"All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
I hope I got this in the correct forums.
Anyway, this is what I am hearing. She is telling me she has "taken care of reptiles for years and worked with the Chicago Herpetological Society for even longer" and that she can "cite hundreds of sources saying all captive snakes must be fed an all-rat diet unless they are in a zoo or breeding program. If you don't, you must supplement them and provide UVB lighting."
I have never heard of any of this, except for the supplementing.
Greens snakes are fed insects and things is captivity. Asian vine snakes are fed house geckos. And there are others that are fed things that are not rats or even mice, so...
Just thought it would just be a interesting conversation.
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
I think the woman is crazy. Every single species of snake is different. Different habitats, different needs, and different husbandry. As far as bp's go, they are nocturnal. I see no need for providing them with UV when they don't get it in the wild.
And, are they on an all rat diet in the wild? I'm pretty sure if there are negative consequences to not supplementing with bp's we would have noticed. I can't speak for other species, but I'm pretty comfortable with what I'm doing for my balls.
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Heh,
I strongly suspect she has to lower her trousers to be heard clearly. :rolleyes:
dr del
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dr del
Heh,
I strongly suspect she has to lower her trousers to be heard clearly. :rolleyes:
dr del
Ohhhh, now I get it. He didn't say she was a Scot.
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Oh God,
Quote:
Originally Posted by
wilomn
Ohhhh, now I get it. He didn't say she was a Scot.
Is she?
**locks door and hides under the table**
There's a lot to be said for Scots women but very little of it a wise man would say to one. :ninja:
dr del
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
She sounds like she is suffering from idealism to the third degree. I wonder how she proposes to keep Rough green snakes, or Acrochordidae :confused::confused:
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Not all snakes, but i do agree boas and like balls should be :D
I may be wrong here but just going off of what iv noticed, it seems rats are more nutritional. I had a boa that i fed just stickily mice for maybe the first 6-8 months? He didnt grow very much... Soon as i switched him to rats this thing is growing like a weed.
So i will say to me it seems like rats are "better" than mice, but thats just because iv noticed a few snakes hit "growth spurts" after the switch from using all mice to all rats.
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BuckeyBalls
I may be wrong here but just going off of what iv noticed, it seems rats are more nutritional.
While the nutritional value is indeed different there is absolutely no study that proves that feeding rats is better, no studies have been made on snake nutritional requirements either.
Gram per gram of prey it's all the same the main difference is whether you want to feed 1 prey or several preys each week as the animal grows.
Obviously the ability to feed one prey instead of several is a great reason to switch to rat however it is not mandatory to do so.
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Deborah
While the nutritional value is indeed different there is absolutely no study that proves that feeding rats is better, no studies have been made on snake nutritional requirements either.
Gram per gram of prey it's all the same the main difference is whether you want to feed 1 prey or several preys each week as the animal grows.
Obviously the ability to feed one prey instead of several is a great reason to switch to rat however it is not mandatory to do so.
Thats why I said just what it seems like to me. According to rodent pro the nutritional values seem to be the same. Just stating iv had a boa and ball that hit "growth spurts" soon as i switched to rats. and many other people have said they noticed "rapid" growth when switching to rats from mice. No study here just saying in 2 months my boa grew 2x the amount he did in 6-8 months on mice :rofl:
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
what about Ophiophagus species such as king cobras and coral snakes. all all rodent diet, let alone all rat is much to high in fat for them. keepers feeding these animals all rats have to be very carefull to aviod overweight specimens and all the health problems that go along with it.
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Can anyone show me how to feed a ring neck snake a rat? Anyone?
Re: "All captive snakes must be converted to rats."
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TomC
Can anyone show me how to feed a ring neck snake a rat? Anyone?
That was a question that was waiting for a more detailed answer, but all that was said was that it was "clinging" to a ridiculous argument. That the Chicago Herpetological Society has "hundreds" of sources stating an all-rat diet for every snake is necessary, and the absolute need for expensive UVB bulbs if you do not. That's all any question or response got, really.
I think everyone that was debating with her gave up since they have all been quiet for a couple days
