I've never heard of giving them cod liver oil. If it does act as a laxative since i dont even take the stuff myself, that combined with a retic would be a catastrophe waiting to happen. My retic already poops and pisses all over, i dont need to add fuel to that fire lol.
And the iridescence from a snake is achieved by giving it the right conditions and being healthy. The only time i would give them some form of laxative is if they were plugged up but with proper hydration and husbandry, you shouldnt need to give your snake any supplements. I do give my beardie calcium and multivitamin dusted on her bugs usually twice a week but thats different as tortoises and lizards do kind of need that stuff a long with UVB.
0.1 Rio Bravo Pokigron Suriname BC-Gina
1.0 Meltzer/Lincoln Peruvian Longtail het anery BCL-Louie
0.1 Biak Green Tree Python-Pat 1.0 OSHY Biak Green Tree Python-Alex
0.0.1 Super Reduced Reticulated Gila Monster-Dozer
0.0.1 Utah Banded Gila Monster-Tank
0.0.1 Super Black Beaded Lizard-Reggie
Hey that gives me an idea, how about putting coffee beans in the rodent before you give it to the snake. You can fish them out of the poo and sell them for big bucks HA!!
Whole prey is the main thing that retics or any snake would really need. Especially those that are well started. Hatchlings may benefit from supplements multivitamin and minerals on occaision but that is usually colubrid hatchlings and not pythons. Cod liver oil is high in vitamin A and only a percentage (RDA) is actually utilized the excess is broken down in the liver and excreted. Mineral oil is the product occaisionally used as a laxative.
Last edited by Albert Clark; 11-02-2017 at 09:17 AM.
I've supplemented following the tip below, though with a different brand of tablets. Never had a retic, but I've used it on Burmese pythons. Didn't seem to hurt, but did it help??? Don't know for sure. But in one fatal case, it might have helped if I'd used it. As far as I could tell, this stuff did not act as a laxative.
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Tips
To improve the condition of captive snakes try using Solovite vitamin-mineral tablets. Sluggish appetites have been improved with routine use of this supplement.
Dosage: Not to be used in animals of two (2) lbs. or less.
1 tablet / 40 pounds once every two (2) weeks.
For animals of lesser or greater weight, regulate the time rather than the dosage.
ex. A 10 pound snake would get one (1) tablet every eight weeks.
This product is available at health food stores or from Solgar Co., Inc., Lynbrook, N.Y. 11563.
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