Hey guys. Skip to last paragraph for my question. Anyway I found this little bugga earlier today and probably saved him from the deadly hands of my friends who would've stressed it out to death by the end of the day, seeing how they were all so fascinated by it yet all so scared to touch it.
Its a paradise tree snake, a beautiful specimen at that, although still young. I know its wild and probably has a bunch of parasites and it may be difficult for it to survive in captivity, but I really wish to keep it and give it a shot. I'm using an enclosure way too huge for it like it and am trying to make it like a cluttered forest, with as little fully clear glass as possible too to give it the best shot at adapting. Its all set up now and I think hes doing fine settling in. Of course its in its own quarantined room.
I just want to pose a quick question with regards to feeding. Its usual diet is lizards and frogs with an occasional small bird and rodent, but it is not only rather difficult to get some of these feeders but more importantly I keep hearing of the parasites lizards and frogs can give snakes and that is something I dont like. I'm currently thinking of catching wild geckos and buying those small feeder frogs from local aquarium stores for him to eat once he's settled in, and I am very unsure of the sterility and safety of feeding him these.
I was thinking of the option of using mice pinks if he would accept, but I was wondering about the nutritional differences and any potential issues with doing so since its a snake more specialized towards lizard and amphibian prey. Of course mice would probably be a decent diet which would keep it alive, but given that they usually eat small lizards and amphibians in nature and would probably be specialized for doing so, shouldn't I be trying to provide these for him? And wouldn't that be its own preferred diet as well? How do I balance its natural nutritional intake and requirements with its safety?
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