Feeding with Gerbils

[el lobo]

I work at a pet store, and so I often get free "feeders" from people who can't take care of them anymore (hampsters, rats, mice, etc)...well, I got a gerbil yesterday, and this thing is a terror! I tried to feed it to my monitor, and my monitor freaked out. He dove at the gerbil, and then went to a corner and arched his back and hissed. So I tried feeding to my California Kingsnake. My snake ran(I hope you all appreciate personification) from it, and the gerbil kept biting my snakes tail! Have any of you guys tried feeding with gerbils? same experiences? What would explain this strange behaviour from my herps, and from this gerbil? I have ne'er seen anything like it!

[el lobo]

Oh, and I can't feed to any of my garters...too big, you see.

[lestat]

The only thing i can think of is that both Monitor and Kingsnake have never come across a Gerbil and once it lost it's fear of the Kingsnake it atacked it as its best defence to being eaten. I would keep the gerbil and give it a good home. Also i am against feeding live rodents to reptiles but that's my own opinion and it's up to each indiviual to choose wether to or not to. If one of your reptiles does eat a gerbil it might get a taste only for gerbils witch can be costly.

[el lobo]

My kingsnake only takes live prey, unfortunately for my wallet haha. all of my herps enjoy a wide variety of meat, so I wouldn't worry about them changing their preferences

You may be right about the defence mechanism....the gerbil chose fight over flight!

[dekaybrown]

Ball pythons consider gerbils a tasty treat, but sometimes will then only want gerbils after.

I have a milk snake the refuses all pre-kill rodents, he will not eat unless he kills it himself.

However his feedings are strictly supervised, and if the rodent bites my snake, I quickly whack it over the head, and the snake will keep on eating at that point.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I fed a dead gerbil to my bullsnake once... she didnt waste any time!

Ball pythons love gerbils, but then again i would not do it unless your ball is starving himself, because ball pythons tend to get a taste for something like that, and want only that!!

[el lobo]

I will try killing it for my monitor...I would like to feed it to my T. s. sirtalis, but it is a REALLY old gerbil, and it is fat as all get out.

[Snake lover 3-25]

it was a pet????

[Jenlang_79]

Sorry but I think that is horrible!!! People bring their pets back to the store thinking they are going to a home and your feeding them to your snakes and lizards...I think that is awful!!! I only feed mine frozen mice...I couldn't watch them get killed..but atleast they are raised to be snake food..not someones pet!!

[Snake lover 3-25]

me too!!! that's why i asked if it was a pet or a retired breeder!!!! that's horrible!!!! it's like giving your cat to your neighbor and having them eat it for dinner!!!!