# Catching Rabbits



## PythonPro (May 6, 2010)

If you were tring to catch rabbits with an elliot trap what would be the ideal food for bait? 
If you got sombody with a slug gun to collect some rabbits and removed the pellet from the rabbit is it safe to feed your snakes after you freeze them? Or can they cause lead poisoning.


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## Serpentess (May 6, 2010)

You probably don't want any diseases or parasites that wild rabbits carry being fed to your snake.


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## PythonPro (May 6, 2010)

I thought freezing them kills parasites. The rabbits here are in good nick. There were people in south australia selling wild caught rabbits on the herp trader once.


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## Serpentess (May 6, 2010)

If you're freezing them then it should be ok... just be warned that there may be some people trying to poison the population in your area and that's really something that freezing can't fix.


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## ihaveherps (May 7, 2010)

well for starters, an elliot trap isnt the tool for the job......


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## PythonPro (May 7, 2010)

I mean those ones they use to catch possums 
these ones


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## PythonPro (May 7, 2010)

not sure what size id use. Look at this one its for womats and dogs.


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## Elapidae1 (May 7, 2010)

Ferrets and spring traps, good fun


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## AM Pythons (May 7, 2010)

i dont thik a slug gun would kill a rabbit(10-15 shots maybe) at least use a .22 to kill then quickly.. agree you want catch a rabbit in those traps.. i would not recomend using them for food..


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## TigerCoastal (May 7, 2010)

Does freezing kill off calici virus and myxo? And if feeding and infected rabbit would it cause any problems for your snake? :s


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## REPTILIAN-KMAN (May 7, 2010)

you should never feed any captive reptiles wild caught prey (food) the higher risk of dissease and potentail posioning (baiting) far out weights savings/cost incentives, if availablity is an issue bulk buying of feed stock should be looked at , depends were you are from i can supply you with names of businesses in both sydney and queensland that sell bulk stock due to my large breeding stock (reptiles) once again chickens are god alt to rabbits.


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## PythonPro (May 7, 2010)

Who sells bulk in Queensland? Do they frieght? There is a couple of reasons im not keen on this. I live two hours away from the airport and 10 hours north of brisbane. I dont want to fill my parants freezer with too much.

So before im forced to buy bulk rabbits or chickens. I want to get one of these traps. It will be fun. In winter there are millions of rabbits in my back yard looking for green grass. I will quaritine the rabbit to ensure it hasn't been baited since i live close to i huge cattle property. I doubt they bait because the cattle property is adjacent national park. Im not too worried about the risk beacause None of the snakes i will feed will be more than $200. Coastal, water, Jungle. Its a long time before i will need one of these traps they are still small snakes.
If anybody has caught a rabbits what bait do you reccomend???


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## syeph8 (May 7, 2010)

maybe breed them if you have all this time and space? i still wouldnt use wild personally. but set up a hutch or series of hutch's out the back and start breeding. then knock em or gas am at different sizes as your pythons grow.


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## REPTILIAN-KMAN (May 7, 2010)

will post details tonite dont have them at work


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## REPTILIAN-KMAN (May 7, 2010)

what suburb are from if not what area ?
also have you called kevins rodents 
*Frozen Rats for Reptile Consumption

*My rodents are raised in an air conditioned environment and I pay particular attention to their hygiene, health and diet. They are fed fresh vegetables and grain daily. Euthanasia is performed humanly using CO2 gas. The product is placed in Zip Bags and frozen immediately.

*Contact Details*

*Phone:* (07) 3901 0065
*Mobile:* 0431 716 377
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*Rats*


RATS
Pinkies .................................................. $1.00 each
Fuzzies .................................................. $2.25 each
Hoppers (15g to 30g) ......................... $2.50 each
Weaners (30g to 60g) ........................ $3.00 each
Small (60g to 115g) ............................ $4.00 each
Medium (115g to 150g) ...................... $5.00 each
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Smaller ............................................... by Order Only


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## Tinky (May 7, 2010)

*How to catch Rabbit, for 6 year olds*

How do you catch a *Unique Rabbit*




You_neek up on him.


How do you catch a *Tame Rabbit*



Tame way, you_neek up on him.


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## PythonPro (May 7, 2010)

Thats another option. Catch a wild pair and make a hutch. Wouldnt be easy killing your pet rabbits compared to a wild one. Ive never gased before, I believe you you need a valve to go on the top of the soda stream bottle. Need help finding that.

Ive got quail in a cage in my back yard that have been laying eggs for me I just havent bought an incubator yet. Might wait till spring. I took 18 eggs out of the cage yeasterday and smashed them on the road but there were no embryo's. Its cold see.


