Can i feed my snake..........

[arampapik]

Whats going on guys.
I have a newbie question.

I have a California King Banded (black and white) snake. I was told its a she, and she is about the lenght of a 10 gallon tank. 20 inches or so. Had her since October, and i feed her at an average of 1 Large Fuzzy every 3 or 4 days. It is surprising how this little guy chases after a fuzzy, kills the poor little hopping fuzzy and eats her.

My question is, don't snakes get tired of the same meal every time? Do all they eat are mice? I asked the pet store if i could put a guppy (little fish) in my snakes water dish, and they said that the snake would not eat it. I was gona try it anyway, but i wanted to ask you guys first.

I mean, i would get sick if i ate steak every single day of my life.


I tried posting a picture, but no matter how much i compress the picture, it says its TOO BIG.

[Andy_G]

Feed your snakes THAWED mice, and reduce your feeding to every 5-7 days.

[Tim_Cranwill]

Buy a book on the captive husbandry of Kingsnakes. It will answer a LOT of your questions.

They don't get sick of the same meal week after week. I'm sure in the wild they eat a variety of prey but in captivity, it's best to stick to the frozen/thawed mice and/or rats.

[arampapik]

What is the reason to giving them Frozen/Thawed mice?

[samurai]

so your snake doesnt get hurt by a sharp bite to the face

[arampapik]

Do all of you feed your snakes Thawed/Frozen mice as opposed to Live prey?

[Matt_K]

Upload your picture to your FREE gallery by clicking on 'gallery' under the sites banner at the top of the page.

-Matt

[CamHanna]

Do all of you feed your snakes Thawed/Frozen mice as opposed to Live prey?
I feed nearly all of my snakes frozen rodents; I have only one that absolutely will not eat them. Hopefully I will be able to get it on FT as well. The reasons for feeding FT are three fold.

1, Your snake won't be injured (killed) by the feeder.

2, The feeder won't be subjected to the 'discomfort' of constriction.

3, You can keep months worth of frozen feeders in your freezer which saves you trips to the petstore and means you can get a discount from the feeder breeder.

Fronzen-Thawed feeders are just a better deal all around.

[gonesnakee]

As already stated a dead mouse will never hurt your snake, whereas a live one can kill it. Not such a big deal when feeding pinkies/fuzzies but now you have a snake accustomed to live prey. Subadult & adult mice don't just die peacefully they bite & scratch & fight to stay alive. Doesn't take but a second for a snake to lose an eye & also risk of secondary infections from bites/scratches is very real also. Not worth the risk. Also do you want to have to continually go out of your way to buy live mice that might just result in the death of the snake? Live mice are a pain to keep also. Much easier to go to the freezer & thaw out its meal & feed then to obtain or keep live mice. Mice never escape from the freezer into the house either, whereas live ones well... From the mouse's point of view it would suck to be killed & eaten or eaten alive now wouldn't it.
In reguards to feeding frequency/prey size I'd say what you are currently doing 1 large fuzzy every 3-4 days is fine, but I would go to weekly feedings & feed a couple prey items at a time. To transfer the snake from live to dead I would suggest no meals for a week or maybe 2 & then tease feed it with F/T (frozen/thawed) prey that has been warmed up to approx 80-90 f (too warm & the mouse will start cooking or the guts will blow out of it). Being a CK it should transfer easily. In reguards to other prey items when I had my first snake also a CK I tried things like frogs, fish etc. & the only thing the little guy would take anyway was mice & they will also usually take rats of appropriate size also. In reguards to prey size a general rule of thumb is the same size prey (or slightly larger) as the thickest part of the snake & feed 2-3 prey items every week depending on their size & the snakes shed cycles etc as many snakes will not eat in shed. Go thru the forums & read the various threads & a basic CK book will tell you most everything in reguards to all the basics anyhow,
Good Luck Mark

[arampapik]

Originally posted by Matt_K
Upload your picture to your FREE gallery by clicking on 'gallery' under the sites banner at the top of the page.

-Matt

thanks matt. This way i can only link the picture, correct?

[Matt_K]

once it's in your gallery, open the picture and right click on it, go to properties and copy the URL in there. In your thread/post use the IMG tags and paste the url in there.. [IMG] then your URL and then close the tag by using the same thing but with a / before IMG. :D

-Matt

[SnakeyeZ]

I feed frozen thawed aswell...why take the risk?

[arampapik]

Testhttp://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/7574Hatori_after_meal.JPG

[arampapik]

Thanks Mat, appreciate the help.

[Matt_K]

anytime

[pablo111]

nunchucks in tank= STUPID.

California king?

You can feed it all kinds of stuff. Mice, rats (of small size), lizards, other snakes, the odd frog or toad. Some even like the taste of people

[arampapik]

Originally posted by pablo111
nunchucks in tank= STUPID.

California king?

You can feed it all kinds of stuff. Mice, rats (of small size), lizards, other snakes, the odd frog or toad. Some even like the taste of people

Your an idiot pablo.
No need to insult me.
If you aint' got something nice and informational to say then dont say nothing.

aram

[CamHanna]

Posted by arampapik
Your an idiot pablo.
No need to insult me.
If you aint' got something nice and informational to say then dont say nothing.
When defending your intelligence, or denouncing Pablo's as the case may be, proper grammar is a must.

That aside, it is generally considered a good idea to not feed snakes on a substrate like sand or mulch. The substrate can be inadvertently ingested and if enough of it accumulates in the same part of the intestines it can block the flow of ‘waste’ and potentially kill your snake. It would be a good idea to either change your substrate to one that cannot be ingested (newspaper) or to feed in a separate container that has no ingestable substrate.

Cam

[gargoyle]

Just from looking at the setup and reading your questions, you really need to either pick up a "Care of California Kingsnakes" book or at least do a search on the web for a care sheet. CamHanna is right, it is a real bad idea to have it on the substrate that you've got there! But just a word of advise, you're on a free forum, your not always going to get the reply that you want, that's life! You'd be much better off ignoring posts that offend you then retaliating with even ruder ones that make you look much, much worse! Have a nice day, and keep in cool!

[arampapik]

1. My snake wont eat outside his cage. I tried to feed him outside his cage once, he killed the fuzzy and threw him in the water. So after that, i havn't fed him outside his cage.
2. Im aware that regular sand if digested is bad for them. The sand that i have purchased is called "t-rex BONE AID Calci-Sand." It is stated that if consumed it is 100% digestible. B. Beneficial when eaten.

If you dont believe me, then go look up the sand.

CamHanna, i dont need to use proper grammer. Like gargoyle said, its a free forum. As long as you understand what im saying, then THAS KOOL. This isn't an English/Grammar forum.

Other then that, thanks for the info. I do appreciate it.

[marisa]

Actually, the "T rex Cali Sand" has been proven to be DANGEROUS to reptiles in the past few years, even though it says safe. What you must take into account here is that there is no governing body really to enforce pet supply packaging/claims about the product. No one is there to make sure its "100% digestable" and most of the time, these things are found out AFTER the fact when a pet owner have believed the lies on the package. It's a sad situation really and I believe the companies should be held accountable. But that's another story entirely.

I LOVE cal kings and I have kept quite a few....you must take your snake off sand. For one, these snakes don't live on sand all the time. It can cause impaction, dry skin, get caught all in the eyes and mouth, tons of problems!

Just letting you know the truth. The Cali Sand has and will continue to kill reptile pets.

Marisa

[HeatherRose]

I would trust the advice of the members of this forum over mere packaging any day...

Just my opinion.

[ydnic]

Cacli- Sand can also get under the belly scales and cause infection.

My cal kings didn`t like to eat out of their cage either - they live in aspen

What I would so is put them in another container and throw a towel over it - so it was completely dark and then they would feel secure enough to eat - also - yuo don`t need a water dish in with them while they are eating - they`ll be fine without it.

[ydnic]

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=107728

here is a good reason to listen to everyones advice on not feeding live...

[arampapik]

I appreciate the advice. I will take my snake off of Sand for good.

What is the best kind bedding to use?

[arampapik]

That is a disturbing picture man.
WoW.
Must have been a really big mouse.

[ydnic]

You should probably go with aspen - I find it the easiest. Just like the sand - it is good for spot cleaning. it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the sand too. Just make sure you use aspen shavings and not ceder or pine or the mixed stuff for hamsters. Shavings also give the snake opportunities to bury.

Actually the mouse doesn`t have to be big to do that kind of damage. The snake won`t fight back, and the mouse can just nibble all over consistantly until you catch it or the snake dies.

Good luck!

[arampapik]

Aspen shavings, got it.

So the snake wont fight back? Why would he not fight back when the mouse i skilling him?

[JVG]

Haha i love it..

"2. Im aware that regular sand if digested is bad for them. The sand that i have purchased is called "t-rex BONE AID Calci-Sand." It is stated that if consumed it is 100% digestible. B. Beneficial when eaten.

If you dont believe me, then go look up the sand"

[ydnic]

I really don`t know why -

from what I know (which isn`t everything) snakes only kill for food, so if the snake isn`t hungry he will try to move away. If he can`t move away (because he is in an enclosure) it will get bit up

[arampapik]

Hey JVG, do you REALLY love it?
I bet you DO, dont you?
Fregin moron!

[arampapik]

Some of you herpers man, why you gotta be such fregin a$$holes.
Im just here for info.
If i make a mistake, tell me in a nice way. You dont have to make me look like an idiot.

[HeatherRose]

Name calling is a little unnecessary isn't it? Why respond to rudeness with more rudeness?

Let's try and keep this one track, like you said you're here for info :)

[concept3]

JVG if you bought your first snake in a petstore and the guy in the petstore told you calci sand is ok AND then you read the package and It said all of that stuff, you would beleive it to.
Arampapik, what these guys are telling you is actually very good information, sometimes you just have to turn a blind eye to the arrogance of some people :/

[CamHanna]

It was suggested in the BP forum that snakes have a different (simpler) design to their nervous system than we do and don't really notice the damage that the mouse is doing. That explanation makes sense to me.

Cam

[gargoyle]

Hey man, no offense but name calling and acting like a complete idiot isn't the way to get the info! Even when we are giving it too you you still say we're wrong! I can't speak for the rest of the ssnakess members by any means, but personally I won't be giving you help from this point on, as I offer my advise for the simple sake of trying to help someone that needs it. I don't do it to get second guessed, called names and the info I give ignored anyway. If you're on here for advise,,,,,,,,,take it!!!! the first time!

[arampapik]

Originally posted by gargoyle
Hey man, no offense but name calling and acting like a complete idiot isn't the way to get the info! Even when we are giving it too you you still say we're wrong! I can't speak for the rest of the ssnakess members by any means, but personally I won't be giving you help from this point on, as I offer my advise for the simple sake of trying to help someone that needs it. I don't do it to get second guessed, called names and the info I give ignored anyway. If you're on here for advise,,,,,,,,,take it!!!! the first time!


"Name calling and acting like a complete idiot.."
Makes a lot of sense....moron

I only call a person an idiot when they make me look stupid or call ME A NAME. Im only trying defend myself.
Instead of saying, hey man you got the wrong info, they laugh at me. Why can't you laugh to yourself and not post?

"Even when we are giving it to you, you still say we're wrong"
OMG, do you even read the posts or just love to argue and act 'like a complete idiot"

When somebody gives me an advice, i say THANK YOU in a nice way. If i have another question, i will post that as well.
When have i ignored someones advice? Or more particularly yours gargoyle? Im just stating what i know, if what i know is wrong, let me know WHY its wrong..... so i will understand.

Just like when someone told me that sand is bad for the snake...... i stated that on the sand package it says its actually GOOD for the snake... but then somebody else made a comment and said that there are no restrictions on what manufacturers can put on their products... and it was suggested i use aspen shavings.....next post i said ASPEN SHAVINGS.... GOT IT.

So please read the posts before you say something that does not make any sense.

HeatherRose.... im trying to be nice, but someone always has to say something rude to me. All i try to do is defend myself in the nicest way possible.

Concept3... your right, thank you.

[Matt_K]

You've already been asked to STOP the name calling.. Is there a reason you decided to reply to Gargoyle calling him an idiot and a moron?? Honestly now, whether you're defeding yourself or not, you can do it WITHOUT name calling.. The next time someone calls someone an 'idiot' or 'moron' or anything else like that, the thread will be closed.

-Matt

[arampapik]

I appoligize.... but why do you have to point me out? His the one that called me the rude name in the first place.

Quote from Gargoyle
"Hey man, no offense but name calling and acting like a complete idiot isn't the way to get the info!"


aram

[Matt_K]

I apologize for 'pointing you out' but it was a general comment.. It goes for EVERYONE in this thread.. Everyone has been warned about the name calling. There is no need to resort to it.

-Matt

[arampapik]

Okay, no more name calling from me.

:D :D :w :w :w :w :w :D :D

[Matt_K]

That's all we ask :D

-Matt

[JVG]

i'm a moron?( and im not calling u a name) but ur the one who told us the sand was good and told a bunch of reptile enthusiats, some who kno so much its crazy to look up a sand! which is funny, so yes i love it that u talk to us like we kno nothing and belive everthing a package says, research everthing! specially before u go buy the snake.

[arampapik]

Did you even read my posts up there?

One would THINK what says on the package is the truth, when its right there in front of your eyes.

But like i mentioned.... now this next line will be a repost.....
that there are no restrictions on what manufacturers can put on their products... and it was suggested i use aspen shavings.....next post i said ASPEN SHAVINGS.... GOT IT.

I understood what the person said, and politley said THANKS.
But it wan'st good enough for you JVG, you had to create drama.

[JVG]

drama? i just said i thought it was funny,ur the one who made it into something, but was funny wasnt that u believed a package, was that u told us to look it up

[arampapik]

You could have laughed to yourself and not posted it right.

So when you buy Skittles and on the back it says 100 calories or whatever, do you not believe it?
BUT If it said something like... if consumed they can make you fly, of course that wouldn't believe that.

So how was i supposed to know that what said on the package is false?

[gargoyle]

arampapik: your not a very friendly person! Just my opinion!

[marisa]

It's a simple mistake many people can make when they first start learning about pet products, especially things for reptiles. MANY of the reptile supplies at local pet stores are garabge, and don't do exactly what they claim.

I'd stick with paper towel or aspen as a substrate.

And this discussion isn't about friendly people, a fight or anything else. He made a mistake, that's that. Let's keep it to snakes.

Marisa

[gonesnakee]

No flame wars on the Colubrid forums, we leave that to the Boa & BP folks right Marisa, LOL Mark

[snakers55]

As mentioned, the reptile supply companies have very little interest in your reptile's well-being, but care basically only for the mighty dollar.. Most products from petstores are 100% trash, I personally keep over 60 reptiles, and the only thing I buy for my animals from a pet store is feeder insects. Not saying I keep my animals in cardboard boxes and use a half of a cup as a water dish(sorry,I found that kind of funny... go to walmart and get a porcelain water dish, in the plant section),, That was not meant as an insult, just a friendly tip. Also, I in no way see how JVG exhibited any form of arrogance in his posts. You must be a beginner, and are trying to learn, so your setup is a little off to most of the more experienced herpers, but that's why we're here to help. One thing you should learn very quickly while working on this site, is that a LOT of people will post their opinions, whether they actually have the esperience or not, so if someone says something to irritate you, don't fight back, it's useless.. Most of the threads that start out simple on this site burst out into warfare. Your snake looks healthy, and if people make some suggestions after seeing pictures of your animals, you can either decide to try it their way, or continue to do your own thing, if you feel you're doing it right, just make sure you're doing it right... Good luck.

[arampapik]

Thanks snakers55. :)

[snakers55]

Not a problem.