Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
I have a pair of '02 black milksnakes that are about 32-36" long and a little wider than a penny. Right now they are eating 1-2 20g rat fuzzies per week. I'd like to switch them to chicks as soon as possible, because they have a much lower fat content than rodents. (I also have a soft spot for rats...) anyway, the rodentpro website says that baby chicks are about 30-35g, but I really don't have a good mental picture of how big they are. How big should my milksnakes be before I switch them over? Could my 46" sinaloan start eating them now?

Thanks,
Nate

I honestly would not switch any snake to a diet of chicks. Chicks may not have as much fat, but that doesn't mean that they would be better. Every breeder I know that feeds their snakes chicks do it on an occasional basis and nothing more. Plus mice and rats are cheaper, and give the snake totally balanced nutrition.

If you are concerned with fat and snakes, try feeding once every other week. I do that with most of my adult snakes and their weight seems to maintain a healthy degree. Younger snakes I feed once a week.

Take care and hope this helps!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1

I'm with Billy. Chicks are good as a supplement but not as the sole diet. Chicks tend to produce a very runny, bad smelling stool when fed by themselves. Chicks are also thicker that the same weight rodent. I measure the diameter of a penny at .75 inch. A baby chick is more like 1.25 inch. And while that size prey isn't impossible to swallow, it's a bit of a stretch.

Paul Hollander

I agree Paul. I supplement with day old baby Quail from rodent pro. Quail is a little bit pricy but much smaller than chicks for yearling BM. I never mix the pry item during feeding and quail is only offered once a mouth. I have also had luck with F/T sardines from the super market. The sardines are gutted; about 3” to 5” long, the meat, bone and heads are still attached. My largest male eats them like pop-corn and is fed once a month alternating between Quail and regular mice/sm rat diet. A couple of my BM refuses to eat fish, for now, but attack baby quail.