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## PythonPro (May 7, 2010)

North QLD


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## elapid68 (May 11, 2010)

I drop bunnies for human comsumption fairly often, so if they are fit for humans I can't see anything wrong with feeding them of to your critters.
Just be careful where you get them. In some areas they are baited/diseased etc but if you can find a healthy population, I can't see a problem.
Second option, like some people here have already suggested, set up a hutch, get a breeding pair and breed your own. That way you know they aren't poisoned etc and you have a fairly constant supply.




tatt2tony said:


> i dont thik a slug gun would kill a rabbit(10-15 shots maybe)


 
Modern Air Rifles are more than capable of killing rabbits. Most .177's have a velocity of 1000 fps and the .22's around 800 fps.
Several mates, along with myself, knock over bunnies and hares on a regualar basis with .22 Air Rifles with single head shots at 20 to 30 meters.
There has been several articles in hunting mags over the last couple of years on this subject and more and more people are starting to use Air Rifles to knock over bunnies.


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (May 11, 2010)

As Paul said, new air rifles are more than capable of taking out a bunny.
I know the rabbits on the peninsula where i live are free from a lot of the problems they have further north and they are regularly eaten by quite a few people and fed to snakes here with no ill effects.


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## euphorion (May 11, 2010)

syeph8 said:


> maybe breed them if you have all this time and space? i still wouldnt use wild personally. but set up a hutch or series of hutch's out the back and start breeding. then knock em or gas am at different sizes as your pythons grow.


 
rabbits are illegal 'pets' in QLD, cant even keep them for breeding. i thought about doing this myself but when the issue is potentially a $30,000 fine for keeping rabbits i'd rather just freight them in. Oh, and buy yourself a freezer instead of filling up your parents freezer...


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## bobby2 (May 13, 2010)

it will be 10 times less hassle to breed them - 
freezing does not necessarily kill all parasites - it can put some parasite eggs into stasis which will hatch when re-heated, similarly, you have no idea of previous infectious diseases that wild rabbits have - there's been some pretty weird biological warfare against rabbits over the last decade - just because the rabbits have managed a partial immunity to most of these diseases doesn't mean they wont adversely affect your snake (short or long term)...and as chantelle said, people regularly use poison bates that can take up to 3 days to have a fatal effect on the rabbit - i guess i'm saying that it's not worth the risk - especially if your snakes are highly bred or bred over a long line and don't have much of a natural immunity... 
and you absolutely CANNOT kill rabbits humanely with a slug gun - you'll need a .22 or a .223 - you'd have a more humane attempt with your car keys than a slug gun - i got shot by a slug in the shoulder and it barely went 5mm deep. 
A decent sized elliot trap would be good but the whole process is really much more risk than it's worth - you're better to breed the rabbits, just make sure you have something decent to kill them with and remove the bullet immediately to stop the lead from spreading through the blood


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## bobby2 (May 13, 2010)

PythonPro said:


> I doubt they bait because the cattle property is adjacent national park. Im not too worried about the risk beacause None of the snakes i will feed will be more than $200.



a. National parks are the biggest consumers of poisoned bait - pig, fox and rabbit - national parks use them frequently to maintain the native population, that's why there are often fluro markers on trees in national parks - our property is bordered on three sides by a national park and they always call us to warn us too keep our dogs and livestock away while they are laying bait. Unfortunately for you, you are in a baiting hot-spot.

b. Even if your snakes only cost you $200, their upkeep over the years would amount way more than that - think of combining the enclosure costs with the weekly feeding costs - all this goes way beyond $200. Also, as a pet owner, and a licensed one, you are kind of obligated to keep you're animals alive - sensibly weighing risks. If mum and dad don't like you using their freezer and you can't afford to feed you pets any other way then you need to think about whether or not you are well equipped enough to have these animals as pets....


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## Guest (May 13, 2010)

bobby the slug gun you got shot with sounds like a toy!
do you hunt often with guns?


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## cwtiger (May 13, 2010)

We are not allowed to have rabbits in Queensland. Even to bred for snakes there is no way around it. If anyone has information on some who sells frozen rabbits that I can get in Brisbane suburbs could you please let me know I am looking for rabbits around 300grms to feed to my 4 year old bredli to give them a break from rats, chickens and quails.


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## Klaery (May 13, 2010)

Yeah have to agree... How far away were they when you got shot? Good air rifles will drop rabbits easily


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## solar 17 (May 14, 2010)

syeph8 its illegal to keep ferrets and rabbits in QLD. so there goes that idea, and our EPA does get upset "if" they come across them in captivity.....solar 17 [Baden]


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## womapyth (May 14, 2010)

I used to do a lot of rabbit removal on the family farm. Saw enough disease and parasites to steer clear of them for reptile food. 

If you really wanted to go for rabbits why not try ferreting?


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## QLD4800 (May 15, 2010)

lettuce brother... lettuce would be the first thing to try.


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