Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am considering a bts and i was just wondering if you could tell me about how much it cost to feed a adult bts?

thanks for any replies

sam

Personally, I make up "packets" every couple of months. I take a bunch of ingredients (at least 3 different protein sources, a variety of veggies & greens & a small amount of fruit), make up little single-serve packets, so he's eating something a bit different at each feeding & freeze them. I have been feeding my guy one packet every 3 days, but he hasn't done more than just taste anything in several weeks because he's slowing down for the winter.
In the long run, he's probably cheaper than my $1-2 per week snakes when it comes to feeding costs. He probably runs me about $10 every few months for packet ingredients. Of course, this doesn't take into account initial costs of a minimum 40 gallon tank, heat source, UV light (they need that), substrate, hiding places, food & water dishes, vitamin powder & potential vet bills...
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2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena

You freeze your food, greens, fruits, and all? I have frozen mixed veggies, but not frozen greens. How long do they last in the freezer? Aren't you worried about nutrient loss? Do you get fresh fruits and veggies, then freeze them, or do you use pre-frozen? Do you mix your supplementation in with it? Sorry about all of the questions, but this is an idea I have never thought of. I have been trying to find of a way for it to be easier for my family to feed my skinks when I am away. THanks, jrbl

Be careful with freezing green veggies (especially greens) the thiamin (B1) will leach out and you have to add it back in or you risk hypothiaminosis (resembles MBD). The best way to replace the lost B1 is by buying a vitamin B1 supplement. If you buy B1 in tablet form, you can use a pill crusher to crush it and store the left-over extra powder as you only need a small pinch of the vitamin for a serving of salad. If you buy the B1 in a powder-filled capsule, you can dump some capsules out into a small container and take your pinches from there.
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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Bredl's Carpet Python "Strider"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
1.0 San Felipe Rosy Boa "Legalos"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"
0.1 Okeetee Corn snake "Amazon"
1.0 Crested Gecko "Willow"
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink
0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer "Kira"

I'm not real worried about nutrient loss as it's only frozen for a max of 2 months. Personally, I'm more worried about the poor quality diet he'd be getting if I had to come up w/a nutritious meal for him out of what's in my fridge every week. I don't keep a variety of protien sources & a variety of fruits & veggies on hand, so I would really risk not having what he needs around. I'd also be spending much more $, as I'm not a nutritious eater myself, so I'd be buying ingredients for him each week & then throwing most of them away because he only eats a few tablespoons.
When I first researched getting a BTS, I found a member on this forum who posted his basic "recipe" & said he made packets & froze them about once a month. I've been doing that since I've owned Indy & it works really well for me. I have a mixed vitamin/mineral reptile powder that I sprinkle on his food every few feedings.
To answer the greens ?, I have used frozen spinach & fresh kale. I use both frozen veggies & fresh.
Here's my guy eating snails.

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2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Bredl's Carpet Python "Strider"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
1.0 San Felipe Rosy Boa "Legalos"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"
0.1 Okeetee Corn snake "Amazon"
1.0 Crested Gecko "Willow"
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink
0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer "Kira"

n/p
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Edward
Carpe diem

np
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

np
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

np
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

for all you peeps who have skinks, probably bts are they active?

They sleep a lot and bask a lot, but whenn you take them out of the cage, they like to explore!
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix