Don's prey items

feeding a black rat anoles isnt gonna kill the snake. i will agree with the fact that a staple diet of anoles is not healthy. but it would take alot of anoles to breed enugh feeders to make them a staple in the diet. but a staple diet of mice with the occasional anole sounds ok. if the snake were to get addicted, that could be a problem. im not sure if that is common or not. that would be something to look into before you fed anoles to your snake.
one of the great parts of the herp community is the diversity of succesful husbandry techniques. just because someone wants to do something a little differently doesnt mean they shouldnt be treated with the same respect as anyone else.

I agree with your point, Mike....but I stand by my opinion that there is absolutely no *good* reason to feed a rodent-eating snake anoles. It certainly won't add anything to the diet....plus it would take several anoles to even make a good meal. And feeding that many prey items could do a number on the gut flora of the snake. Just my .02

ya know, i never even thought of feeding an anole to an adult rat. i will agree, that would be pointless. an anole to a hatchling/juvi would make alittle more sense though. you would definatly have to go out of your way to do it.

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you would definatly have to go out of your way to do it.

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Yeah, and its not worth it if you ask me.

not to you or me, but i guess some people like to.

btw, Xtreme, welcome to the site. thats a nice collection. i wish i could keep a burm in my house.

There are lots of things that people like to do that I don't agree with......I suppose all I can do is lead them to the water, I can't make them drink it.

Thanks Mike!

And as of all you Anole lovers out there. Who ever said I was going to feed them through adulthood? I could easily switch over(not a fact). But I'm sure I could do it if I feed Anoles and PInkies. YOu guys are simply assuming that I'm going to feed strictly Anoles? Please dont assumee....

And David I dont know what happened but it seems like you have a hint of frustration when it comes to me?

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Originally Posted by Wizill

would you feed your dog cats?


though small lizards may be a natural prey item for ratsnakes, I think feeding one that will willingly take rodents, which are higher in nutrition and easier to obtain (most ratsnakes will eat frozen), is extremely uncalled for. this is a herp loving site, in fact our pres keeps anoles as pets, and loves them all. if you want to kill another herp for no reason, please do me a favor and don't go public with it. i enjoyed this thread, you have beautiful animals... but find another forum for that talk if you don't mind.

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No, and I wouldn't feed my cat dog either, nor would I feed my kids' pet rats to my snakes. It's all part of the whole cycle of life thing that's part of loving and feeding predators. If I have a snake whose most optimal food source is lizards, then that is what I will feed him, because that is good husbandry practice. If he's an opportunistic feeder and rodents are actually better nutritionally, then I will feed him rodents. I don't feed rodents to my ball pythons because I don't like rodents. I had my first mouse before I had my first snake, and while mice are stinky, rats are very smart and generally clean and make very good pets.

So why should I not consider anoles as a potentially valid food item just because John keeps them or you're fond of them when people talking about whacking rats all the time around here and I have two pet rats in my house? It's not about being cruel to the anoles, you, or John, it's about feeding appropriately. I want to feed my snakes what's best for them, not what's convenient for me or what I like to see dead. If that were the case, I'd be feeding my snakes roaches and camel crickets.

and feeding anoles is "appropriate" marla?