Like you, I also have a source for cheap F/T chicks and usually keep a bag of them in the freezer. They don't really make up a regular part of my snake's diet but I throw in a few chicks every once in a while to mix things up. They are relished by my cribos, pines and ratsnakes (and always seems to do the trick when one of them decides to be a picky eater).

I haven't noticed any adverse effects from feeding chicks or any significant difference in their stool after eating rats or chicks. (One of my everglades rats decided she would only eat chicks for a couple months after laying eggs last year.)

I'm fairly comfortable that proper hand washing after handling my snakes or cleaning cages is enough to protect me from salmonella if any of my snakes are carriers.

I thought I had read somewhere that there are a couple thousand strains of salmonella and while some can be transferred from one animal to another, many other strains are species specific.

Chris

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