Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

My adult male scarlet snake has been feeding well on whipped chicken eggs (including the shell) for quite some time now. However, as many of us scarlet keepers are beginning to realize, these snakes need the ocassional suplement in captivity. After much patience and experimentation, I was able to coax my scarlet into taking the recipe below, which I made up. Its nutritional value must be HUGE, so please feed sparingly. After eating a meal like this, the snake will probably not have to eat for quite awhile.

Ingredients:

1 small whipped chicken egg (including shell)

2-3 very small frozen/ thawed pinky mice

1 COMPLETE small shed snake skin (brown snake skin, green snake skin etc.)

Procedure:

Begin by cracking the whole egg, and whiping it up very well. The yolk, water and shell shoul all be mixed into a paste. Set aside. This is not only nutritious, but it is the KEY to getting the snake to accept the prey item. Without the egg, the whole procedure will not work. Next, take the complete snake skin, and flatten it out. After that, one at a time, take each pinky, and, using some feeding tongs, slide them down the mouth opening ofthe shed snake skin, into the area where the stomach would normally be. Now soak the mouse-filled skin in the egg for 15-20 minutes, and then offer to the snake. You will get a feeding response that you have never seen in a scarlet snake before.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
0.0.1 Eastern ribbon snake
1.1 red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
0.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
1.2 fire salamanders
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
0.1 Southern ringneck snakes
1.0 Florida scarletsnake
0.0.1 Florida brown snake
0.0.1 Northern brown snake
0.0.1 Smooth earth snake
0.0.2 Western worm snakes
"And tons of garters and ribbons are being born in the reptile room this very minute..."

Great idea, however we should keep in mind that a hungry and fit scarlet snake may eat anything scented with egg. Have you tried the shed without egg scenting? Well if it was not soaked in egg and ate it, then I would be very surprised. I tried live snakes to no avail, however I watched one of my scarlet snakes try to break open a chicken egg with its nose. It kept pressing the egg and it would not crack. And believe me, if it was a snake egg, it would have broken open as a chicken egg is twice as hard. It then tried to slice the chicken egg with the side of its mouth. The other one I have does not wish to take a whole pink yet, so I just get one of those small crock bowls and put half an egg shell in there, add the mixed egg, and then hold a defrosted pink over the half egg shell and cut it up into very small pieces. The scarlet snake eats it all down and even gives a yawn or two afterward. I had one that wiggled its body as if it was trying to vomit back some egg shell but none was eaten? It behaved just like an egg-eating snake that regurges the shell after it eats a whole egg. I will try to get pics of mine eating egg, but it is nervous and every time I open the lid for a photo it goes into the mulch. Your method sounds interesting but may be a bit messy. At least it sounds like mulch could adhere to the shed and perhaps be accidently ingested and cause a blockage. And there is also the possibility of transmitting bacteria and/or parasite to your scarlet snake via the snake skin? Perhaps freeze it for a while to elimate that potential problem. Don't get me wrong, your idea sounds great however it may risk the snakes health or choke on the shed skin? I sexed my scarlets and figured out that I now have a pair of scarlet snakes. I put them together and the male was very interested and chased the female until she was going nuts. He kept biting her hard to stimulate her to mate him. I could not take the noise and stress she was having, so I separated her. I think she already dropped a clutch this year before I got her, so I will just keep them separated and introduce her next winter as they breed in Feb/March down here in South Florida. The male is frustrated and off-feed and still seeking the female the last month. I am going to give it a rubber snake and let it have fun and get over this attitude. I don't want to stress the female now. Next year when she is big and fat from pinks, I will take the chance, and she perhaps will be interested in breeding. I read an article where some guy hatched a clutch and he fed the babies egg and they did well for him.

Hey,

Thanks for the helpful info. I did indeed freeze the shed snake skin for quite awhile before use. The only reason that I used the skin was to have something to connect the pinkies with, like a "fuzzy train"' and I did not want to use thread.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
0.0.1 Eastern ribbon snake
1.1 red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
0.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
1.2 fire salamanders
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
0.1 Southern ringneck snakes
1.0 Florida scarletsnake
0.0.1 Florida brown snake
0.0.1 Northern brown snake
0.0.1 Smooth earth snake
0.0.2 Western worm snakes
"And tons of garters and ribbons are being born in the reptile room this very minute..."