Reptile & Amphibian Forums

they are all intended food items for the copperhead so i dotn care if he eats them but would it do any harm to the copper to have some other creatures living in the tank with him? by the way the tank is 3 feet x 3feet x28 in high and is heavily planted..thanks

I dont keep coppers or anything but I dont think it will eat them. Id give it pinkies.

incase anyone was wondering the outcome..copperhead 1 brown snake 0..he killed the brown with a bite to the neck however he didnt eat it..still hasent been able to catch anoles or house geckos..i assume he will tho..oh and i do feed it pinkys but i threw the anoles in for some fun for it so it can actualy hunt instead of take dead pinks off tongs..

Well, most crotalids, like copperheads, hunt small mammals. The heat pits make them well evolved to hunt warm blooded critters. The anoles are cold blooded, and I dont think copperheads will eat reptiles or amphibians. Im not sure on this, thats just what I think. You also shouldnt feed it anything wild caught, you may spread disease to it.

no reptiles and amphibiams are a main part of copperheads diet!..young copperheads usualy feed on frogs and small lizards in the wild and graduate to mice when they grow up..

From what I've seen as vipers, they don't like to have fun. They just want to stay as still as possible and not have things walk on them. What vet are you going to go to when the anoles give worms to your copperhead? Or do you not care about it that much?
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

He may well eat them, which might not be a good idea. Feeding live reptiles to other reptiles is a good vector for the transmission of parasites and diseases. Your baby will do better on pinkies. If he doesn't eat them, they'll be an environmental stressor and a continuing risk of disease/parasite transmission.

As already pointed out a main concern with feeding these small lizards is that they are usually wild caught species and thus contain parasites.

Over crowding will also be another stress on your copperhead; combined with parasites will equal a diseased snake.

I do understand the appeal of a naturalistic enclosure with several species contained withen. This however is something that needs either to be done 100% or avoided. A much larger enclosure will be needed (consider the bother of crickets on the snake as well.) The enclosure should be large enough were the copperhead will rarely encounter another animal while hiding, as such would occur in nature.
Of course other animals should be properly acclimated to captivety as well.
Good luck