Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this is a somewhat controversial topic, but hey, what are public discussion boards for? I'm just curious if anyone has any solid evidence one way or the other on feeding w.c. mammalian (only mammalian) prey to their captive snakes? I know the first thing most people say is "Don't do it! There could be parasites!" I'm looking for solid evidence that mammals can even pass on parasites to new reptillian hosts. Since most parasites are host specific, at least within the same group of animals, I have a sneaking suspicion that it's actually not very likely that they could be passed between such different critters. All that being said, there are some notable bacterial exceptions that do seem communicable between reptiles and mammals: i.e. salmonella and ourselves.

Let me just enter the disclaimer here that I'm not promoting feeding w.c. prey to snakes, especially not with such an abundant supply of cbb mice, rats, rabbits, pigs, etc. available. What I'm trying to get to is, would the occasional w.c. prey item, say a freshly road killed squirrel, rabbit or whatever have any good chance of being harmful?

Let me also say here that I'm really looking for answers that can be backed up with evidence, including personal examples. I'm really not looking for conjecture and hearsay. I look forward to the replies.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

I feed rifle shot rabbits to my retics every week and have done for years. I'm talking about up to 100 a month and i have had no problems at all.
Worth noting though that ALL are frozen before feeding.

Not sure if this is what you're looking for?

This is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for, thanks for your reply. I'm mainly just trying to determine if it is largely a myth that feeding w.c. prey is harmful to captive snakes. I do wonder though, the shot you use is lead-free I assume?
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

I have fed squirels and opossums that I have traped in the back yard for 2 years now with no problems. I have a fecal done on all my snakes 1x a year and feed wc food items has given any of my snakes any parasites. We freeze them for about a week before feeding them also.

I've fed my snakes w.c. prey at different times over the years, usually just rabbits and squirrels. However, I've never used a prey item that had been shot. A vet told me that feeding w.c. prey to big snakes was acceptable, but he told me not to shoot prey since even small traces of lead could cause lead poisoning. He said not to use steel shot, either. However, it would be very convenient to just shoot a few rabbits and use them. Elaborate a little on what caliber of gun you use, etc.

RP

I have fed wild rabbits and squirrels with no problem so far. I usually use a .22 or .25 to shoot them with. I am careful not to use any that might have had a chance to get into poisons. I wouldn't recomend using opposums because some people would object of using wildlife and could turn you into the game warden. snake keepers have enough to deal with. we don't need any new laws or restrictions.