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Snakes that don't feed on rodents

J

Juxtaposition109

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Hello all,
I have a friend who has snake sit for me a few times when I've been out of town. She does an excellent job but being as I have Ball Pythons and Corn Snakes she doesn't want to feed them b/c she said she is grossed out by rodents in general. She said she would love a snake so I was thinking of getting her a Rough Green snake for a pet. I have read that they mainly need to be fed gut loaded crickets and worms. Are there any other snakes that mainly do not feed on rodents that you all would recommend as pets?
 
IMHO, green snakes just don't acclimate well to captivity, whether they eat crickets or not.

Harold is correct in that the species he mentioned do not eat rodents. However, one has to consider what they DO eat, and how to obtain such on a reliable basis.

For example, eastern hogs are toad-eaters by preference. Where does one find toads? Sure you may find them locally around your yard but what about during the winter?

Mudsnakes have a very specialized diet: giant eel-like amphibians called sirens and amphiumas. The snake itself is rare enough in captivity or to find in the field....How on earth is one to sustain one once they have acquired it?
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Garter snakes are an excellent choice. Being opportunistic, they eat amphibians, fish, smaller reptiles, invertebrates, and small rodents. This is a species that is a lot easier to satisfy in captivity. Most hobbyists offer large earthworms (found at fish bait supply stores), small feeder fish (minnows and guppies are healthier than goldfish), and/or small fillet strips of pre-cooked fish.
 
That's why I listed them in the order I did, lol.
Garters first because they would be easiest,
Eastern hognose second, because they are still easy once you establish a food source...and they can be brumated for the winter months when toads are more difficult to obtain.
Mudsnakes last, because they are more difficult to keep. Some people have had some success in getting them to eat other amphibians (tadpoles and frogs, in particular), but I have no information on the longterm effects of that diet on their health & longevity.
 
hhmoore said:
That's why I listed them in the order I did, lol.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wasn't bashing what you said. After all, you were answering the question. I was just elaborating.

To go further, there are others, such as water snakes (similar care to garters), and possibly Dekay's brown snakes, which will readily eat small worms or chopped-up larger ones.
 
Not a beginner snake or easy to find nor take care of, but you didn't list any of those as a requirement technically :p

Asian vine snakes (Ahaetulla prasina, or any ahaetulla really). My favorite snakes, they eat primarily anoles/geckos.

But I certainly would NOT recommend them!
 
MDC_Ophiuchus said:
IMHO, green snakes just don't acclimate well to captivity, whether they eat crickets or not.

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Garter snakes are an excellent choice. Being opportunistic, they eat amphibians, fish, smaller reptiles, invertebrates, and small rodents. This is a species that is a lot easier to satisfy in captivity. Most hobbyists offer large earthworms (found at fish bait supply stores), small feeder fish (minnows and guppies are healthier than goldfish), and/or small fillet strips of pre-cooked fish.
Click to expand...

I concur on both points.

It's sad how many $10 green snakes are sold and die....

Garter snakes make excellent captives, come in cool colours and are super easy to care for.

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Yes that snake is that color. We get blue garters where I am from.Almost like the one in the pic. And if you are looking into easy fed snakes without rodent food sources,then you want to look into the garters,waters,ribbons,racers,coachwhips. Now the coachwhips and racers can be aggressive if wild caught,however if they are c.b. they do real well with handling them and easy to work with and the reason for this suggestion is that they eat frogs,birds,rodents, lizards and other snakes. this gives you a wider range of food sources. But highly recomend the garters or ribbons.The will readily eat frogs,feeder fish(guppies) goldfish are ok occasionally high in oil not good for the snake if comsuming nothing but gold fish.and they love earthworms or nightcrawlers(big worms) and you can switch back and forth with these food items.And it is hard to keep e.hognose,s.hognose if you don,t have a steady supply of toads for the winter,great snakes though,love them.The mud snakes are hard to come by and are one of the most difficult to care for! Do some further research on the garters and ribbons,thats the best bet!
 
Sorry I forgot to mention the worm snakes,ringnecks and or storeia deckayi,roug or smooth earth snakes,these are all worm feeders also. Yes our Florida blue garters are a real pretty blue as well as those. I have also seen red sided garters come in that were blue with no red,those were really sharp.
 
Seems like everyone forgot about the king of the colubrids - eastern Indigo. They are generalists, and mine has done well on a diet of anoles, fish, quail, frogs, toads, etc. I would feed him snakes, but I don't find a lot of snakes where I live, nor do I see a lot of DOR snakes. (I do feed him rabbit pinkies as well, since they are high protein/low fat.) Anyway, I would absolutely recommend them as pets... if the owner is prepared and able to go the extra mile with regard to maintenance (ie, they crap a lot) and obtaining the non-rodent foods. I often say my indigo is more like a dog than a snake. For some reason, they seem to have no fear of humans.

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Garters are fun snake pets, but do best as singles. Most will learn to eat strips of beef heart or fish along with alive diet. It's good to remember that some people don't like snakes! There are other nice squamates, a bearded dragon, for instance.
 
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