Feeding toads to snakes

[bulrush]

The US eastern toad is very common. So are the tadpoles, which are out right now. I was thinking of getting a garter snake and feeding it either the tadpoles (in a dish of water) or raising baby toads for food. But the toads have a sac behind each eye which is filled with nasty fluid used to keep predators away.

Can garter snakes eat toads without being poisoned?

[ssssnakeluvr]

yes they can eat them, normal prey item in the wild. bigger concern is transmitting parasites to the snake from the toads....

[Elliot]

They can eat them, but that doesn't mean you should feed them toads in captivity. Probably not a good idea. I would just stick with the worms/safe fish/mice diet.

[Snake lover 3-25]

i fed mine toads and mice for all of last wear... and then after toad season is over they refuse to eat anything else..... so you can and they love them... but i'd only use them if it will eat nothing else..... i've never had a parasite problem... but i'm not taking any chances this year....

[Sid]

I have been through the parasite ordeal. Before knowing of the problem, I had several that would eat nothing except Toads once they had been offered. I figured what the heck, it's free food. I lost all my toad only Garters.

[adamanteus]

That's a lesson for us all, Sid. I'm sorry to hear it, but thanks for the info.

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah.... i was lucky... and i won't use them again... eventhough they are EVERYWHERE!!!!!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I really like toads.... I don't know if I could do it!

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol yeah... but there were SOOOO many!!! so i just picked up about 20 and then took out the ones that looked different... like darker or cooler...:D

[el lobo]

yeah. That is all my garters will eat...mice occasionally, but the prefer the eastern toads!

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah........ that's mainly why i don't feed toads anymore......... bc they won't eat ANYTHING else after i feed them one!!!!!!!:eek: but you can always just use them to sent then release them!!!!!:D:D:D

[jeanette]

im an amphibian fan i just couldnt use any as feeders...... :(

[Lumpy]

My Eastern doesn't have any problems with worms. She's a glut.

Lump

[jeanette]

My Eastern doesn't have any problems with worms. She's a glut.

Lump
thats great :) my female loves them too she will eat so many of them in one go and then looks silly with her massive stomache.:)

[Lumpy]

I fed her two on Wednesday and one yesterday. I don't know what her success rate was out in the garden, so for the short term, if she wants them, I'm letting her get her fill without trying to over do it.

Lump

[el lobo]

how do you know how many worms to give them? until their bellies swell? haha. It is easier for me to judge a good sized meal with something mouse or toad sized. I am also a fan of amphibians, but I am a bigger fan of the food chain :)

[Lumpy]

I've just kinda "eyeballed" it in a way. I feed her a day after I caught her, and not knowing when her last meal was, and the fact that she might still be stressed, I wasn't sure she'd eat all. But it took just a few seconds for her to gobble down the first nightcrawler, so I figured she was really hungry and offered her a second. That took a few minutes before she became excited and ate it, so I called it good.

I offered one to her yesterday, and she snapped that up, but I knew she had 2 the day before, so I didn't push it. I knew she wasn't going to starve at this point.

Lump

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

My understanding is that not all species of garters are immune to the toxins of either toads or newts. T. sirtalis and its ssp. are well known for having subpopulations that feed almost exclusively on toads or newts. I have also however heard story of a possible paralysis of a T. s. concinnus ( a sirtalis not immune?). I am not positive, but I believe newts are more toxic. Might be a good idea to investigate this further. You don't want your snake to go stiff on you! Sorry, that didn't sound right.....

Steve

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah.... i dont feed them just bc of the chance that something will happen and that it's hard to get them off of them....:D:D:D

[infernalis]

Here is an excerpt from a web site I was just looking at...

Any thoughts???

The diet of this reptile consists of frogs, toads, and their tadpoles. Lacking the enormous adrenals needed to deal with toad toxins, these are eaten only sparingly. The adrenal glands possessed by garter snakes are considered intermediate in size, making them large enough to handle an occasional toad, but not large enough to permit a steady diet of them without causing serious systemic injury.


After reading about many cases of snakes passing from a steady diet of toads (ask Sid) I thought that this would make for some good discussion material.

[Loren]

Very interesting Wayne.

With a large number of species in my collection, I have snakes that like to eat just about anything- but my personal experience so far has shown that the good old standard food items (captive raised rodents, safe fish, etc) seem to be the best bet. The animals do good and grow well. I've used wid caught frogs and lizards, and still do occasionally (only when its the only thing they will eat) but I prefer to stick to safer foods.
Its always a nice thought to replicate the wild, where they eat frogs, etc., yet, our snakes are not in the wild, they are in a captive environment, and seem to do best on a captive-style diet.

[olive oil]

What about an all pinky diet?

[adamanteus]

What about an all pinky diet?


Personally I wouldn't go with 'all anything'.... variety is the key; Pinkies, safe fish (whole if possible) and earthworms, a good basic diet.

[olive oil]

Good to know.
I do also give her earthworms & she has ate a few minnows.
Pinkies are just sooo easy :D I love it.

[infernalis]

Glad to see that little piece of data brought back a good solid Garter discussion:D