Ghost Shrimp?

[Elliot]

Is it ok to feed my ribbons ghost shrimp? They're all over the lakes here and they sell them cheap at pet stores. I was just wondering because it seems like something they'd probably eat if they came across them in a lake.

[Stefan-A]

I wouldn't. They're made of the same material as insects.

[Lori P]

Yeah... they have that exoskeleton... chitosan or whatnot.

[Stefan-A]

Yeah... they have that exoskeleton... chitosan or whatnot.
:D Chitin. Chitosan is apparently derived from it.

[Elliot]

Ok, I was just wondering. I'll stick to fish and mice then. :)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Yea... I second what they said!:D

you'd probably have a major impaction on your hands :(

[Hornets23]

I know not to feed my snakes anything with chitin..but what exactly is an impaction?

[Elliot]

I know not to feed my snakes anything with chitin..but what exactly is an impaction?

Impaction is when your snake eats something not easily digestable or not digestable at all (such as your substrate) which results in the thing it ate basically getting stuck in its digestive system.

[Hornets23]

Oh yikes, that doesn't sound good. Is there anything that can be done about it and can it cause death?

[Stefan-A]

Certain things can be done, but it's far from guaranteed to work and yes, it can cause death.

[anji1971]

I lost my first garter to an impaction. From Repti-bark. :(
That's the hard lesson I learned about feeding in their tank. Now they get moved for mealtimes.
On the positive side, trying to find out what was wrong with her was what led me to the discovery of Thamnophis.com!;):)

[bulrush]

Yea... I second what they said!:D

you'd probably have a major impaction on your hands :(
Major impaction + Sudden release = Big problem :)

[GartersRock]

Lol!!! :)