to survive off of rats. The most common feeder animal above a rat are rabbits, small fowl, and guinea pigs.
If we do allow questions on keeping feeder animals, then where do we draw the line on what can and cannot be kept in order to feed to another animal? Do we draw a line?
If we don't allow questions on keeping feeder animals, then how do we handle questions on gut-loading insects?