'reptiles snakes'

fred (64.76.36.19) -

I just got a snake for my birthday so i wanted to know what exactly do i feed him.

Comment #1 endora (24.45.126.104) -

Depends on the type of snake. If its small its going to eat little babie mice you can get from the pet store. As it gets older it will eat larger mice. I cant remember what they call the baby mice either.

Comment #2 snakelover from ask me (Contact Member) -

Baby mice are called pinkies and yes it depends on what you have. Not all snakes eat mice. Certain types will eat fish and grasshoppers. You can raise your own mice or buy from the pet store live. If you don't want to feed a live mouse I would suggest getting frozen mice and/or pinkies.

Comment #3 wildcard from the swamp (Contact Member) -

Pythons and Boas prefer live animals to eat, which ones depends on the size of the snake. I started my Burmese on grasshoppers and crickets which is what most of them eat when they are very little. Breeders recommend that you also shake a protein powder on the grasshoppers before you throw them in the cage. Most actually sell their preferred brand. I personally recommend that you make sure the cage can be sealed cause the dang things are really annoying when they get loose in the house...lol

After that you go to pinky mice and then to weaners and on up to adults and then rats, same thing. Then to rabbits - by that time I was raising rabbits, my breeders were pets and the babies were snake food. From there I went to chickens and again I raised them. So she ate laying hens. The egg food made them healthier for her and also made sure we always had a supply of eggs. I usually got 60 a year at a young age and we ate the eggse and she ate a hen a week. If you go this route - don't get a rooster. They aren't necessary to get eggs and they are a real pain in the tail...lol

Another word of advice from a long time breeder. Make sure that your snake eats the animal head first. In the wild the prey does not go into rigor, but in captivity they do for some reason and this happens inside the snake, so you want them head first legs back or the claws could cause internal damage before they are fully digested. I traind mine from as soon as she could eat a pinky, that way I could handle her food while she was eating. She eventually learned that if I tugged it out of her mouth I always gave it back and the sooner they learn the better. Chickens are hard for them to get started on and often require help because they go so limp once they are dead that the snake has a hard time til they get used to it. If you haven't trained the snake to let you help it then you are going to be wearing a bandaids a lot.

And one more lil trick, when you clean the cage, take the soiled bedding (I always used sawdust or sand) and bury it in a shallow trench around the foundation of the house. Not real deep, couple inches down is all you need. It's a natural rodent repellant - the critters can smell their enemy and they won't come near the house.

Comment #4 QTPie from the rainforest (Contact Member) -

Oh Hey! Now that's a cool trick. We have a real rodent problem here but my neighbor has a boa and he's always bagging the stuff and tossing it in the trash. Gonna have to go talk to him and let him know. Maybe he'll give me half if I help him clean the cage and I can get rid of the mice that keep crawling up the water lines and into my cabinets. I have dogs so I can't have any poisons around or they might eat it or the sick rodent. Wonder if it would scare off the moles too, them little buggers are tunneling the heck out of my garden and eating all my bulbs. I had mole stakes out, but they seem to have gotten used to the sound because those don't work anymore.

Comment #5 snakelover from ask me (Contact Member) -

None of mine are big enough for rabbits. I am in the process is acquiring an albino burmese within the next month or so. I can't wait it is already 6ft and is fairly docile.

Comment #6 Goldie from Wisconsin (Contact Member) -

I just couldn't imagine having a pet that you need to feed it mice. Are they frozen or do you need to feed them live mice?

Comment #7 jacob (202.7.176.133) -

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Comment #8 JB from Hell (Contact Member) -

lol u guys make me laugh half ur info is um not good if any one alows there pet to bite something and they take it back chances r they break some teeth wen u pull it out i dont recomend this u can cause feeding probs.....and further more u dont train a snake its all instinct they r born to eat there rodents head first occasionally they eatem how they get em but thats the way it is ...some of u people make me laugh giveing false info thinking u can train ur python or boa ...lol prove it wen ur burm takes u by the face then tell me he is trained....ps if u can train em im gonna train mine not to bite wen annoyed thank u and have a great day.....lmao

Comment #9 kayla (75.185.91.188) -

ok my ball python hasnt eat for four months now.. it lets mice walk all over it.. they said it was in hybernation but not for 4 months.. what should i do.. or what does it have? i dont want to take it to a vet cause it lots of money i dont have right now while in school! but my snake is 3 foot and a 1in. long help me please i dont want it to die

Thanks kayla!

Comment #10 Morgan Sadler (71.70.134.245) -

Hey I just got an ammel rat snake, and I don`t know what to feed it besides mice!!! Can any one help me!!!

Comment #11 Clothilde (66.44.151.92) -

YOU DISGUSTING PEOPLE snakes should not be in captivity Why don, t you spend your time and energy and money on something meaningful like helping the poverty situation The sick the homeless

Comment #12 esther (205.188.116.141) -

Will rat snakes eat small iguanas

Comment #13 shantel430430 (65.169.200.55) -

snakes are being freed from by pet owners so they won't be killed for use of shoes clothes and etc.

Comment #14 bob (80.231.198.76) -

how do they eat the prey?

Comment #15 mitch (195.93.21.67) -

can baby king pythons eat baby chicks because he hasnt eaten anything in 2 montyhs an he is only 4 !! wb plz x

Comment #16 Erica from Mississippi (Contact Member) -

Hey, i just signed up for this site today. but anyways.. i have 2 redtail boas. one is a columbian and one is a preu redtail..

My peru redtail will eat 2-3 times a week.. Its about 1.5 feet long. and we just started feeding them live mice. We were feeding them pinkies. Now Sunday we got 4 mice to stock up for two weeks. Well they usually dont eat til wednesday but my peru ate one sunday then monday he ate another one. and he is normally about the size of a nickel now he is about the size of a silver dollar ( round ) it looks like he is gonna strike if you touch his stomach.. Is this normal? what sound i do?

Comment #17 Laura (1) from Abbotsford B.C. Canada (Contact Member) -

We have had our boa since aug's 2007 he hasent aten anything that we know of since we got him we have tryed everything the pet store told us to do from spearaten the snakes cause we have 2 the other one eats fine. We have tryed frezzen the mice getting him 2 different sized mice to putting him close to the heater when he eats and nothing is working is their anything else i can try please help......

Comment #18 Carmen (67.171.114.94) -

Question,

I am currently switching over to rabbits since my burmese has out grown the rats; however, he is not used to the smell/ taste of rabbits so the first time I had to force feed him because he wouldn't take anything else. I've done the rubbing of the rat onto the rabbit. Putting the guts on the rabbit. Leaving the snake with it etc. etc. but he still doesn't seem interested. Any other suggestions?

Comment #19 keri (68.107.53.132) -

i need advice..i am pet sitting a 7 ft columbian red tailed boa and i have to feed her rabbits. i just fed her right now, she killed the rabbit and everything..but now shes not eating it. its been like 2 or 3 hours..does it usually take this long or maybe its too big. she keeps trying to fit it in her mouth but then throws it up and i hear the rabbits bones breaking. is that normal?? when is she going to eat it???!

thank you.

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