Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone.
I'm looking for a smaller snake that is relatively easy to care for and also does not need to eat small fuzzy animals of any kind. I am a rat breeder and would personally have a problem with this. I am ok feeding insects and things like that.

Thanks for your time,
LFR

I can help you here.....

Ringneck Snakes eat worms, lizards, snakes, salamanders, small insects, fish and frogs.

Green Snakes eat insects mainly crickets,grasshoppers and spiders.

Brown Snakes eat worms, slugs and maybe small frogs.

worm Snakes eat worms, ant eggs

Sorry if I forgot anything.
Michael
Michael's Place

So none of these are, like, poisonous or anything, right?

Sorry if I sound stupid. I will do my research..I just wanted to know what to research first.
-LFR

None are poisonous, but ringneck snakes do have venomous properties in their saliva. It can't do anything to people but it is somewhat effective on prey.
Michael

I like garters (Thamnophis) and waters (Nerodia), both of them readily take fish and garters also show a distinct liking for inverts. Many people feed both genera mice but this is more for conviniance than nutitional requirement, though a vitamin supplement is always a good idea.

Cam Hanna
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"I'm tired of being a wannabe bowler! I wanna be a bowler!!"
-- Homer Simpson

You may want to rethink a snake as a pet. They are all predators and things will die to feed your pet. Some people call it disgusting, others call it the food chain.
Their are many herbivorous lizards if reptiles is your fancy. Small tortoises may also work also(however buy a book before you buy anything, because most arn't beginner pets).
If you are stuck on snakes (which by all means isn't bad at all), than my opinion follows the garter snake or the water snake as a great starter snake. They are relatively easy to keep. Feed a variety of live fish (any one fish species may not meet the nutritional requirements of your snake aka goldfish). I also recommend finding a captive born snake. With these species wild caught are easy to come by, however do a little research and find the overwhelming amount of reasons why captive bred will suite you better.
Good luck with your herping endeavors and enjoy your new pet!

With snakes that eat fish as most of their diet, you need to also consider that many fish contain Thiaminase, which basically destroys vitamin B in snakes. If you do a search on the garter snake forum, a list of safe/harmful fish can be found. Andy
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Andy Maddox
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Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

I have the same problem you do, only my aversion to feeding animals to snakes extends past the furry guys. I owned snakes in the past that ate insects, fish and the like, only to find that I really didn't feel great about that, either.

I'd heard of Egg Eating snakes (the type that eat nothing BUT eggs), but there wasn't much info. out there, so I just figured I'd have to get out of snakekeeping altogether. Thanks to the internet, though, I was able, years later, to find Egg Eating snake breeders, and buy a captive bred snake.

Some people contend these are not easy snakes to keep in captivity, but I would have to argue that they are quite easy to care for, as long as you have a good source for appropriately sized eggs. This has never once been a problem for me, as there are many, many sources for eggs of all sizes if you look a bit.

If this is something you're interested in, please contact me at mlsinclair@hotmail.com to discuss. I'd be happy to point you in the direction of a breeder (I definitely recommend captive bred/born snakes over WC) and sources of eggs and other relevant information.

Good luck!

Michelle

Are you talking about actual Egg-eating Snakes, like those from Africa or snakes like the Scarlet Snake that just eats eggs of reptiles and birds?
Michael
Michael's Place

Yes, I'm talking about the African Egg Eater (Dasypeltis). As these snakes will only feed on eggs, there is no need to deal with live or once-live food items.

As someone else mentioned, there are D. scabra breeders in the U.S., and also breeders of D. inornata and D. atra that I'm aware of....

Are you talking about actual Egg-eating Snakes, like those from Africa or snakes like the Scarlet Snake that just eats eggs of reptiles and birds?
Michael

D. Scabra are pretty neat snakes. I know there is at least 1 breeder working with them in the US.
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E2MacPets
http://www.e2macpets.com

Why dont you just get any kind of snake that you want. On the market are "snake steak sausages." These are little links just like polish sausage from a deli that come in all sizes according to the snake you are feeding. These are the closest thing you can find to replace a diet of natural mammals. Also they can be kept frozen until thawed when needed.

Great picture in "The Corn Snake Manual" by Bill and Kathy Love on page 27 of the snake sausages.

I'm a bit skeptical about the snake-sausages. I just don't think that they could be as good for a snake as their "natural" diet.

Also, what if the snake refuses these sausages (outright, or at some point down the line)? The sausage idea was suggested to me, as well, before I got my egg-eater (mine is a D. inornata, btw). I researched it a bit, though, and haven't been entirely reassured by what I've read here and on other forums.

Anyone have any experiences feeding their snakes these sausages?

Actually the "sausages" contain all the neccessary nutrients and elements that a snake, which normally feeds on rodents, would need to thrive incredibly healthy given the right care. These are made, as gross as it may sound, from ground up mice or rats. Depending on which you prefer. Just like hamburger for humans then rolled into little sausages. They smell, and assuming, they taste just like a frozen thawed rodent because thats what they are just in a different form. If you can get by on knowing this and just dont like the fact of seeing an actual rodent "going goodbye" then this is something you should check into. A great snake that you could go with could be a corn snake. I have 4 corns and they all have taken these sausages in the past. I no longer feed these as i use f/t rodents because it is extremely cheaper. And if you can find a corn snake that turns down a meal i think you will have found a snake that was truely not meant to be.