Other things to feed your snake?

[hissies]

What sorts of things do you/can you feed besides silversides, worms, tilapia, trout, salmon, and pinkies?

I've seen a couple threads mentioning meat- what kinds, organs, muscle meat?

Is there anything you can buy from bait shops that might be a good treat? Leeches seem to pop up a bit in lists of garters' natural diets. Has anyone tried using them? Share your sources if you know of a reasonable place to buy things from online!

I'm aware it's not good to offer things you've gone out and caught due to parasites and toxins in the environment.

What about something like this: Can O Snails - 1.7 oz. | ThatPetPlace.com

[infernalis]

I doubt you could get a garter snake to eat canned snails.

I'm afraid I don't understand. Snakes are not like humans, variety on the supper plate is of little interest.

Several people here do very well with just a rodent diet.

As for "meat" whole prey items are far more nutritionally complete.

Reptiles utilize virtually everything from whole prey, when you start feeding hunks of meat or organs, many necessary nutrients including the calcium from skeletons is missing from the meal.

[Stefan-A]

I doubt you could get a garter snake to eat canned snails.

As it happens, I do have a can o snails and today is feeding day.

[infernalis]

As it happens, I do have a can o snails and today is feeding day.

Yours will eat them?

[Stefan-A]

Yours will eat them?

Haven't tested them yet. I really only have two snakes that I know will take invertebrates.

Just gave each a dish of snails. One appears to be circling the dish, although it's possible that it's picking up some residual scent from previous fish meals. I don't see any takers and the snails smell like everything else that's been canned.

I do have two other snakes in lego mode, but it wouldn't be fair to test the snails on them.

[infernalis]

I do have two other snakes in lego mode.

I remember that post well.

[hissies]

I'm afraid I don't understand. Snakes are not like humans, variety on the supper plate is of little interest.

Interesting, I was under the impression that a varied diet was a good thing! If not for the snake's culinary interest so much as the potential nutritive value.

Primarily, I'm asking out of curiosity. Garters seem so versatile in what they can eat, I was wondering if any keepers feed something outside the "standard".

The snails caught my eye because I've seen slugs brought up on several occasions, yet wild-caught food is discouraged.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Interesting, I was under the impression that a varied diet was a good thing!

If i'm not mistaken a varied diet is to make sure the animal doesn't miss any vital substances and not to feed the snake different things just for the sake of it.A diet of rodents,fish and/or worms pretty much covers every thing so there is not much need to feed other things.[IMO]

[guidofatherof5]

If i'm not mistaken a varied diet is to make sure the animal doesn't miss any vital substances and not to feed the snake different things just for the sake of it.A diet of rodents,fish and/or worms pretty much covers every thing so there is not much need to feed other things.[IMO]

Very well put William.
Each food item had pros and cons. Feeding a varied diet balances those pros and cons out.

[Sonya610]

Interesting, I was under the impression that a varied diet was a good thing! If not for the snake's culinary interest so much as the potential nutritive value.

Primarily, I'm asking out of curiosity. Garters seem so versatile in what they can eat, I was wondering if any keepers feed something outside the "standard".

When I started out (a whole year and a half ago) I heard pinkies were best, some fish could be risky (something about babies being known to seizure occasionally when on heavy fish diets) plus with fish there is the risk of lead and chemicals depending on what type. Worms were fine but I really didn't want to chop up huge live worms, when mine are big enough to eat a whole walmart nightcrawler then they can have all the worms they like.

Call me paranoid but I remember the big "Chinese contaniminated corn gluten" dog food recall a few years ago, thousands of dogs/cats likely died of kidney failure before anyone realized what was happening, the only reason they identified the fatal ingredient is because some of the corporate "taste tester lab" dogs and cats started dying in large numbers and the dog/cat food industry is multi-million dollar. Incidents involving reptiles would be poorly publicized and less well tracked.

Mine are over a year now so I am getting brave with the Tilapia, but the way I see it "if it ain't broke don't fix it, and certainly don't start experimenting without documented backup".