Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone tried regular store bought chickens as food for medium to large Anacondas? The advantages are numerous and obvious. I'll give it a try once my Anaconda becomes large enough.

Are you referring to whole chickens bought at the grocery store? If so, you will probably run into problems if you use them very often. Since they have had all the organs removed, you will eventually run into a nutrient deficit. Also, I don't believe that vitamin-mineral supplementation would effectively replace the loss, as they are not nearly as complete as whole animals. I would stick with rabbits for medium to large anacondas, as pound for pound they are the most cost effective and nutrient rich food source.

Kelly

I was thinking maybe 50-50, give 'em a store bought chicken half the time if one would accept it. Would be easy to give it supplements. Could be problems with Salmonella, not sure, we eat Samonella all the time. I'll bet any live, full-grown chicken has more Salmonella on/in it than you can shake a stick at. Rabbits are probably not so "dirty". I raised a hatchling Burmese to 16' for 20 years, I kinda got tired of giving it freshly killed rabbits or chickens. I gave it pre-frozen animals once in a while but you've probably heard about the possible drawbacks of that too. Killing live animals takes some of the fun out of owning a large snake (if it doesn't...one has mental problems). I always told people I'd rather kill a chicken than have a wild anaconda eat something like a baby monkey or similar "higher-up" animal. Anyway, would be nice to know if anyone has tried it, and what the longterm results are. If you ever hear more about the issue, please post here. Thanks.

I have heard all the possible drawbacks with feeding previously frozen food items and I believe them to be unfounded with reference to snakes. Some vitamins have even been found to be synthesized endogenously in snakes. Feeding whole prey animals negates the need for any vitamin or mineral supplementation. I have raised dozens of healthy, pythons and boas over the last 30 years and bred many of them. Some raised on fresh killed, others on previously frozen prey. I have never noticed a difference in growth rate, weight gain, or reproductive success between the two groups. It's obviously your call, but I would stay with whole prey items.

Kelly

` Bad idea. n/m
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