snakes can digest their own hearts!!!

[Elise.m]

yeah but he could have just left them and the ratsnakes out and just blended those diamondbacks to a pulp, i mean those kill people !!!! im aware im being silly i took science classes, i know you need a wide range of subjects to experiment on to draw reliable conclusions. but dang! those are pets !! seriously, people take care of those kinds of animals and LOVE them. that should count against the blending big time.

I'm sure the snakes that he had for his testing were not pets. They were lab animals, bought for a specific reason. Also, I'm sure Diamondback Rattlesnakes are pets somewhere out there, granted they're not the same as Ball Pythons are with humans, they're still kept in a tank/tub under the care of a human.

I agree, it's crappy that he did this, but there are alot worse things that can happen. Just be happy that they were humanly euthanized at the end.

[pavlovk1025]

I'm sure the snakes that he had for his testing were not pets. They were lab animals, bought for a specific reason.

I was reading through the thread to see if anyone else was going to say this, and it looks like you said it for me. +1, Thank you.

[TimmyG]

I think you guys need to do a few things before criticisim. First go and read the actual study, you will get alot more detail about the methods rather then "blended snakes with the smoothie setting" and you will get some background as to why the study is important. Secondly, you need to understand that every researcher (myself included) has to answer to an ethics board for anythign we do, we have to show just cause for doing any experiment by demonstating that the experiment will benefit eith humans or the species being experimented on; we also have to increase the benefits as much as possible while mimising the risk to the animals and ensuring their dignity. There are even special ethics boards that do deal only with animal participants. Lastly, without studies liek this we wouldnt have all those nice snake meds that keep our pets alive during RI and parasite infestation, to develop those maybe hundreds of snakes were infected on purpose "tossed in a Blendtec total Belender" and studied, as a result thousands of peopels pets get to live.

[akaangela]

When I first read this I was mad. Then logic set in. I used to work for seniors and as much as I hate seeing those poor snakes die, it would be wonderful if they could find some way to make people who can't eat or people that forgot (or don't want to etc..) live longer or at least suffer less. As much as I love my snakes, I would trade them all, YES even my morphs, for even a fighting chance to keep those people I used to take care of from slowly dying. It is a horrible death, not a quick and easy one. I don't know if I am explaining it so others can understand it, but when you have to help an old person just to sit up and can see every bone in their body...especially when they are trying to get some weight on, or just to keep the weight they have...it brings home how important studies like these are.

I am not sure if I am making my point but when looking at a friend that can not seem to gain weight no matter what they eat, is one of the saddest things I know. Snakes can handle starvation and truely it was not even that long for some snakes. Go to a nursing home and see those poor humans who can not get down, or keep down food, 6 months is forever to them.

[AndrewGeibel]

damnit!

You need THIS!!!!!!

You could make one heck of a margarita in that thing!

[Mendel's Balls]

This would certainly be considered unconscionable cruelty if it were conducted on any mammalian species.
I'm not entirely sure I appreciate the 'ends justify the means' mentality in this experiment. I'm all for science, but starving, beating, delivering electrical shocks to, depriving of water, isolating, drowning, and various other cruel behavioral and metabolic experiments are pretty hard for any ethical person to justify.
This experiment involved torture. It may be a torture that some snakes would be subjected to in the wild, but that is really not the point, is it?

When a ball python fasts for half the year, this is natural--when it is deprived of food for half the year at a time when it would choose to eat, by the deliberate actions of a person...this is animal cruelty.

I don't see how it was torture if these same snakes experience very similar conditions in the wild.

Furthermore, I cant believe the actual article did not mention the snakes were first euthanized before they were sent to the blender. Very poor science journalism there! The way the author describes it would never pass mustard with IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees). Most people, unfortunately, do not know how strict regulations and compliance surveillance are in research labs.

[m00kfu]

Furthermore, I cant believe the actual article did not mention the snakes were first euthanized before they were sent to the blender.

Seventh paragraph from the article --

McCue then chemically euthanised each snake and pureed it in a blender to better conduct chemical analysis.

So yeah, it DID say they were put down before blending.

[Egapal]

I frown upon it because, any living animal that has stomach acids if starved will start to break down other things. I don't think it was worth the life of the snakes.

Its not the animals stomach acids that break down the organs. It doesn't take place in the stomach at all. This is something that animals do to survive. For instance when you eat less your fat doesn't go to your stomach to keep you going.

People may not agree with the science but in the end its going to happen and we all benefit from it. Look up "dog head transplant." When you are all done freaking out about how cruel and awful that was, think about how experiments like that are what allowed for heart transplants, valve replacements, and limb reattachments. You have no idea how the science will help. In the end I don't believe the amount of time the snakes were deprived of food raises to the level of cruelty and the animals were euthanized before being blended. We all kill or support businesses that kill around 60 or more mammals a year per snake. We raise countless more animals to eat ourselves, for our other pets to eat, and for the products we use. 60 snakes for science isn't even a blip on my radar.