Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone researched the positive effects of varying a snakes diet? I realize we all do out of necessity; (ie. mice to rats to rabbits) as snakes get bigger. I also know that since snakes eat whole animals they are less likely to suffer from nutritional deficiencies. BUT, would it be helpful to vary an adult burms diet if only to avoid the monotony of eating the same thing? I know its not necessary, sure many snakes have lived full lives eating only one kind of prey item, but would it help?

I was thinking along the lines of piglets, ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs. Does anyone supplement or vary their snakes' diet?

Just wondering,

Terry

ps. I wasn't 100% serious about the dogs/cats thing so please no lectures.

I usually just feed the same thing..I dont think any harm would be done but not sure that its really necessary. I'm not sure how much there diet varies in the wild, they may only eat a couple differnt types of animals.
I have gotten into some pretty heated debates over the cat and dog thing...how many dogs and cats are uthenized every day at animal shelters...i think feeding them to a snake would be fine. It would be better than dumping them into the trash.

I'm sure a varied diet couldn't hurt. Not really sure how much more beneficial it would be. I have heard birds cause a loose stool though. As far as dogs and cats, if the neighbors don't care I wouldn't either. Got a cat you can have if ya want it .

Quig

At various times I have fed chickens, pigeons, ringneck doves, hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits to assorted snakes. This is in addition to rats and mice. It depended on what was available and cheap. Burmese absolutely love birds. There is a chance that they will get hooked and refuse any other prey.

I do not know whether a variety helped. It did not hurt.

Nix on the cats and dogs. There are people out there who get more upset about feeding off Fido than they would about a child. It is REALLY bad public relations.

Paul Hollander

I think sticking to one animal should be fine. However, I dont think varying their diet would be that bad of a thing either.

On account of the dog/cat issue, more people will get in a hissy fit over a dog/cat than they would over a rat/rabbit. Personally, I dont see the difference, although I would readily throw cats to snakes than dogs. DOG'S HAVE A MUCH BETTER PURPOSE!!! Actually, I can already see some heat coming now, here in Ohio we had some moron that had his 3' alligator in a dog cage and was trying to feed it a stray kitten. The really stupid part was that he decided to do it in his front yard thus getting reported by his neighbors.

Due to this, PETA got involved in this whole ordeal and requested that this individual not be able to keep animals for the rest of his life, which can be done according to Ohio Law. It appears that it will happen for that particular individual.

So I feel that I can already see a state-wide ban on exotics coming up, compliments of PETA.

Best Wishes,

Chris

Man Tries To Feed Cat To Gator

10TV Eyewitness News reporter Angela An reported this story

UPDATE

Ally, the kitten who a man allegedly tried to feed to an alligator, has been adopted into a new, safe home.

Capital Area Humane officers charged Shawn Wright with cruelty to animals, after neighbors say they saw him try to feed Ally to an alligator inside a cage.

He then threw the kitten off the front porch, in front of officers.

Wright is scheduled to appear in court next week.

The animal rights group PETA is asking prosecutors to ban the suspect from owning animals for life, which is allowed under Ohio law.

No cats or dogs. Nada. Percieved threats to traditional pets make people hit the roof. For example, in the East Bay California, there are quite a few people millitant about rabbits. Despite the fact that they are a common food item for people in other parts of this country. Feeding fuzzy widdle traditional pets to our serpents of Satan is the #1 way to get millitants and extremists (not to mention every ordinary Joe and Jane in existence) breathing down our necks and calling for our blood if their Fluffy goes missing (even if Fluffy's just out for the afternoon courting Fuzzy).
Being even .01% serious about this issue is enough to get us in hot water and with all due respect to free speech and idea flow, this issue should have never come up.
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

OK, I had it comin' and I appologise. Strange sense of humor I guess. Truth is I don't think I could feed cats OR dogs to a snake.

Quig

If the cat or dog was on its way to be uthenized...whats the difference? I have actually called the local animal control and ask them if it would be legal or not just to help settle a debate and the only reason it would not be legal is it would be considered animal cruelty because it would be killed...i asked them why its not considered animal cruelty when they uthenize a cat or dog since it still ends up dieing....they couldnt seem to answer that one.
It will never happen so i am sure nobody has to worry about there cats or dogs...but people need to keep there freaking cats inside...
I heard of one state that actually allowed shooting of stray cats cause the problem had gotten so big....not sure if it was true or not.
I'm sticking with rabbits myself.

Well, hypothetically, assuming the animal was absolutely certain to be euthanized anyway, then it would make no difference to that particular animal if it was humanely euthanized and thrown away, or humanely euthanized and fed to a snake.
The difference is, in how people see it. 20 million (or some horrifically similar number) dogs and cats are killed because of overpopulation. Many of them are perfectly lovely animals that would make wonderful family pets. But twenty million is a safely abstract number. Just a simple little number...
But the (hypothetical) consumption of one of those 20 million dogs or cat corpses by a snake is far more disturbing since it sticks out in peoples minds and drives the idea of death itself home.
In summary, I stick to f/t mice and canned cows for my respective pets, people really gotta spay and neuter (feral cats are eating all the CA quail ), and I better bow out of this topic before I dig myself into a ditch.
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

Okay, I understand the statements made and agree. Therefore fluffy and fuzzy will be safe.

I'm curious about poultry, pigs and guinea pigs though. My neighbor raises ducks and chickens. I have also experienced that snakes' stools do get a little runny after eating fowl. But I'm just talking about supplementing, not switching. I've fed my male chicken thighs, and game hens from the supermarket and he devoured them when he wouldn't eat rats. Is there a risk of salmonella? Even in locally raised chickens and ducks?

And what about different nutritional values? I would imagine that pigs would be the best calcium and protein because their bones and muscles might be bigger than rabbits. And poultry would fatten up a female better for an upcoming breeding season.

Being opportunistic feeders, I'm sure burms eat a plethera of prey items in the wild. What are your thoughts and experiences?

Terry

I have heard that if you are going to feed out chickens or other birds you need to cut out the beek and claws first because they can be harmful to the snake once they have eaten it. Don't know if it is true but it seems to make sense.

As for the cats, I saw a story recently about PETA members dumping a bunch of euthenized cats in dumpsters... feeding out to snakes would be a much better way to dispose of them IMHO.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

I agree. In my opinion, putting a variety of prey in a Burms diet is a good idea. While of course we cant directly compare humans to pythons, we would rather not eat the same meal day in and day out. I think a variety is beneficial to a Burm in more ways than one. Plus nutrition content they get in one animal may not be available in the other.

>>Okay, I understand the statements made and agree. Therefore fluffy and fuzzy will be safe.
>>
>>I'm curious about poultry, pigs and guinea pigs though. My neighbor raises ducks and chickens. I have also experienced that snakes' stools do get a little runny after eating fowl. But I'm just talking about supplementing, not switching. I've fed my male chicken thighs, and game hens from the supermarket and he devoured them when he wouldn't eat rats. Is there a risk of salmonella? Even in locally raised chickens and ducks?
>>
>>And what about different nutritional values? I would imagine that pigs would be the best calcium and protein because their bones and muscles might be bigger than rabbits. And poultry would fatten up a female better for an upcoming breeding season.
>>
>>Being opportunistic feeders, I'm sure burms eat a plethera of prey items in the wild. What are your thoughts and experiences?
>>
>>Terry