Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, so i live here in FL and we have birds all year round and the other day a bird tried to fly though the house using a closed window, at full speed. Needless to say, the bird died and it was kinda funny like the windex commecials. (i think my mom used windex on the windows too). Anyways, i was wondering what people's thoughts were on giving the now dead bird to my dad's snake. (the bird killed itself upon collision), What I was gonna do is put it in the freezer, thaw it out in a few days/weeks, rub a mouse all over it so it smells mousey and feeder it to the snake (or try). The birds a pinch larger than an adult mouse.
If it doesn't take it the first time i was gonna throw it in the neighbor's yard lol
And aren't birds also on the menu for wild snakes to eat?
ps. my dad's snake IS wild caught.... if that matters, which it probably doesn't

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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)

i sold a baby snake to a girl and she is a little loopy... but she feeds her corn robin eggs all the time(when available) and her snake loves them, she also fed it a baby once with no feathers. so to answer your question yes it will eat them but is it going to benefit the snake? imho no what if the snake only wants birds afetr you feed it to the snake or if it gets a parasite from the bird? i wouldnt risk it not to mention what your dad might do if he does not approve
adam
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hybrid breeders association
1.0 snow corns
1.0 albino corns
1.1 sinacorns
1.0 striped ghost corns
1.1 kenyan sand boas
1.1 mbk
1.3 ghost corns
0.1 bloodred
0.1 striped albino corn
0.1 childrens python
0.1 albino nelsons
0.1 anery motley
0.1 albino banded cal king
0.1 normal corn het hypo,anery
1.0 jurassic milk
1.0 blizzard leo gecko
0.2 normal leo geckos
1.0 3 lined mud turtle

You'd likely not need to scent the bird for your snake to take it. The main problem is disease, freezing should eliminate much of the risk but it would have to be for a long time as I would imagine most parasites/diseases are cold resistance or they would'nt be that big of a problem in the wild. But freezing for a long time also takes much of the nutrients out of the item. I would play it safe and just toss it. Its more for your benefit that you feed it the bird than for the corn, but you could order some frozen chicks from a feeder supplier online here on KS.com and feed him birds that way.
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-J.Hill

I wouldn't... parasites are your biggest worry, then disease. I would stick to farm-raised F/T mice. Leave the wild prey for the wild snakes. I would thaw it and chuck it in the woods for the wild snakes or other critters...

Walt

well this pretty much is a wild snake...
and as for chucking it inthe woods.... i got a neighbors yard it can go right into lol. Anyways... been cold (cool for those up north ) for snakes to really come out, so it kinda just rot
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)

Well then, lets put it this way, save the wild birds for the snakes that LIVE out in the wild. Most corns will readily accept birds, I occasionally feed farm raised chicks and the snakes love it. However, a wild bird could have many parasites that are harmful to your snake, even after freezing. It's just not worth the time and trouble. By trying not to "waste" a dead bird, you could end up wasting a lot of money at the vet.
Wild corns arn't that much "tougher" than captive corns. Parasites often lead a multi stage life where the snake doesn't necessarily get sick from eating the bird, but from eating the bird then coming in contact with a small bit of the snakes own feces after it has eaten the meal. Most wild corns won't come in contact with thier own feces, but in captive corns it is very easy for them to do so. Hence, it doesn't really matter if your snake is "wild" if he is living in captivity, that bird could cause you both a lot of trouble.
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Carol Huddleston
www.lowbellyreptiles.com

wild birds (even healthy ones) are lousy with mites and those mites will infest and feed on snakes and pass on disease. My boss thought she was being brilliant once by feeding a rescued non-eating burmese python a nest full of starlings (the snake had been attacked by a feeder rat from a previous owner and hadn't gotten over the fear of them yet). The snake happily took the birds, but then the entire snake collection became infested with mites as the mites migrated from snake to snake before I found out what she did a few days later when I came in to work. The older/adult snakes did fine during the elimination of the mites, but the personally owned corn snake hatchlings I happened to have at work on my desk contracted something from the mites and all of them eventually died.
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PHWyvern

Ask your dad, and let him do it.
I've done it with a rat snake and a younf dove that fell from its nest in a storm. The snake didn't bat an eye (can't actually). It treated the bird as any prey item.
Freezing it would kill the mites, as you thought, as well as most/all internal parasites.
IMO, it won't harm anything unless the snake decides it doesn't like mice as much and refuses to feed for awhile. If the snake is a corn, that won't be an issue.
However, talk to your dad before you do. I'm be mad if my kid did something like that without permission.
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

i could also toss the bird in the oven and bake it at 200F for a few mins lol I don't think that'd be a good idea
ANYWAYS....
As soon as I remember to ask him I will. And i'm only gonna try the bird once and if no go, then out the door. But yeah, animals won't normally starve themselves. Next feeding time (if it take the bird) I'll just keep giving it mice.
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)

Sounds like you're determined to use the bird. I assume you just want to see what happens. I can understand that as I've done it before myself, but not with a corn.

I live in the country (n. MI) and get to see lots of animals. Birds fly into our windows fairly often and I sometimes freeze the dead ones. I wanted to test one of my snakes to see if it would eat a bird. I decided I wouldn't use a bird unless it was frozen for about a month, or more. Probably a week would be enough to kill most harmful parasites, but mites will die from starvation in two or three weeks anyway. So, I fed a wild bird to a snake, and it was fine. I assumed the bird didn't have any live parasites on, or in, it.

I've often wondered why we consider wild birds or mammals as being dangerous to our collections, as far as feeding goes. Seems like bird mites would be specific to birds and not bother snakes. Snakes normally can get "snake" mites, which are specific to reptiles. Wild reptiles normally have an internal fauna living peacefully inside them. I'm not sure birds or mammals carry any internal parasites (normally) which could hurt a reptile. Of course there's diseases. To be on the safe side I've always froze any prey items for a minimal time, even ones I get from commercial breeders.

PS: I wouldn't put the bird in the oven. Probably wouldn't be effective against tough internal parasites anyway. Also wouldn't throw it in neighbor's yard. Why not bury it in your own yard, if you don't use it?

TC

if i burried the bird in our yard our dog would dig it up thinking it's a toy...
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)