Fish

[gregmonsta]

Variety is definately good for our slithery friends .... and I'll keep up putting vitamin drops in the water ... sometimes there is just too much conflicting info .... mind you .... even so-called experts can get it wrong e.g. W.P. Mara (author of 'Garter and Ribbon Snakes') is guilty of generalising and even lists goldfish as a perfect food item!!!
Quote - "Goldfish are offered to captive garter and Ribbon snakes probably more often than any other food item. Goldfish are inexpensive, provide good nutrition, and can be obtained in most any foodshop."
Thiaminase isn't even associated to anything in the food section .... it is only mentioned very briefly in the book at all and then .... it is only refered to as a vitamin deficiency.

[adamanteus]

I believe Mara wrote that book in 1994, before they invented thiaminase!

[gregmonsta]

LOL .... it's an invention that explains it then .... no wonder people are confused.

[ssssnakeluvr]

whoever invented it should be shot!!!!! lol!!!

[drache]

on another note
I know I should be asking Mikhaila's science teacher, since he raises trout
but he raises his to be released somewhere as part of some program
the one time I asked him whether I could have a couple for my snakes, he was rather protective of them (in disbelief I dared to ask)
I do remember though, from my childhood uphill from the area's biggest trout farm, that they start out small
in fact - they may be small enough for even baby garters
so how come they're not available as feeders?
it can't be because they're hard to breed
trout farms have been around for longer than any others except carp ponds perhaps
any ideas on the subject?

[adamanteus]

Just buy a big one and cut it up.

[drache]

that'll work fine for my current snakes, James
I was more thinking of a solution for snakes who will not be dissuaded from a live food diet
when I first saw the science class trouts, I had one of those

[GarterGuy]

It's probably because there's not a huge market for baby trout, as there is for adults. We're still kind of in the minority amoung consumers.

[drache]

It's probably because there's not a huge market for baby trout, as there is for adults. We're still kind of in the minority amoung consumers.

I forget about that sometimes

[Stefan-A]

It's probably because there's not a huge market for baby trout, as there is for adults. We're still kind of in the minority amoung consumers.

Well, the market for baby trout is bigger, if you're strictly talking about the number of individuals. Most of them go to fish farms, though.

You really just need to know someone who breeds trout and sells them to the actual farms.