Kings eating other snakes

I want a kingsnake and I'm getting into breeding ball pythons. One has nothing to do with the other, but would like to know if it would be possible to feed baby BPs to a kingsnake ? As a rat breeder, as feeder and some as pets, culling is important and also necessary to get the best out of the rats and to feed the snakes I have. I am wondering if BPs have a good nutritionnal value (read somewhere that snakes as a whole are kinda good ?) and if it is "worthwhile" for the King. I know this is a pretty awful question to ask in a snake loving community, but I love my snakes, as I do my rats, and I just want the best for them as well as for myself since it would make is "easier" then finding good people to take care of them or keeping them all.

I prefer not to have "this is awful to the snake" responses as it is the same thing if you change snake for rat.

It would have to be a very, very large kingsnake to eat even a newly hatched BP, I would suspect.

Hmmm I've seen a bp breeder feeding his frogs and turtles a bp when it was serverly kinked or dead. But I mean it's your animals so do what you want with them. However idk if a kingsnake could fit a bp like caspian said.
http://youtu.be/iiYcnCNYLKc

I understand the concept here and it totally makes sense to do this with deformed or dead hatchlings but I hope you're not considering it with healthy ones?
There would really be no reason for that as you can just as easily sell them to someone for a pet even if they're just normals. From an economic perspective thats also one heck of an expensive meal for the king snake even if they're just normals.

Just some things I found on a quick search. Kingsnakes eat snakes as proven below. The two snakes would have to be in the right size range to work but it is possible.

http://picture.gj18.com/Thumbnails/2...Sale-11399.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdCozo_Ub_Q

This is a thread we had a while back that may be interesting too.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...uot-on-YouTube

Thanks guys!

How did you find that last link KMG!? I've been looking all evening and only got general info on kings!

It would be Piedpipper, but money is not the question. Giving a snake to the king wouldn't cost more or less then a rat when I did not buy it. Though I would also have to consider the time off the king would need between each feeding which I suppose would be longer then rats. I would also be almost impossible to have enough snakes to feed it. Would have to make sure it won't go on eating strike because of that one or two times it ate a bp. It's pretty much on theory and hypothesis. I will get a king soon and it'll be a few years before it is big enough to even think of trying. I might forget about it until then, bp babies are way too cute!

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Originally Posted by piedpipper

I understand the concept here and it totally makes sense to do this with deformed or dead hatchlings but I hope you're not considering it with healthy ones?
There would really be no reason for that as you can just as easily sell them to someone for a pet even if they're just normals. From an economic perspective thats also one heck of an expensive meal for the king snake even if they're just normals.

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Yep . That's my view as well .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by piedpipper

I understand the concept here and it totally makes sense to do this with deformed or dead hatchlings but I hope you're not considering it with healthy ones?
There would really be no reason for that as you can just as easily sell them to someone for a pet even if they're just normals. From an economic perspective thats also one heck of an expensive meal for the king snake even if they're just normals.

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Anything healthy somewhere could be sold as a pet instead of being fed off, does this also mean only deformed or dead rats should be fed off and healthy ones sold as pets?

Some animal are raised as feeder it's that simple, some people use feeder rats, mice, snakes, rabbits, some people eat chickens etc while others see those same animals as pet.

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Agreed with Deborah. I breed rats as both feeders and pets and it would be hypocritical to say I would only feed non-healthy snakes when I feed off healthy animals of another species (rats) all the time.

I can't offer much on the actual nutrition value of bps but good on you for doing your research and opening an interesting topic.

I have several king snakes. They get all of my stillborn and cull neonates. My female MBK gets the ball python culls, but she is a big girl.