feeding pythons wild rabbits

[OzRocks]

hey guys,

I shot some rabbits last night and thought of feeding them to my bredli as not to waste good food. Now I know some people do use wild rabbits as to feed their pythons where a large rat wouldnt be in-sufficient, but I want to know what precautions they take such as what bulluts are best to use so to prevent the bullet "shattering" or lodging inside the animal, can the bullet leave some sort of lead poisoning in the rabbit, how long do you freeze for and does it provide for their nutritional requirements etc.
Just to let you know Im shooting with a 22 cailbore rifle, any info. appreciated

cheers, Matt

 

[OzRocks]

anyone at all?
does anyone know of anyone else that feeds wild rabbits to their snakes?

 

[BeardieBoo]

Maybe a hunting forum could tell you which bullets to use, but as far as nutrition goes wild rabbits should be fine. I'd mostly be worried if rabbit poisons are used in the area.
Probably a week in the fridge for a large rabbit would be adequate, but I'm not sure about that.

 

[Kirby]

freezing a rabbit will not stop or kill parasites, bacteria, or poison.

 

[alex_c]

anyone at all?
does anyone know of anyone else that feeds wild rabbits to their snakes?

depends on the bullet used whether it fragments or not if they dont fragment and you remove it i guess it would be fine

 

[wood_nymph]

maybe gut them to prevent internal parasite transfer? or open them up and look at their inside it make sure they didn't have any parasites?

 

[OzRocks]

yeah ive skinned and gutted rabbits before...not the best thing ive done
the poison point is a good one because we do have pindone baiting in our area around about every 2 years or so
but I would be surprised If parasites survived freezing for a few months

thanks guys....I think I might just stick with rats for the meantime...

 

[gillsy]

It wouldn't get rid of most poison's as the half life is way above anything you could do. Plus poison's are broken down by bodily functions. Not by sitting in the freazer, cold may break some down but most would remain.

Parasites is debatable as per a vetinarian parasotoligist (sp).

Why gut them, thats where most of the nutrients are. And the reason we don't have to feed vitamins and nutriet suppliments to our snakes, We feed whole prey as they get everything they need.

I feed mine chicken breasts every now and then for a treat, but they couldn't live on them.

 

[junglepython2]

6 weeks in the freezer should deal with the parasites, and I wouldn't worry too much about the bacteria. Gutting them would kind of defeat the purpose I would imagine as thats were half the nutrients are. Freezing won't help with the poison at all, so you have to make sure none are used in the area.

Not to sure about how to deal with the bullets.

 

[OzRocks]

yeah I know that the poison wouldnt be broken down in the freezer, just not sure on whether or not parasites would survive in the freezer, but yeah I wouldnt gut them either, also because feeding might get a bit messy.

just out of curiosity what is the half life of some poisons anyway?

 

[gillsy]

how long is a piece of string.

 

[Just_Joshin]

A full copper jacket, lead core bullet should be a through and through on a rabbits head, thus not leaving a bullet lodged within its head.

 

[OzRocks]

how long is a piece of string.

ok....I accept your answer
but this isnt over yet!!! I'll find the answer one day, and how long a piece of string really is.......one day

 

[OzRocks]

A full copper jacket, lead core bullet should be a through and through on a rabbits head, thus not leaving a bullet lodged within its head.

very graphic....thank you.
how far away can it still penertrate through and through?....assuming I can get it on the head from a large distance

 

[Just_Joshin]

Not sure on distance mate but i'd say that is going to change with the calibre of the bullet and the punch it is packing. I think sticking with a full metal jacket should see a through and through from any distance that you can actually accurately hit it from.

 

[Helikaon]

so what parasites are you worried about?

 

[davehughes]

a poke around the entry wound with a good long pair of tweezers or longnose pliers should get the bullet out. I know how hard it is to get a headshot on a rabbit... I guess after you get the bullet out you could pare around the wound to remove any residue and then the lead problem will be gone.

don't know about parasites etc...

doubt this helps but...

 

[cris]

so what parasites are you worried about?

All the ones that rabbits carry that also bother snakes :lol: i would like to know if there are any?(seriously)

What sort of poison do rabbits eat? what the?

As for bullets any calibre solid that will fully penetrate, anything from a decent .177 air gun to a high powrered centerfire(only with solids or you will have a big mess) .22 solids would be ideal for headshots. Even a .22 HP that will hold together through the chest would be fine.

Im not sure if ingesting solid lead is harmful but i would avoid it myself. Copper plated shot would be best just to be safe, if you are using a shotty.

 

[BlindSnake]

Have you heard of zeds? they are a .22 calibre full metal jacket, that has a low grain that will go through a rabbit but is so quiet that you dont scare off any other rabbits in the area. they have almost no sound, its like a PFFFT sound. only problem is they a wind sensitive and the projectile are acurate up to 40 meters so you have to alow for that.

 

[cris]

Have you heard of zeds? they are a .22 calibre full metal jacket, that has a low grain that will go through a rabbit but is so quiet that you dont scare off any other rabbits in the area. they have almost no sound, its like a PFFFT sound. only problem is they a wind sensitive and the projectile are acurate up to 40 meters so you have to alow for that.

Yeah they are awesome on toads if you drill them out to hollow points, great on cats with headshots too, provided they dont have collars.

One company even makes them with hollow points now with a pic of a toad on the box