Feeding your Pet Snake

Snakes make great pets and can easily be cared for and kept healthy in captivity. It is a good idea to research your species of interest before you make a purchase. As with all pets, your snake’s diet plays an important role in overall health. You should always strive to feed the highest quality food available. Rodents on the Road is committed to producing the highest quality, most nutritional feeder animals available for your pets.

The basic diet of most pet snakes consists of rats and mice. Specific feeding recommendations by snake species are listed below. Regardless of the type of snake, many veterinarians recommend that dead or incapacitated prey be fed, rather than a live rodent. If this guideline isn’t followed, it is possible that a live mouse or rat may injure your snake if it’s not in the mood for a meal.

When using frozen prey, be sure to completely thaw it in the refrigerator, and heat slightly in warm water before feeding. Tongs can then be used to dangle the prey in front of the snake until the snake takes the prey. If live prey must be fed, it is vital that you carefully observe the feeding to prevent your snake from getting injured. If the snake is not interested in the prey within 10-15 minutes, remove the prey.

Snakes rarely have major nutritional deficiencies unlike most reptiles, mostly because they are allowed to feed on whole prey similar to what they would consume in the wild. Your snake will most likely not need a vitamin or mineral supplement as long as it is provided with healthy feeder rodents fed the highest quality rodent chow.

Food preferences:

Boas, pythons, rat snakes, corn snakes, gopher/bull snakes, and most other captive bred species prefer to eat warm blooded prey like mice, rat and birds.

Garter snakes, ribbon snakes, water snakes should be started on feeder fish and can be switched over to frozen thawed mice scented with fish.

 Growth

Snakes do not grow to the size of their enclosure. Snakes grow by the amount of energy they consume.

Commonly Asked Questions:

I have a pet colubrid (corn snake, rat snake, bull snake, hognose, gopher snake, milk snake) what should I feed it?

Colubrids are very hardy pet snakes and do very well with frozen mice as their prey of choice. Below is a chart of the sizes of frozen prey you should choose for your pet based on it’s age and weight.

I have a pet python or red tail boa what should I feed it?

            Most snakes should be fed a size of prey that is about the same size around as snake’s body at its widest point. This means that as a snake grows, you will have to adjust the size of prey fed to the snake to accommodate the snake’s increasing size.

If you have a hard time judging how big around your snake is compared to the size of prey you can use a scale and weigh your snake, then choose a prey item that is between 10% – 20% of your snakes weight.

Below is a size chart of all the different size mice and rats that Rodents on the Road offers.

Most of the python and boa species can be started on hopper mice, fuzzy mice, rat pinks or rat pups depending
on how large the neonate is. The nutritional analysis of rats, mice and day old chicks in the follow charts.

While the nutritional analysis between rats and mice does show there are differences in the two food sources remember snakes grow by the amount of food that is available to them. If you own a species of snake that grows large enough that rats will be fed eventually, it is a good idea to start with rats or switch to rats while the snake is still young to get them used to eating rats rather than mice. Younger rats that are equivalent in size to older mice can used.

Don’t worry about the prey item being larger than your snake’s head. Snakes have unique jaws that allow them to swallow prey that is larger than their head, but your snake may have difficulties digesting overly large items, resulting in regurgitation.

What Prey items are best for my Ball Python?

If you plan on breeding your snake you should maintain the females on a 7-10 day feeding schedule depending on if the size of prey you offer. Breeding sized males or males over one year can be fed a maintenance diet of one appropriately sized prey item every 10-14 days.

What prey item is best for my Boa Constrictor?

Many Boa breeders keep their males smaller by offering them smaller prey items on the same schedule as their females.

What if my snake won’t eat?

If temperatures in the snake’s environment are correct, and it is healthy, your snake should feed according to its regular schedule. If it refuses several meals in a row, it regurgitates, or you notice weight loss, it is important to contact your veterinarian.

Informaiton on this page was taken from personal experience unpublished statistical data and te following resources:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/zoo/WholePreyFinal02May29.pdf

http://cvm.msu.edu/hospital/services/nutrition-support-service-1/client-education/a-guide-to-the-care-and-feeding-of-pet-snakes

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/snakes/f/snakesliveprey.htm

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/snakes/f/snakessizeprey.htm

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/general_care.shtml#feeding

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/general_care.shtml#feeding