Ribbon Snake Feeding

[Melmo]

Hi, I've recently been doing a very large amount of research on Ribbon Snakes. I've been hoping to buy a young one soon, but I feel as though I have more research to do, and this seems like a perfect place to get questions answered. As the title of this thread implies, I am a bit clueless about feeding. From all the care sheets I've read (I've read quite a few), I just understand I should feed mainly fish and amphibians, but fish would be available more often. Then, there is the problem of thiaminase. I don't know which fish would be safe. Then from there, I've heard of many fish supplies seen with external parasites and worms which dig under the skin. What supplements should I add (I've heard there are ones that can be added to the snake's water). Also, what fish fillets would be safe, and would I just get them at the supermarket and feed pieces raw to the snake? Even though Ribbon Snakes are fish eaters, should I try to get them on pinkies by scenting? I apologize for all these questions, but I'm so confused it is discouraging me a bit from getting a Ribbon Snake. Thanks in advance.

[Melmo]

Alright, i figured out what fish to feed (Salmon/Trout fillets and guppies), but should I still scent pinkies and try them? I'm still clueless about the other questions though...

[k2l3d4]

every thing that I have read when it comes to snakes is that a mouse represents whole nutrition... so I would consider trying the pinkies.

[adamanteus]

I would still recommend that you keep trying scented pinkies, not as a whole or staple diet, but to add variety. It's still a good idea to continue using the safe fish.
Multi-vitamin supplements, especially formulated for reptiles, are readily available from most pet stores. I use a powdered one called Nutrobal.

[Melmo]

Alright, so I'll try pinkies once it gets to an appropriate size. Is it true that the feces smell less and are easier to clean up if I feed pinkies and not fish? Once I get the snake, I'll try a 50-50 diet of pinkies and fish.

[GradStudentLeper]

I actually dont necessarily buy the idea that pinkies represent whole nutrition for the snakes. They did evolve (creationists can bite me) to eat fish and amphibians, primarily amphibians. Ribbon snakes are margin wanderers in the wild, eating small amphibians (metamorphs, and smaller adults like cricket frogs) and tadpoles. They can only catch fish when stranded in drying pools, as their hunting strategy is ill-suited to catching them.

In any event they evolved eating those sorts of prey, and their nutritional requirements are suited to those prey, if tadpoles frogs and small fish were not complete for them, then they would not survive to sexual maturity. Pinkies on the other hand may not have the right amounts of what these snakes need. They are also high in fat, and considering the fact that most of the snakes you keep are not evading predators or going into winter torpor where they need the fat reserves, you should probably keep the fat content to a minimum. As for fish fillets, I find it interesting that people who fret and worry over thiaminase (and bear in mind, these snakes eat a lot of fish, and it isnt the "safe" ones like trout and salmon either. We are talking minnows, shad and other high thiaminase fish.) will gloss over the fact that they can suppliment thiamin, but in order to avoid the thiaminase, suppliment virtually every other nutrient that is found in every other part of the fish, essentially using fish fillets as a source of calories and nothing more. It is like worrying about getting the right ratio of calcium to phosphorus, or sodium to potassium in your own diet, but instead of just adjusting those things, eating nothing but Ramen noodles and Centrum Silver.

Bear in mind though, I live in a place where I can get tadpoles year round (and do research such that I will eventually be breeding frogs in numbers much much larger than I will use for experiments... so I can feed them my own stock...

[Didymus20X6]

I thought this was a forum about garter snakes, not a forum for insulting people whose religious opinions you disagree with. You could have simply said what you had to say without the "creationists bite me" remark.

[GradStudentLeper]

I thought this was a forum about garter snakes, not a forum for insulting people whose religious opinions you disagree with. You could have simply said what you had to say without the "creationists bite me" remark.

It was a pre-empt from an evolutionary biologist in case someone decided to say "Hur hur, Evilution is of the devil" I have learned in a long career on internet forums that given enough time, someone ALWAYS does that, regardless of the forum's nature. Much like how if given enough time, in an argument someone always starts referring to the other person as hitler, and how a casual discussion given enough time to continue, will ALWAYS degenerate into a discussion of human mating activities

However, if you want to turn a flippant remark on my part into a full on thread hijack, be my guest.

[Didymus20X6]

Just pointing out there's nothing to gain from poor manners. I have nothing else to say on the subject.