Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a baby Retic that I purchased from Bob Clark at the Daytona show, so I'm just thinking ahead on this question. Has anyone here ever fed goats to their adult Retics? If so is there any disadvantage to this, like smelly runny stools as with chickens? Was it hard to switch to goats? We have a farm and raise some pigmy goats so I was wondering if this could be a future food source when my snake grows to an adult.
Thanks, Don

IMO, as long as the animal is around or above 15ft or so, there is no reason it couldn't be fed an appropriate sized goat. You may need to rub a rabbit on the goat once or twice, but i've often considered goats as a substitution just for a change of pace.

Going by her girth and the weight/size of the goat would be the best way to go about knowing when to try it. She may not need any enticement and then again she may need scenting with the regular prey to get her enticed to eat it. I've never fed goats but I can see the longer neck being a challenge for some snakes. I don't know about the messy stools with chickens. I keep seeing that written and that is not the case with my snakes who are fed chickens for variety every month. The stool is no different. the feathers are excreted very neatly in a bundle. Whatever food is eaten should lead to normal stools unless there are parasites or the snake has just been switched and isn't used to the prey. Upset stomachs are no big deal when new prey is introduced. If a snake continues to have runny, smelly stools it is an indication that something isn't right.
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Marcia Pimentel
Tango River Reptiles
GiantFeeders

I agree with tango. I feed my snakes several different kinds of birds including chickens, quail, and pigeons and they have never had any smelly runny stools. As a matter of fact, the stool seems to be less "messy" with some birds then with rabbits. As far as the goats, I've never tried it either, but I can't imagine it being a problem, so long as the goat was fairly small and the retic large. I know that even the large retics that I care for (one male at 13 feet and one female at 20 feet) do very well on normal prey items such as large rabbits and chickens, and I wonder if really large prey would really be necessary. Some zoo's feed their very large retics goats at a frequency of one every 8 weeks with good results so I guess if they are what you have available then go for it.