Darcy is fine, it is my name
But Dar will work... lol
part of the problem with newer members being involved in this discussion is that they HAVEN'T seen the kinking controversy. They may, possibly, think all kinked snakes are put in the freezer.
And honestly, some breeders do.
One thing I didn't touch on... sickness. What kind of sickness? Respiratory? Localized infection? something for which a vet would almost HAVE to be involved... where is the line?
Part of the problem here is that everyone's lines are in different places, and everyone's methods are different.
I think part of what we are combating here is the feeling that snakes are wild animals, and to an extent, they ARE, even in captivity. However, their tendency to not become lovely like your pet cat doesn't mean they are not an artificially *created* and maintained animal for which we are responsible. WE put their parents together. WE incubated the eggs. WE provide food. Is it not also our responsibility to provide medical care, optimum housing, and humane death since WE are responsible for their very existence in their current form?
At what point do they again become a *wild animal* that needs to have *nature take its course*? Why does it revert back to this when the alternative is... expensive?
This is part of the same issue with feeding live versus frozen/thawed! Either you are maintaining a *wild animal* in captivity IN PREPARATION FOR RELEASE, and therefore maintaining its wild instincts, or you are practicing your obligation to provide the best life for your CAPTIVE animal in the OPTIMUM fashion possible.
This bizarre combination of the two boggles my mind.