Okay - is it just me or are there too many videos of the savage little T-Rex devouring defenseless furry prey. We all know the WD has to eat and yes, I know that there are some owners that feed pinky mice (and even HUGE mice) and that is okay (not that I would do that). However, my 14 yr old daughter is looking at my WDs in a completely different light now. She is a vegetarian and very sensative when it comes to animals - YouTube has videos of WDs gobbling up mice and she is freaking out. We feed ours crickets and superworms - so, this is not something she was exposed to with ours. Anyhow, my point is that there are so many more fun and amazing things about the WD to put on YouTube. And, you really don't get a feel for how social and gentle they are when you see things like that. I love the videos of the little juveniles trying to get the locusts, etc. Don't get me wrong - I love that we can share our pets on video but even when my sister feeds her snake - she covers the cage so the children don't freak out. Is it just me - does anyone else not enjoy these videos?

Hello,

Whenever there is a collection of videos or images in any central location that is not strictly monitored, you will ultimately be subjected to inappropriate material.

Youtube is loaded with inappropriate material. There are tons of videos by people trying to show off their "cool" pets behaviors. It isn't uncommon to see their critters on that site killing other animals in what almost appears to be "sport". There are also lots of aggressive feeding videos on that site.

Some people enjoy watching those videos, and thats why they get posted.

We blocked Youtube from being linked on this site a while back because there is just too much inappropriate material over there.

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i take everything with a grain of salt. There are certainly stupid things on youtube. There are also wonderful things on youtube, like my favorite old sesame street clips.

Hopefully your daughter can take this as a learning experience.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Animals eating meat is a part of nature. I understand not wanting to eat meat yourself, and feeling empathetic with the prey, but I don't think I will ever be able to agree that showing animals feeding naturally is wrong.

I agree with you that there are so many interesting and wonderful things to show about water dragons. However, I don't agree that seeing them eat pinky mice is inappropriate or wrong. (With the understanding that the video maker is not trying to focus on blood and gore and make a spectacle of it.) To me it's just the same as seeing a shark eat a seal or a lion eat an antelope on the Discovery channel, and certainly not much different from seeing that same water dragon eat a cricket - except that crickets are not "cute" or "cuddly".

As long as it is done tastefully, I don't think I have any problems with owners posting a tape or picture of their pets feeding. After all, a lot of the reason we own exotic animals is to watch them and learn about them.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

circle of life?

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I myself have little issue with actual feeding videos. It's the feeding videos where people are intentionally going for the disturbed reaction.

I recall one video where someone had dropped in live mice with a monitor. Naturally, the monitor went after them. There were kids laughing in the background as the monitor then proceeded to rip the mice apart, throwing them all over the enclosure. That was not needed, and it was posted for the mere fact that the poster thought it was "cool".

There are countless videos where people place 2 species together to see who would 'win" the fight. I see this often with Tarantulas and Scorpions on that site. There is nothing educational about that. There is nothing "cool" about that. That is animal neglect and is uncalled for.

I am responding because I don't think my initial post was clear in my reasoning.

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Yeah I agree with Rich; the other day I was surfing on you tube and I found I guy from Texas who feed its WD with baby geckos, one thing is in the nature where the animals have to hunt it's prey, and in the case of our pets, they also need to eat, but people like this who do that kind stuff just for fun, its not okay

So you cant feed geckos to things that need to eat them? Dont see whats wrong with feeding a WD a gecko or anole or what ever. If they eat a live pinkie whats wrong with feeding it that?

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Isn't it sort of cannibalistic to serve a lizard a fellow lizard - even if they are different species? Ewe. Didn't catch that one. I realize this stuff is on the Discovery Channel, etc. - I admit that even a lion eating a antelope and a killer whale eating a seal make my heart sink for the poor little PREY. I hate hunting but I love fishing. A fish doesn't bother me but hurting Bambi would. I guess it is the way you shoot it. I mean - you can stop filming once the WD catches the pinky mouse but I do not like to watch it fight for its life. Did anyone hear about the guy that fed a puppy to his snake - geez?

hate to say it, little lizard get eaten by bigger lizards in the wild all the time. Heck I saw a program on big cats on animal planet yesterday where a new male took over a pride and then killed and ate all the current babies who were offspring of the male he beat. Its nature. Nature isn't pretty. Heck, people aren't pretty. If you don't like it, don't watch it on TV! Its pretty educational though.

Hunting doesn't bother me as long as you EAT what you catch. My brother in law didn't want his kids eating beef because of all the hormones farmers pack the cows with so he got his hunting permit ($50) and caught himself a buck and fed his family off it all year long.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.