Baby Sonoran Whips do seem to prefer lizards. They are hardly alone in this--many baby snakes are more readily drawn to lizards than to mice. My Sonoran Whip female ate some small fuzzies when she first came home, but it turned out she did it just to bust my chops. Soon, she refused anything but lizards, but at least she ate Brown Anoles. I fed her as much as she would take for a summer, then hibernated her. When she came out of hibernation I offered her a small fuzzy mouse and she accepted it. I decided she had seen her last lizard, and I'm very grateful that she's eaten steadily on small fuzzies all season so far. I see no indication that she will try to switch back.

As young racers and whipsnakes grow, they gain strength and confidence, and gradually take larger prey. I hope in time to get my Sonoran Whip to eat fresh-killed mice off forceps, or left at the edge of her hide bark. That may be some time off, but for now I'm satisfied to have her eat fuzzies a few times a week.

A friend of mine has a younger Sonoran Whip which still eats only anoles. These are such elegant, clever snakes, I think they're worth the effort but they are definitely not boa constrictors. Boas are such great feeders, I have to restrict their food intake to avoid letting them become too heavy. I doubt I'll have that problem with the Sonoran Whip.

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