Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Any tips on the what type of lizard I can find at a pet shop that will work well for senting pinks? Any help would be appreciated.

I use house geckos and fence lizards..

~ Mike Russo

I prefer skinks, but if you can't find them, you might also try catfish from the grocery store. Sounds crazy but it's worked on some of my stubbornest feeders.
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

Catfish is a new one for me... but, it's worth a try!

I have had success with the juice from a can of tuna packed in water and i have heard of others that have had luck with chicken soup broth, although i have never tried that.

~ Mike

Catfish? What ssp were you using the catfish on? That's a new one for me too but I dislike the thought of the snakes getting into my stash O'fresh fish. Man's gotta draw a line somewhere!

I've had alterna and central american milks accept house gecko scent (don't expect the entire clutch to jump on the gecko bandwagon), NA milks respond well to ground skinks and oddly a friend with eastern milks reported his hatchlings refused ground skinks but accepted anoles even though anoles are not in the range.
I freeze a variety of lizards and work them all.
Washing the pinks with a neutral soap like Ivory really helps and I have a few milks that take only washed then brained pinks.
Good luck with the little rascals, Jeff

Yup, I have tried Anoles and the Ivory soap thing too with success...

Boy would our non-herp friends have a field day watching us wash thawed pinky mice with ivory soap or what??

~ Mike Russo

........I tried tuna water for 30 some corns that wouldn't eat this year..first time I ever tried tuna......0 ate it......other people said it worked .....for corns and hognose and some other stuff.....milks it is a new idea to use tuna for me.....

........I used to use anoles and skinks and sceloporus also.....

but I am lazy....so I actually use Peromyscus for scenting on most speies that don't eat...chinese hamsters work too......I use the brain and blood, and cut them open and use the inside juices and blood........I also will even just cut a pink or fuzzy pero's nose and use the blood fresh.......and for less stubborn feeders I just hold the live pero and try and get a few drops of urine from them and rub the pinks in it......worked with gerbil urine last night and a bee that never ate....

a friend just uses dirty peromyscus bedding and rolls the F/T pink in it for a second and a stubborn brooks' will tear into it....

.....alot of milks will eat live brained pinks .......
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This is where I place some stupid comment about the market situation...........

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I am so stoked. I really thought I was going to lose this guy. I tried rubbing the FTP in canned tuna in oil and the little blighter jumped right on it. How cool is that. Thanks a lot!!