Graphic: Is an all rodent diet really ideal?

[TwistidMutations]

sorry to hear that. i have an extra hypo male florida banded if you need/want one its glades herp stock not scotts. sorry again losing animals sucks

[Snake lover 3-25]

so sorry for your loss shannon

[lestat]

Yes very sorry for your loss. Thank you for bringing it to our attention about an all rodent diet. In our hurry to get them to take rodents we forget to feed them there more common prey(fish and worms ect) once they have excepted rodents. (Some of us me included). I feed mine only mice and rat pinkies thanks to someones suggestion about impaction from mice with fur. For instance 5 of my Checkereds, 2 Floridor Blues and my Easten (who eats only pinkies and worms) all eat pinkies. So next time i will give them some fish and maybe buy some big worms.

[KITKAT]

I don't like the idea of grocery store bought fish at all.I would take my chances with goldfish first.Who knows it could be the rodent diet.Just like some people can eat and drink what they want and never get fat.Others get morbidly obese and die.That applys to all living things I would think.

Goldfish contain Thiaminase, as do rosey reds and fathead (bait store) minnows.

I use grocery store fish, but I make sure it is wild caught sources, not farmed. I pay more for that, but it is safer. I feed Salmon, and trout. I also feed nightcrawlers (the wild garters on my property eat nightcrawlers and frogs). I do not have a source for frogs, but once in a blue moon I get one and freeze it for 30 days before offering. I have seasonal access to tadpoles that come in with goldfish shipments at a particular pet store, and like the frogs, these are frozen for 30 days.

I once lost a baby flame garter that had eaten a pinkie leg. The "paw" of the pinkie was undigested and blocked the gut, causing sepsis. I do feed the occasional pinkie when food sources are scarce, but prefer to stay away from them for the most part. My African House Snake, on the other hand, loves them! LOL!

I have had my pair of ordinoides for two years now... they are doing great.

[lampy]

Thats terrible. I wonder if the snake had some kind of defect that made it build up fat in that way, so that whilst the diet may not have helped it may have happened eventually anyway?

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I wonder that myself, since the very beginning I did. This could very well be congenital. Who knows?! This thread is not meant to bash rodent only diets, but is simply a heads up that it may not be the best choice for the health of the snakes.

[paramedic6801]

Definately appears to be an obstruction to me.

[jitami]

Shannon, so very sorry for your loss. I, too, thank you for bringing up this topic and sharing the pictures, though.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Definately appears to be an obstruction to me.

The gut was completely empty and unblocked. I cut it open to see. The only mass in there, was fat. Which had been there for the entire time I had the snake. The only way this could have obstructed anything was if the fat mass grew so large it hindered the process of digestion. I have seen blockages opened up in dead snakes before... it looked nothing like that.

[Chad M. Lane]

I've seen this way to often in Varanids. It's not %100 related to an all rodent diet. It's more related to in the conditions in which the animal is kept in.

Just an example. Varanus exanthematicus is fairly prone to obesity in captive not from an all rodent diet, but mostly do to the fact most people don't offer enough rage in temps, and humidity.

If you keep an animal too cool, or just simply not enough space to properly thermoregulate, you are going to have this problem, either it be a varied diet, fish only, or rodent only.

Not all fish are safe for feeding. Here's a list of some that are not, and some that are.

http://http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Thiaminase


Cheers,
Chad