Viarable Kings

will they normally take rodents as babies or are they a species that has to be switched over?

All snakes are individuals.....You will get corns and common kings that are hard to get on rodents as well......

Thayeri are the same....Some take pinkies right off the bat....Some you will have to work with......If you plan on breeding anything be prepared to work with them........

It mainly depends on husbandry.....not the snake......

John Lassiter
CoastalBendCaptiveBreeding.com

I had my Georgias(Eastern Kings) and every single baby ate right out of the egg. Same with my Brooksi Kings they ate pinks w/ zero problem. My NJ Easterns on the otherhand...only 1/3 ate pinks the others wanted baby snakes. It was like that every year so I believe if you get babies that take pinks readily then their offspring has a better chance of being less picky with food selection. I think people confuse picky feeders with snakes that refuse any and all food. It may not be your husbandry skills but what you are offering.

My question is ... overall is that species known to be rodent eaters or are they more like Gray Banded Kings that take alot of work to get them to switch.

I have MBK babies that havent missed a meal... so Im just trying to get input on that species as a whole.

Yeah I believe them to be picky feeders. Again its not that they wont eat its a matter of finding what they will.

Keith

I have never had a problem getting them to take rodents. Mine will take rats and mice f/t and live.

Because I keep pyromelana I also keep a colony of sceloporus fence lizards for scenting pinks. So far my pyros have eaten unscented just fine, but I have had friends who keep gray banded and Thayeri needing fence lizard scent to get their baby snakes started. I usually have a supply of frozen lizards I have taken away from my cats as fresh kills (I hate that, but the cats redeem themselves by killing rodents), so I dry and send the lizards to them. This has worked great for people needing the lizard scent. My own method of scenting is to put live lizards in a jar with live pinks and a tiny bit of water, and leave them together for about an hour. Then put the lizards back in their home and feed the pinks out. I did this with a wc Cali king neonate and finally got him to eat.

Thanks for the tips.....

Originally Posted by getula

Yeah I believe them to be picky feeders. Again its not that they wont eat its a matter of finding what they will.

Keith

No Keith....
You can't lump all thayeri as picky feeders......

The worst feeders I ever had was one clutch of cornsnakes and one clutch of holbrooki....

I don't go around stating that All cornsnakes and all Speckled kings are picky feeders.......

I found with thayeri (and I hatched ALOT over the last 13 years) it is about husbandry.......Not about finding what they will eat....They WILL eat rodents; they are opportunistic feeders.......

I bet those ole black and white kings (chains) of yours would eat rodents too if you didn't shove them in a plastic tub with some newspaper and a water bowl.......

Originally Posted by Chico Reptiles

I have never had a problem getting them to take rodents. Mine will take rats and mice f/t and live.

Mine too......I wonder why they have such the reputation?

It's because folks like Keith and others making broad, misinformed statements and they don't even work with thayeri....

If anyone wants to know how to provide the correct husbandry for a thayeri and allow them to thrive rather than just live email me....I will be glad to share my experiences with thayeri and all mexicana........