• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Interest in a prepared raw snake food?

ReggieOkeetee08

ReggieOkeetee08

Daniel
I hear occasionally com people that they like snakes but don't keep them because of the requirement of feeding them live mice, or having to keep frozen mice in their freezer...

So my question is, other than new snake owners (who dislike the idea of feeding mice/rats/rabbits, etc) would anyone in the snake keeping community be interested in a prepared snake food, formulated to fulfill the nutritional needs of our snakes and possibly other reptiles?

My idea would be a sausage type food, raw, frozen, and possibly scented or smelly (to a snake at least). There would be a digestable "skin" (kinda like the skin on a hotdog or breakfast sausage) so the snake can use its teeth to grip the food item and keep its shape until digestion sets in. Drop package into warm water, open, and feed warmed sausage!

The benefits could include:
Better nutrition
Easier/longer storage
Less risk of injury (compared to live food)
Different formulas for different life stages/species
Medicated or boosted nutrition for disease or breeding prep
Availability at pet stores
And many others!

Let me know what you all think, both good and bad with the idea. If its popular, it might happen, you never know!
 
Various "Snake Sausages" have been around a few years, but never gained any popularity. It's a bit of a surprise to me. It seemed like a good idea :shrugs:
 
I also thought it was a good idea but I guess it can be tough to get the snake on them :shrugs:

I'm not sure.

I thought I would never have a snake because I thought you had to feed them live. But when I found out frozen mice existed I was thrilled and now I have 2 snakes :)
 
I've made my own snake "sausages" for years. They work fine as long as you A) start the snake feeding on them early and/or B) the animal is NOT a fussy eater. I have had success with hatchlings as well as adults. The project got started because I had a number of Vegetarian customers that didn't care for the need to feed a pet something that still looked like a live item. I continued the project as a way to boost calories for my breeding females. With a controlled food source you can manipulate the formula to fit the need. It works very well.

Terri
 
I first heard of the Snake Sausages when I read Corn Snakes by Kathy and Bill Love. They mention them, and even show pictures. Very interesting stuff.

Brilliant minds think alike though, eh?
 
i think that one must be prepared to feed snakes the proper food, squeamishness aside.

they eat rodents/birds/other small things. i do like the idea of feeding exact calorie and nutrient loads to certain animals though that sounds like more of an individual project than something that could easily be mass produced. most of us are rather comfortable with rodents and i imagine that the price of any prepared snake diet would be higher than the current cost of mice cubes.
 
I agree with above that if you're going to get a snake, you should be prepared to feed them the items they require regardless of squeamishness. Also, although everyone is entitled to their own preference I think it's a bit silly that vegetarians would want an alternate product because of their own views. Why get a pet and deprive it of it's natural food source simply because you would rather not deal with it? Seems a bit selfish to me. I was a bit wierded out at first too because I have owned mice as pets before feeding them but you quickly get used to it :)
 
yeah, I too agree that I sounds selfish.. snakes are not veggitarians naturaly.. so why would q vegan or veggiatarian want a animal like that?

why not get a tortoise or iguana(if the space is avalible) that could share your veggie diet with you and be happy to do so? :)

I'm not a meat eater myself but I have respect for nature and food chains and the way things work, and I already feel sad that all I can offer to my snake IS mice, I know they eat small birds and lizards in the wild and these are not as redily availible to consumers as mice and rats are.

so mice it is but I'm sure if they could they would love a change in their diet every once in a while..
 
WELL I think it actually is a decent idea.
My husband is ridiculously allergic to rodents, but he loves snakes. It's not like he doesn't deserve to own snakes just because of the allergies. I'd hold out to see the price though, because if it ends up costing too much I'd rather keep up deep-cleaning the bathroom each time I feed the snake. :p
 
It's actually a good bit cheaper than present day adult rodent prices. If you don't count the added time it takes to prepare them. Which really isn't a lot if you do it in batches. Less poop too!

Terri
 
I don't see this as being any different than most cat and dog owners being accustomed to feeding kibbles and/or pate from a bag and/or can for the sake of convenience and not wanting to deal with whole, raw prey that their carnivorous bodies are designed for. Does that mean that those people shouldn't own cats and dogs? I don't necessarily think so, no.

The sausage sounds like a neat idea, even though I prefer offering my animals the most natural form of foods that they are designed for.

Do we know how the nutrition pans out in comparison to mice?
 
If snakes could manage them occasionally. I'd think it could make it much easier to find a pet sitter. Snakes can go a good time without food, but I feel better if I have a backup who is willing to at least offer food on the regular feeding schedule, and even people who don't mind shaking a cricket tube into the frog tank seem to get grossed out by having to thaw a frozen mouse to feed the snake.
 
cagedbirdsinging said:
I don't see this as being any different than most cat and dog owners being accustomed to feeding kibbles and/or pate from a bag and/or can for the sake of convenience and not wanting to deal with whole, raw prey that their carnivorous bodies are designed for. Does that mean that those people shouldn't own cats and dogs? I don't necessarily think so, no.

The sausage sounds like a neat idea, even though I prefer offering my animals the most natural form of foods that they are designed for.

Do we know how the nutrition pans out in comparison to mice?
Click to expand...
As I feed my dogs on RMB and firmly believe it better for their health than any kibbble or prepared food, I'd have to wonder about the long term health implications of any snake sausage. Unless it was a way of serving whole mice including their bones and hair, I'd worry they wouldn't be getting the food they are totally designed to eat.
 
Would it be worth getting a meat grinder, grinding up the food (young chicks, beef heart, and possibly some supplements?) and then putting it into sausage skins? Seems like it would work, but I'd be rather worried about guaranteeing the nutrition that way.

I might check out the sausage food, pick a couple up and see if Stig will eat them. There's a place about a half hour from me that sells them, so maybe it's worth a shot in case my husband has to feed one day or something. :) I'm all for giving him a little healthy variety in his diet, I love making sure my pets don't just get the same thing each time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top