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Bet you've never heard this question before...

jsrocket

jsrocket

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Some of my snakes love to eat birds (english sparrows). As in most places, these are considered "nusiance birds", and are not protected by any laws. So, I often shoot them with a pellet gun when it's feeding time. When I feed them to the snakes, the pellet is still inside the bird. Could the pellet be potentially harmful to the snake? I use a .177 cal lead pellet. Thanks, Ritchie
 
YESS!

Ack stop doing that!!
This is how raptors get lead poisioning, by eating birds that are full of lead shot. Even if it's not lead you dont want metal in there, its just no good!
 
Let's assume you can remove the pellet (after all it's just one). One other concern would be parasites and bacteria. Sparrows are known to carry internal nematodes, coccidia, and salmonella. Freezing them will take care of some of the problems but not all of them.

Regards.
 
Buy cockerel, baby chicks. Way better than sparrows. I've got some snakes that LOVE chicks but I would never feed them wild birds.
 
Yes, I agree. Besides baby chicks are inexpensive ($0.70) and they don't have the tough feathers of an adult sparrow, that can sometimes be difficult to pass with the feces.
 
Rodentpro also has quails.

I have an asian redtailed rat snake that will NOT eat rodents. It gets quail chicks. And they come in different sizes just like rodents.
 
Last edited:
coyote said:
Rodentpro also has quails.
Click to expand...
And chicks at $0.15 apiece when on sale. My gila monster loves their chicks, as do some of my pythons.
 
aside from the lead (read kauffeld's account of lead poisoning in the snakes at staten island), parasites, and bacteria, think of all the places the sparrows land and feed everyday! parking lots, treated lawns, landfills, ashtrays, and the like are great places to pick up numerous toxins.

your snakes must have well exercised livers.

matt
 
Yeah, I quit doing that shortly after posting this thread. Way too many potential problems. I've got them switched over to FT rodents these days. They seem healthy and fine.
 
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