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Feeder question

S

serpentsofdistinction

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I have some wild caught snakes that are picky. They seem to prefer chicks over mice or rats. Chicks are obviously cheaper than rodents. Are they stable enough to continue feeding my snakes, or is there not enough nutrients in the chicks?
 
Thats a good question that I wonder myself. I know mice are ok for a snake but to me they are more bone and fur than anything and it takes several just to satisfy your snake. I wonder if chicks are the same way???
 
A friend used to feed only chickens to his burmese and never experience problems. They were adult birds, feathers and all.
I remember hearing of one corn breeder (the one who started this site, maybe) who raised snakes on only chicken parts. The memory is a bit fuzzy and might not be complete.
Most feeders have differing nutrition with age. As they grow the bones and gut content increase and offer more. I know you can buy older chicks/small chickens from some places*, I would try to do that if possible.
Please add in the usual disclaimers -- I'm not an expert, keep checking for more information from other sources, too.

*such as the place that is a Pro with Rodents, if you catch my drift.

Andy
 
I've had colubrids go on "chicks only" binges that lasted years. A big female of mine quit rats all together and refuses anything furred, and has been on chicks for the past eight years with zero problems. Always has nicely calcified eggs and hasn't dropped condition at all, ever. In the spring, you can often find frozen dealers selling chicks in bulk for dirt cheap!

I find the trick to feeding chicks is the gram weight. So, if the reptile you're feeding normally eats a rodent that weighs 50 grams, you need to get close to that in chick gram weight. Chicks ARE cheap, but they're light. You'd be surprised at how many little peepers a hungry adult snake can snarf.

Sometimes the math works. Just like sometimes it's more economical to feed a couple adult mice rather than a rat, depending on what the rat market is. Sometimes you can feed a pile if chicks for less than the cost of an adult mouse and sometimes you can't.

I've never had a nutritional deficiency with feeding chicks or pullets. You can even get organic chicks, should you have a snake that is conscious of that, too.
 
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