Extended disclaimer: STRICTLY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY! THE EVENTS DEPICTED IN EACH VIDEO ONLY SERVE THE PURPOSE OF FEEDING MY PETS. For further contextual information and explanations of the last two statements, please continue reading:
All feeder animals and other food items fed to my pets reflect what they would eat in the wild and are a part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. I've owned reptiles and amphibians for over 20 years, I would not feed my pets something that would be detrimental to them! The purpose of live feedings is to make sure my pet reptiles are getting optimal nutrition and enrichment. This is a sensitive issue that not all people agree upon, however I give as many warnings as possible so that sensitive people can avoid watching my videos. Additionally, I ONLY promote my videos to people who have already expressed interest in them.
Feeders are selected so that they will be quickly dispatched by their predator and minimize any suffering. Additionally, my reptile pets are only fed live prey if they exhibit a sufficient feeding response and are physically fit. All feeders are in a stress-free environment before each feeding. That means they're given adequately sized cages, bedding, nesting material, hides, running wheels, steady supply of water and a diverse diet of food. Also, an appropriate male to female ratio in each cage is maintained to avoid fighting.
The purpose of the events in these videos is to feed my pets and are NOT INTENDED to cause suffering to either the feeders, my pets or to make them fight. Each video is only intended to be educational and is NOT for entertainment purposes or to shock or disgust viewers. Sufficient contextual information is given in each video AND its description so that it can provide an educational experience for each viewer. Each video is educational because it shows the natural behaviors of animals and what a live feeding is like. From this information, viewers can better understand the animals shown in each video. If a viewer owns an exotic predatory animal that might need live prey, they can make an informed choice if live feeding is right for them.
I don't blindly recommend live feedings to any of my viewers because every person's situation and pet is different, so they should make an informed decision by themself. Even scientific information on live feeding isn't conclusive. See: Cooper J., Williams D., 2014. The Feeding of Live Food to Exotic Pets: Issues of Welfare and Ethics. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. 23 3. Pp. 244–249. The referenced academic article uses Youtube videos of live feedings, so there is no doubt live feeding videos can be educational. Many arguments against live feedings are formulated from an emotional response and lack objectivity. My objective reasons for live feeding are providing optimal nutrition and giving enrichment.
I've found that live feeding provides optimal nutrition because predators are getting a whole prey animal that's as fresh as possible. Frozen thawed prey animals lose nutrition from the processes of being frozen and thawed. Vitamin powders can be used for the lost nutrition, however dosing food with these powders can cause an overdose of certain vitamins which can cause acute or chronic afflictions. My feeders are only captive bred and are given a healthy diet, which means they will be nutritionally complete and will be free of diseases and parasites.
Through my past observations, I've seen that live feedings can provide enrichment. My reptiles may be captive bred, but they are far from being entirely domesticated like cats and dogs. Therefore, it's important for reptiles to have activities that can promote their natural behaviors and provide enrichment. My reptiles have been a lot more active when they've been live prey compared to dead prey or processed foods. My reptiles being more active has reduced the probability of them developing certain health problems such as fatty liver disease.
So, in conclusion, I only live feed if I think it will be beneficial. My reptiles have lived long lives, so I know what I'm doing. I am entitled to my own opinion on this subject and my videos conform with Youtube's current TOS, so I will continue making these videos.
If you disagree, don't leave a toxic or threatening comment. People who make serious threats, take fraudulent actions against me or steal my videos will be dealt with accordingly. Also, reporting a video that you didn't organically come across while browsing Youtube is malicious and fraudulent. Yet again, I only want people who want to see live feedings to watch these videos. If you don't like my videos, DON'T CLICK ON OR WATCH ANY OF THEM.
