Are chicks okay for snakes?

[KaylaJ]

I have a green tree python that was wild caught and doesn't eat or even show interest in mice or rats. I am planning on trying out day old chicks next. My question is that if she likes chicks, do they have enough nutrients to be a long term diet? I have been told that since they are only a day old, they don't have very many nutrients for the snake to absorb. What if it is the only thing she will eat?

Thanks,

Kayla

[alphonzo]

One day old chicks are ok to feed for a bird-eating snake like Morelia viridis.
But not when you ONLY feed them to your snake.
Bring in some variation with mice or rats.
But that was the problem, I know.
The possible solution...

when your viridis accepts oned day old chicks, you have an instrument to fool him/her.
Cut a chick open and rub a mouse with the suff that comes out of the chick. :(
Chances are great that your snake acceps it.

Another way is... when the snake is busy eating a chick give him/her immediately after the chick a mouse.
Or put the mouse in the mouth of the snake when he/she is swallowing the chick.
Use some big tweezers.

Another tip... feed in the late evening.
Another tip... spray the terrarium half an hour before you want to start the feeding.

Hope you can understand what I wrote above.
I´m Dutch and English is not my first language.

Good luck with your snake :beer:

[KaylaJ]

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the advice. If she does like chicks, how often should I alternate the feeding of mice and chicks? I am trying to feed her every week to week and a half because she is thin from anorexia.

Thanks!
Kayla

[alphonzo]

When the snakes likes both preys, than you can them 1:3.
So three times mice and then one time chicks.
But when it likes mice you can also give it 100 % mice.
But it is not good to feed 100 % chicks.
And when it is big enough you can also vary with rats.

greetings from Holland

[KaylaJ]

Worked like a charm! My GTP loved the chicks. She went crazy. She ate two in a row, is that okay? It is the first good and substancial meal she has had in over a year. I guess I will try mice next time. Chicks sure are cheaper than mice and rats around here. Thank you so much for your help and advice!

Kayla

[Seamus Haley]

Be very careful with chickens...

Salmonella and Ecoli are serious concerns. Introduce a strain that's not naturally occuring in reptiles and you can have some serious problems.

My suggestion would be to use baby button quail, which are usually around the same price- at least until rodents are taken easily and frequently. The danger of cross contamination of gut fauna is still possible but much less likely to be anything really virulent.

There's also the classic method of scenting with condensed chicken broth.

[KaylaJ]

I really wanted to try the quail first, but I couldn'r find anyone in my area (College Station) that had quail. There are a few chicken hatcheries though. I also tried the chicken broth a while back and she wasn't interested in it at all. I will really try to get her onto mice and rats as soon as possible. Thank you for the warning. I don't know a lot about chickens or Salmonella. Is there a way for the hatchery people to test their birds?

Thanks,
Kayla

[alphonzo]

Are the chickens in the USA not free of Ecoli and Salmonella?

As far as I know they are free of it in Holland. I didn't realise this was not the case in the USA.

But... try a mouse next time. Who knows.

[Seamus Haley]

Is there a way for the hatchery people to test their birds?

The birds legally have to be tested, but federal guidelines for human food standards can still leave signifigant enough levels to affect your herps.

Are the chickens in the USA not free of Ecoli and Salmonella?

As far as I know they are free of it in Holland. I didn't realise this was not the case in the USA.

But... try a mouse next time. Who knows.

Of course they aren't... Salmonella and Ecoli come in literally thousands of strains, most of which are pretty low-key and most of which are naturally occuring gut fauna in any number of animals, including humans... That is to say; it's normal for certain levels to be present in the intestinal tract of any given species. Animals raised for consumption are usually a bit heavier in these gut cultures because they are kept in smaller spaces and come into contact with their own feces. Nothing really dangerous, just don't eat undercooked chicken and watch it when feeding them to animals.

I like the mouse suggestion though...

GTP are pretty much nocturnal feeders, LTC or CB animals will sometimes eat whenever food is offered but many of them will revert to the instinctive "Eat when it's dark" routine... All you have to do is feed after the lights have been out for about thirty minutes to an hour, make sure the prey is the warmest thing around and properly tease feed (this does not mean smacking it in the face with the food). Another possible suggestion... feed it the smallest chick you can find (since it accepts them readily) then follow it up immediately with the smallest appropriate mouse you can find. The next week, try scenting a good sized rat pup (rat pink, rat fuzzy) on a chicken, see if it will take it.

Feeding reactions are instinctive- if the animal won't eat the way you want it to, feed it in a way that triggers those "This is food" responses and slowly wean it over to the method that you want to use long term.

[alphonzo]

Yeah, I know there are always some cultures present.
But I meant sick-making cultures.
Because most cultures will be killed by the stomachfluids in an average snake.
Or don't you agree?

[Seamus Haley]

Snake digestion is primarily the result of enzyme action, not acid breakdown, it's entirely possible for most microorganisms to survive quite happily inside their gut.

[KaylaJ]

It has been a while since I started feeding my GTP chicks in hopes of eventually switching her to rats. She still eats the chicks with enthusiasm, but she just won't take anything else. I have tried scenting the rat with the chicks, but she won't go near it. I have tried putting it in her mouth while she is eating a chick, but she spits it out. How long can she go on chicks?

Kayla

[alphonzo]

Hi Kayla,

you just have to keep trying and there wil come a day that the snakes switches to mice or rats.
You can take the skin of the chick (keep the head attached) and put a mouse in the skin. You know what I mean?

And think of it like this... the snake can better eat chicks than nothing.

Succes

[KaylaJ]

I am happy to report that she has been weaned off of chicks and is eating frozen thawed large rats with enthusiasm! And has gained a lot of weight in the process.

Thanks!
Kayla

[Hognose_311]

A wild caught green tree...how's it's behavior? that must be pretty fascinating.

[KaylaJ]

She is even more docile than my Ball Pythons. I love her to death!

Kayla