switching water snakes to mice can be tricky and depends greatly on the individual snake. I have 4 water snakes and one took mice instantly. two only eat fish and one only eats frogs. to switch them, you rub fish or frogs on their mice to get the scent and then try to feed them. this works sometimes. you basically have to keep trying over and over again until they take it.

If you want to eventually own hots (venomous snakes) I don't think that a water snake is the way to go. Here's why: All 4 of mine tamed down within 3 days of capture with no handling. The only time they tried to bite was during capture.

You can practice hooking and handling biters without owning them. Try capturing a few water snakes or racers and handling them. After a few minutes of practice, release the snake and find another. Or buy a wild caught Texas Ratsnake. They usually have a bad temper and will keep it unless handled frequently (I have scars to prove it).

If you get a good biter, practice cleaning his cage weekly and do NOT handle him. You want him to stay mean. remove the snake and place him in another container. Every time he bites you, write "I could be dead" on a post-it not and stick it to the cage. After a year, look at all the notes and decide if you still want a hot.

But you should get some corns or ratsnakes first and learn what it's like to raise a snake BEFORE you decide to get something that can inflict $16,000 worth of medical bills in a fraction of a second.

That's why I don't have any hots.
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1.0.0 Great Plains Ratsnake
1.0.0 Corn, Lavender Aztec het for Amel
0.1.0 Black Ratsnake
0.0.1 Texas Rat (tame)
1.0.0 Broad Banded Water Snake, Hypo
1.0.0 Black Bassador Retriever
2.1.0 Godchildren, 1 Evil, 2 possible hets

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