Snake Feeding

by: Animal Care Associates

Water
Water should be provided at all times as most snakes drink frequently. A suitably sized container should also be provided so the snake can swim and soak. The container should be heavy enough so that it cannot be easily overturned. All water bowls should be regularly cleaned and disinfected with hot soapy water at least once every 2-4 weeks. Failure to do so encourages bacterial overgrowth and can cause the snake to become ill.

Feeding
It is very important to make several points and cautions regarding the feeding of captive snakes. Most herpetologists and experienced hobbyists agree that captive snakes should be fed dead or incapacitated prey whenever possible. This is because such prey cannot injure the feeding snake. Providing killed prey that has been frozen is convenient and economical. Snakes may be induced to eat thawed, frozen prey animals by clipping hair from the coat of a live rat and rolling the proposed food in it just before feeding.

Live rodents (rats and mice in particular) left unattended and unobserved within an enclosure can sometimes turn on the snake and inflict serious bite wounds. These incidents are most likely to occur when a snake is ill or otherwise uninterested in feeding.

If it is not possible to offer anything other than live and fully conscious prey for a snake to successfully feed, the encounter must be carefully supervised. If a snake shows no interest in feeding within 10-15 minutes after the prey has been introduced, the prey should be removed. If other similar attempts to feed the snake within the next 1-2 weeks are equally unsuccessful, veterinary help should be sought.

Extreme caution should be exercised when feeding snakes. This is especially important when a snake is hungry. An overzealous and hungry snake may strike at a person as the prey is introduced. This is especially true with large snakes. Caution also should be used when feeding more than one snake in the same enclosure.

Feeding schedules for captive snakes vary with the age, species, size, condition and specific requirements. Generally pet snakes are usually fed once every 1-2 weeks. Juvenile and adults for which a relatively rapid growth rate is desired can be fed more frequently, providing that the environmental temperatures are warm enough to allow complete and thorough digestion. Older snakes are usually fed less frequently, often once every 3-6 weeks. Overfeeding should be avoided due to the risk of obesity.

Boa constrictors Pythons Rat snakes Gopher or bull snakes	-Warm blooded prey is preferred. Juveniles should be fed verysmall prey. -They may also consume very small lizards and snakes. -Some tree boas and pythons prefer lizards to mammals.
Garter snakes Ribbon snakes Water snakes, etc.	-Fish, frogs, salamanders, toads, earthworms, slugs and carrion are preferred. -May accept dead mice if they are covered with the external mucous of frogs or fish before they are offered.
Indigo snakes King snakes and many racers.	-Warm blooded (mice, etc.) and cold-blooded prey (other snakes, lizards, etc.) are preferred. -The indigo snake prefers frogs but may eat anything when hungry.
Ring-neck or brown snakes and their relatives.	-Salamanders, earthworms, very small snakes and lizards.
Racers Vine snakes Coachwhips	-Lizards are preferred. Racers also eat mice. -The young of the snakes eat large insects, such as crickets and grasshoppers.