Ball Pythoneeding. Will it eat baby chicks?

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

So I know they eat rats and mice. I'm lucky while my ghost isn't picky and will eat live or FT ,mouse or rat. My black pastel at the moment,wants nothing to do with FT,but eats like rats or mice....the aquarium store where I get my feeders from has all types of feeders. Any size mouse or rat..gerbils and hamsters( which I won't feed to my snake,a Hamster that is,there to cute) ...but they do also have baby chicks,I'm wondering would my BP eat a live baby chick? Has anyone done this before?

[satomi325]

Baby chicks are OK to feed. But the problem is, will your snake actually take it?

I know my snakes won't. But there are people out there who do feed chicks to their BPs.

But be aware that chicks make snake poo really runny. And chicks/birds do not have a dense skeletal system. Their bones are hollow, so your snake might not get enough calcium if you make it a staple diet.

Don't offer gerbils or hamsters. You'll never get your ball Python to eat anything else after that. Its not worth getting your snakes stuck on expensive prey.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Trackstrong83]

MAYBE, but I don't think chicks are in a BPs natural diet.
Don't think, not for sure though. I've heard chicks aren't that nutritious either.



Edit: Satomi beat me to it lol

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

Oh I'm happy with rats and so is he...definitley wasn't looking to make chicks a staple in his diet by any means,guess just wanted to see how it would go.. My ghost is a pig and just loves eating . He would eat every day if I offered probably,which I'd never do,obviously.

hamsters are a no go though,they are way to cute and I'd feel real bad,gerbils are nasty looking like rats,so it won't bother me. Plus, I have heard that gerbils and hamsters are like a five star meal and can get hooked on only them and while this spot has gerbils and rats,the selection is slim,very slim. So rats are def cheaper and nutritious...I won't bother with anything else and I don't want his crap to be all messy...but I think he would eat it,no questions.

tnx for the responses

[jxl]

Mine didn't have problems with baby chicks For two feedings I couldn't get any mice or rat so I bought baby chicks instead. On both feeding occasions the chicks were gone in seconds

[carlisleishere]

I've fed chicks to my BP to get him out of a 10 month fast. I didn't notice a major difference in poo, but he was only on chicks for about a month. My vet recommended supplementing with calcium if I was going to feed them long term, as they don't have a lot of calcium.

[jxl]

Huh 10 months diet? Crazy. Yeah I prefer to have him on rats. It seems he grows faster since he's fed with rats. First he was only on mice then rats. Two week chick diet was only temporary till I can stock on rats

[BumbleB]

Are you from New York? Looks like it from your avi just wondering where you get your feeders from if you are from here

[Physician&Snakes]

So I know they eat rats and mice. I'm lucky while my ghost isn't picky and will eat live or FT ,mouse or rat. My black pastel at the moment,wants nothing to do with FT,but eats like rats or mice....the aquarium store where I get my feeders from has all types of feeders. Any size mouse or rat..gerbils and hamsters( which I won't feed to my snake,a Hamster that is,there to cute) ...but they do also have baby chicks,I'm wondering would my BP eat a live baby chick? Has anyone done this before?

Uhm...I know of several carpet python keepers who feed their specimens mainly chicks with the occasional rat. A believe a friend of mine does a rat every 5 chicks. Personally the only species in my collection that I have that eat chicks/quail as a staple are my scrubs however, I throw in a rat every once in awhile just to make sure they are getting enough calcium. Ball pythons are terrestrial so I doubt their bodies are perfect for it but I also have to think that they are carnivores and we all know it's not impossible for a wild ball to sneak into a domesticated chicken pen somewhere in Uganda.

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

Mine didn't have problems with baby chicks For two feedings I couldn't get any mice or rat so I bought baby chicks instead. On both feeding occasions the chicks were gone in seconds

awesome news,I gotta give it a go,my guys deep on shed now and I just tried feeding him a rat and e wanted nothing to do with it,so imma hold off,next week though I may try a chick just for the hell of it

Are you from New York? Looks like it from your avi just wondering where you get your feeders from if you are from here

Bumble B,yes I am from NY. I am from Queens,NY...I getmy rodents from Paradise Aquarium on Fresh Pond Rd between Eliot ave and Metro ave...I believe it's freshPond road and 66Th ave... They have hamsters and gerbils,usually only one size,a few baby chicks here and there,rats from pinks to Xl jumbo and mice from pinks to large adult...price is very fair there and the owners ad employees are super friendly and cool.

Uhm...I know of several carpet python keepers who feed their specimens mainly chicks with the occasional rat. A believe a friend of mine does a rat every 5 chicks. Personally the only species in my collection that I have that eat chicks/quail as a staple are my scrubs however, I throw in a rat every once in awhile just to make sure they are getting enough calcium. Ball pythons are terrestrial so I doubt their bodies are perfect for it but I also have to think that they are carnivores and we all know it's not impossible for a wild ball to sneak into a domesticated chicken pen somewhere in Uganda.

Cool man,TY very much..the plan is to stick with strictly rats,but the occasional chick is cool just to see,mix it up,keep my boys entertained.