Would you feed a ribbon snake to a king snake?

So I have Oreo my king snake. I know they do eat other snakes in the wild. There is a breeder selling ribbon snakes for $5 each. Captive breed. Is it a good idea or just silly?

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

So I have Oreo my king snake. I know they do eat other snakes in the wild. There is a breeder selling ribbon snakes for $5 each. Captive breed. Is it a good idea or just silly?

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Please don't ... I have enough trouble coping with the idea of snakes being fed live mice and rats ..

Just feed yours rodents..


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Please don't ... I have enough trouble coping with the idea of snakes being fed live mice and rats ..

Just feed yours rodents..


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LOL.... was just curious what others would do. Not sure I could either.

Makes sense to me if you’re culling snakes and you’re trying not to waste them. But you can feed your king for cheaper than $5. I’m not seeing a benefit.


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Originally Posted by BPGator

Makes sense to me if you’re culling snakes and you’re trying not to waste them. But you can feed your king for cheaper than $5. I’m not seeing a benefit.


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^^^ agree 100% ^^^

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Originally Posted by BPGator

Makes sense to me if you’re culling snakes and you’re trying not to waste them. But you can feed your king for cheaper than $5. I’m not seeing a benefit.


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Very true.

I like snakes, ANY snakes, better than mice, so you'd never find me doing that. I'm not saying I hate mice either, but they're plentiful & not all that smart.

As already mentioned, there's no reason a king snake has to eat other snakes, just because they can & do in the wild. Actually, you risk more parasites &
pathogens being shared with YOUR pet from feeding any other herps...so between paying more for the 'feeders' & then trying to clean up whatever your
king snake catches from them, no, I'm not seeing it...

I know that zoos feed ophiophagus serpents (like some fussy cobras) on other culled snakes & I accept that, but I'm still awfully glad that's not my job.

Snakes in the $5-10 range usually end up as feeder snakes for eastern indigoes and cobras. I don't see the point for a king snake when a mouse is $1.25 though.

I wouldn't feed any live snake to one of our snakes, a f/t culled maybe but wouldn't go out of my way to do it (but I don't like or want to feed any live prey in general regardless).

I don't care, I see no reason not to as long as you got money to burn....almost as bad as 6 dollar live rats I gotta feed my pastel bp. Lol

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Please don't ... I have enough trouble coping with the idea of snakes being fed live mice and rats ..

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Guess you don't want to know what I do with balls that need to be culled.......... I love my MBKs :gj:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Guess you don't want to know what I do with balls that need to be culled.......... I love my MBKs :gj:

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I think there is a world of difference between what you do verses going out to purchase a fully functional animal to feed off, I think it's wonderful you don't just throw the babe in the trash but instead make use of a life form that never got to be:gj:

A question for all the people that have made the argument of "snakes eat rodents in captivity so that is all you should feed them."

Do you honestly feel that this is the best thing to do for species that have evolved to eat non-rodent? Especially with all of the very experienced breeders that are reporting high rates of things like obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic failure, poor clutching, generally shorter life-spans, etc., in species like this when fed on exclusively rodent diets?

If you really, truly believe in doing what is best for your animal then would it not be best to feed them what most closely resembles their evolved diet, be that something simple like supplementing with the occasional non-rodent item to something more complicated like going with an entirely non-rodent diet?

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Originally Posted by asplundii

A question for all the people that have made the argument of "snakes eat rodents in captivity so that is all you should feed them."

Do you honestly feel that this is the best thing to do for species that have evolved to eat non-rodent? Especially with all of the very experienced breeders that are reporting high rates of things like obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic failure, poor clutching, generally shorter life-spans, etc., in species like this when fed on exclusively rodent diets?

If you really, truly believe in doing what is best for your animal then would it not be best to feed them what most closely resembles their evolved diet, be that something simple like supplementing with the occasional non-rodent item to something more complicated like going with an entirely non-rodent diet?

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I do feed my retic a variety of prey items. She is not a picky eater for sure.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

I do feed my retic a variety of prey items. She is not a picky eater for sure.

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My retics, burm, anaconda, and boas also get a variety because I can get culled fowl, rabbits, and piglets locally from small farmers who otherwise produce them as organic and/or free-range human food. They are happy to have a source for their still/culls instead of having to just throw them on the muck heap.

I know some who feed mice / rats / gerbils and all manner of birds .. it's not that uncommon


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I have fewer snakes now (only 16) but the years when I had many more & bred rats, mice, hamsters & gerbils, most of my snakes ate a variety. One day there
was a pair of pigeons that put* a nest of babies right on the ground under a tree in my yard...there was no way my 4 dogs weren't going to find & destroy them,
and I didn't think moving them was a great option, so yes, all the chicks were feeders, much to the dismay of the silly parent birds. I do agree that more variety
is a good idea, especially leaner-type of prey, but some snakes are more apt to accept variety than others. BPs not so much, but rat snakes & pituophis (bull, pine, gopher snakes) and many others (kings, rattlesnakes, etc) are happy campers when you mix it up. BPs do tend to like hamsters & gerbils, but they can be
stubborn about changing back & forth, so be careful what you try.

(*the nest may have fallen out of the tree, but when I saw it, it didn't appear that way...so maybe they put it back together? Weird...and doomed.)

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Originally Posted by asplundii

A question for all the people that have made the argument of "snakes eat rodents in captivity so that is all you should feed them."

Do you honestly feel that this is the best thing to do for species that have evolved to eat non-rodent? Especially with all of the very experienced breeders that are reporting high rates of things like obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic failure, poor clutching, generally shorter life-spans, etc., in species like this when fed on exclusively rodent diets?

If you really, truly believe in doing what is best for your animal then would it not be best to feed them what most closely resembles their evolved diet, be that something simple like supplementing with the occasional non-rodent item to something more complicated like going with an entirely non-rodent diet?

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That's a great point: I don't think it's just that we're feeding captive snakes the same thing either, but that they are DOMESTIC rodents, which have more fat than
their wild counterparts because they eat "better" (or at least more grain, which fattens them up, not the variety of insects & plants they'd consume in the wild) and
also because they have a "cushy" life.

Part of the problem is with us, the keepers: we love these creatures & naturally want MORE, but that works against us doing the best practices. It's not just the rodents
that sit around too much...so do the snakes. Their cages cannot begin to duplicate the activity they'd have in the wild. And then either we buy or breed domestic rodents
to feed them, and they too are fairly inactive. Rodents love to run in wheels, but do you know any breeders that set up cages for them that allow that? I breed my own &
I can answer that for you: no! There's a fairly good reason for that too...running in a wheel becomes sort of an addiction...and I've seen nursing mom-rodents try to get
in a wheel with nursing babies tumbling off them...they are oblivious to the danger to their babies, so while they may "run themselves lean", it's very counter-productive.
At least I do supplement my rodent's diet with things like kale, mealworms, bits of fruit/veggies & seeds for better nutrition...it's not just the commercial rodent chow.

Snakes in the wild get a bit more natural sunlight too & while I cannot prove it, I'm willing to bet that's a positive influence on their immune system & metabolism. Like us!

Eating varied wild prey also brings a wider variety of trace nutrients to snakes, and might even enhance their immune system because they'd have gradual exposure to
more pathogens (in & on their prey) so that their bodies may then be better able to fight off infections...? Again, I'm speculating.

So...anyone feel brave enough to surprise your BPs with new & exotic w/c prey? ;)