Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Unfortunately when I got this little girl, the owner never said anything about it not wanting mice. Usually, I would be mad. But considering I already have snake eaters, it's no big deal to me... And I've converted snake eating cali kings over to mice before.

But yeah. This little blizzard cali king won't touch unscented mice. I had her eat 1 pinky that was rubbed in the guts of a corn snake I had in the freezer... But she won't go after mice scented with minimal rubbing and I don't feel like scenting mice for her so I'll just throw her a snake. She ate a 4" brown snake a month ago... And lately she'll just grab a snake and play around with it and not eat it. Hopefully she'll out of hibernation hungry.

Here is a pic took last night of her playing around with a brown snake a couple inches smaller than her.

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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake
www.captivebredforum.com

How long do you wait for it to digest? With cal's that refuse mice, I put them on feeder fish. High in protein and super cheap. Oh yeah, is this snake in the classifieds.

I've never heard of using fish for kings. Didn't know they ate fish.

Do they take them voluntarily or force fed?

What have your results been?

I'd be concerned about parasites.

The ones that take them voluntarily are the only ones that get them. I don't force feed any of them. The ones that take them, gain more weight and are overall bigger. I get the fish free from a buddy that breeds and raises them. He knows his stuff so I'm not concerned about parasites.

Thanks for the response.

Fascinating info.

Do other kings take fish, or is that unique to cals?

I no longer keep herps (catch and release only). But I suffered my share of picky eaters in the past. Wish I had known this was an option.

Knowing the source and health of the fish makes this a great option.

I actually have no idea if other kings with take it. I have only worked with cali's (out of lampro's). Some other breeders have had negative comments about feeding fish but I have had no (bad) side effects yet. So until that happends, if it ever does, I will continue to do so. The fish are easily and more quickly digested too. So you can feed them more often than mice.

"Some other breeders have had negative comments about feeding fish"

I can understand an initial negative reaction. Heck, my gut reaction was utter shock then worry about parasites. However, once you explain it, I see only positives.

1) the snakes take them voluntarily, so it must be natural.
2) the fish (from your reputable breeder friend) are parasite free.
3) no digestive problems noted.
4) snakes grow and thrive.
5) fish are cheap and readily available.

The only downside I can see is that others trying this may not exercise your caution in making sure the fish are healthy. However, the same can be said of any prey item.

I don't know how much of cali kings eating fish is true... But I can get snakes easier than I can get fish. And I don't like feeding fish to any snakes.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake
www.captivebredforum.com

I’m in south Florida, so kingsnakes mean Florida king to me. I can tell you our kings will gobble fish, eels, snakes, frogs, turtle eggs, lizards, chicken gizzards- you name it. There are times when they will gorge themselves on fish just like moccasins do when the opportunity presents. As far as parasites, people do not eat wild rodents but regularly eat fish. I bet there’s less in fish. We can get frozen finger mullet at any bait shop that are cheap and shaped just right for easy snake “sausages”. In captivity the negative is always the smelly messy clean up from the feces, but I would bet they are a very good food source for any snake that will take them.

I'm not sure about the protein counts in mice, but fish are basically all protein too. They are very healthy for gravid or pre-breeding females.

I have never heard of giving fish to king snakes either.

I know they are a natural part of the diets of garter and corn snakes.

How do you feed king snakes fish?
Put them in the water bowl?

I would love to hear more on this.

AR
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Love snakes, the morph the merrier.

1.0 normal ball python Nicodemus
0.2 albino banana kings Dora and Queen
1.0 lavender albino king Ace
and more to come...

I hold the fish by the tail, but I use my pointer finger to stabilize it, otherwise it will wobble and the snake will miss.
Actually, I thought about making a huge naturalistic tank with a mini-pond in it. Don't quote me, but I think the waste from the fish is toxic to the snake and I have to put chemicals in the water for the fish to stay alive. It would look pretty sweet though.

i am just curious i sell fish for a living and i know that live barers such as mollies swordtails and platies tend to have a higher protein content than egg layers such as the average comet. just curious

Adam
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3.5 THAYERI
1.2 SPLENDIDA (1.0 ALBINO/ 0.2 HYPO)
1.3 ALTERNA
1.1 CAL KING (1.0 ALB.LAVENDER/0.1 BLIZZARD)
0.0.1 HOLD BACK RUNT ALBINO CORN
0.1.1 pyxie
0.0.2 horned frogs

I usually feed the goldfish babies, but I have balloon mollies that I breed. I was always thinking about feeding them, since they are basically the shape of a fat pinky.

This is an old thread but I thought i would have a word in it so everyone has a heads up. Feeding goldfish is not good for pet consumption whatsoever. Inside goldfish, contains a growth-inhibiting enzyme called thiaminase(hoped i spelled right), which blocks intake of vitamin B and basically stunts the growth of your pet. You're much better off feeding minnows, even cichlids. Just remember, anything from the Carp family will contain thiaminase.