Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got a question for you all. I don't have a dry yet, but have been reading this board for all the info prior to purchase. I see where people scent mice, etc. with fish. If you have a good supply of fish, could you feed them fish exclusively? This might sound like a stupid question, but just wondered. I live on a lake and would have a great supply of fish...bluegill, catfish,etc. Just wondered if anyone fed them things besides rodents. I have also read people feed em chicken, etc. Thanks, John

John, I am in a similar situation. My neonate Drys really like fish, and I still have to put fish scent on washed hopper mice to feed a couple of them. Drys have fast metabolism, and defecate a lot, leaving a particularly odoriferous mass, and this tendency seems even worse with lots of fish. Also, fish should be frozen as they commonly harbor parasites, as do amphibians. Freezing fish may effect nutritional value, I forget but something to do with "thiaminase" or biochemical change that is not desirable as I recall? I read that somewhere regarding fish fed to turtles. So, fish certainly will support life but makes for even smellier and messier cages. Best to vary the diet and rodents work well for most. I am interested in your specific question as well...Others?

john, i would have to agree w/ victor & add that out of necessity, neonate/juvenile drys are more of fishers than are adults. however, as they grow & more, varied prey items become available & 'conquerable' to them, they tend to switch to these for the most part. it's ok to feed them fish ocassionally but not as a steady diet per say, they'll require more calories than that. hope this helps......

I would strongly caution against a fish-only diet for these reasons:
1) You always want to try to replicate an animal's natural diet and a fish-only diet is not natural for indigos; in fact, it probably represents a very small portion of their diet. These are generalist predators and they are far more likely to consumer higher proportions of rodents than fish in their natural element. Fish can represent a small part of an overall balanced diet (I feed primarily mice and rats and supplement with quail and very young rabbits).
2) ODOR: you will find that the feces will be very runny and have a horrific odor...that's enough to not feed a fish only diet

Hope this helps,
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>Got a question for you all. I don't have a dry yet, but have been reading this board for all the info prior to purchase. I see where people scent mice, etc. with fish. If you have a good supply of fish, could you feed them fish exclusively? This might sound like a stupid question, but just wondered. I live on a lake and would have a great supply of fish...bluegill, catfish,etc. Just wondered if anyone fed them things besides rodents. I have also read people feed em chicken, etc. Thanks, John
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL