Turtle pelets as snake food?

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

is that healthy? kingsnake.com Classifieds (http://market.kingsnake.com//detail.php?cat=6&de=581075)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I saw this add too and i actually jsut came to thamnophis to post a thread about it! you beat me to it. I don't think this is a healthy food item for a garter snake. arent there vegetable components in those??? and they are hard... garters generally eat soft or wet things... plus i would worry about the pellets getting stuck in their throats! I don't think feeding turtle pellets to garters is healthy. I think it's just something that store is doing to appeal to customers and to sell their snakes. that article disgusts me.

[drache]

the snake looks healthy
I can't tell what it's eating though
those are turtle pellets?
don't they contain vegetable matter?
once in a while, it might not be harmful, but the problem with any kind of packaged convenience food is that it primarily appeals to people who are lazy, and then it becomes not a once in a while thing

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

i just looked up the Reptomin turtle pellets "contains meat and vegetable matter for balanced nutrition."

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I am trying to send them this following message, but it isnt working for some reason.. if anyone else could do it that would be great.

"Hi there, I happen to be a keeper specializing in keeping thamnophis (garter snakes) and I am very concerned with your food choice for these garters. Checkered garters or any garter for that matter, should not be eating turtle pellets. I have a can of them sitting in front of me, the first ingredient is WHEAT starch. the next is fish meal. after that, besides shrimp meal, there are all vegetable components in these pellets! This is no good for a garter... wheat is not something any snake should be ingesting and they need REAL fish, not fish meal. A checkered garter should be a fed diet consisting of small rodents, amphibians, and any fish found not to contain thiaminase (thats why you don't feed them goldfish). I understand that feeding them pellets appeals to the average consumer, but it wouldn't if they knew the truth about what is healthy for a garter snake to be eating. I am sure that they will live for a good bit on these pellets, but in the long run I forsee illness and younger-than average deaths. Feeding garter snakes is very inexpensive, thawed trout supplemented with vitamins occasionally works just fine. I ask that you please consider the long term health of your animals and switch to a more appropriate food source. And on another note, I am not sure if you bred them yourself or not, but $125 is asking way too much for the most commonly sold garter snake in the pet trade. These snakes are commonly available for $30-$40 each. But it's really not your price I have a problem with, it is the diet. You can visit thamnophis.com for more information on proper garter diet. Please respond to this email, don't brush it off, I am genuinely concerned for your snakes' health and not responding would prove a lack of interest of proper care on your part."

[ssssnakeluvr]

no....they are designed for turtles...snakes are strict carnivores....wouldn't feed it to them. I would say they don't know a lot about herps if they are feeding turtle pellets to snakes....doesn't the name give it away??? TURTLE pellets.....duh! great for turtles, my red ears do great on it, but would not give it to snakes!

[Stefan-A]

the snake looks healthy
I can't tell what it's eating though
those are turtle pellets?
don't they contain vegetable matter?
So do fish, mice and worms. ;)

[Zephyr]

Stefan makes a good point. Most wild prey items would have bellies loaded with partially digested vegetable matter. However, there's a difference in chemical composition between what's in turtle pellets and what's in a prey item's belly.

[adamanteus]

Personally, I always steer clear of any processed foods..... I don't eat it, why should my snakes?

[Stefan-A]

I don't eat vegetables, why should my snakes? ;)

[Sid]

All of the "critters" here are always fed natural, unprocessed food items. So, no I would not use or recommend the pellets.

[Lori P]

LOL Stefan, you sound like my husband. :-) I was thinking about the snakes getting veggies, last weekend when I fed them minnows that had just feasted on one of their favorite things: chopped peas. It occurred to me that my snakies now also had bellies full of chopped peas. :-)

But I agree, I would not want to feed a soley processed diet to any of the animals. You just can't replace live enzymes, vitamins and minerals, trace elements, etc with processed foods.

[Zephyr]

Hmm. You know what would be a shocking breakthrough in the snake hobby? The discovery of a herbivorous snake.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

i am willing to bet that will never happen ;)

[adamanteus]

Hmm. You know what would be a shocking breakthrough in the snake hobby? The discovery of a herbivorous snake.

'Twig Snakes'.... don't they eat twigs?:D

[Stefan-A]

Could an emerald tree boa squeeze the tar out of a ficus?

[adamanteus]

Stefan, you're being silly now. They live in trees, and they eat emeralds.

[Zephyr]

Stefan, you're being silly now. They live in trees, and they eat emeralds.lawl
And the Japanese harvested them for food during the third world war.

[adamanteus]

Bloody Japs... eat anything!

[Zephyr]

Bloody Japs... eat anything!Which raises another question.
James, do you have a British accent? XD

[Sputnik]

There are about 5856759 different British accents. ;) But, yes, James does have one of them, lol. :D

[goatse]

having lived a while in the UK i would say the brits are the last ppl to criticize any other countries eating habits. eel pie anyone? how bout some tasty blood pudding yuuum.
:)

[adamanteus]

Which raises another question.
James, do you have a British accent? XD

Yes, Kyle, I do. I'm an Englishman born and bred!:)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

eel.... pie???????


EW

EW


EW.

[goatse]

and thats wasn't the worst thing i've had over there. of course the japanese do have their share of nasty food too. sea cucumber and liver sashimi come to mind.

[adamanteus]

having lived a while in the UK i would say the brits are the last ppl to criticize any other countries eating habits. eel pie anyone? how bout some tasty blood pudding yuuum.
:)

Eel pie? That's a new one on me, never heard of it! Where abouts in Great Britain were you?

[drache]

eel pie
that wasn't England
that was Germany
did you have it with an awful turquoise coloured alcoholic beverage called Mannheimer Hafenwasser, per chance?

[goatse]

the eel pie was in south london served with this bright green sauce. other than that I've been to Menwith Hill, Cheltenham, Brize Norton, suffolk. and few little out of the way places. quite a pretty country really. once out get away from the big cities, of course i usually say that about every where i've been. I'm, not much of a city person. as far as Germany went the food was excellent never had a bad meal there, however i found the beer to be overrated, the beer in Britain was much better IMHO. Never drank anything turquoise colored tho.

[mycolorfulheart]

having lived a while in the UK i would say the brits are the last ppl to criticize any other countries eating habits. eel pie anyone? how bout some tasty blood pudding yuuum.
:)

blood pudding???????? :eek:

[ssssnakeluvr]

well....I will have to try some british beer!!!! spent 2 years in germany and loved the beer...well most of them..some weren't so good.

[anji1971]

Oooooo, that mention of sea cucumber brings to mind some very unpleasant memories!! BLAH!!:eek:

[adamanteus]

blood pudding???????? :eek:


That would be Black Pudding.... much like the Scottish Haggis. It's a sausage consisting mostly of offal with some grain. There is an element of blood in there.;)

If you want a really bloody English dish look up 'Jugged Hare'.:)

[goatse]

brit beer tends to have less carbonation and is served a bit warmer than other beers so it goes down very fast and smooth, dangerous.

and yes blood pudding is every bit as horrifying s it sounds. it actually doesn't taste that bad, but as the day goes on and you keep thinking about it you feel worse and worse. when i'm in the UK i stick to ethnic restaurants italian, american fast food, chinese, or a nice curry down at the pub.
mike