Feeding of wild animals to your snakes

[Outcast]

In my opinion there are too many risks to your snake. Parasite loads are insane in many wild animals, and it's all too possible that your pet snake is on the list of host species that the parasite would enjoy a life in.

What spurred this, was a discussion on the Reptile Talk FB page, where someone was advocating feeding a large constrictor, Opossums.

That discussion got out of hand quickly, so please lets keep it respectful here. Though I rarely see anyone going overboard here recently...

What do you all think about it?

 

[Nanci]

No way. You should never feed/eat a wild carnivore- especially the organs. High levels of heavy metals, parasites, and carcinogens, which aren't effectively removed by freezing. Wild herbivores- you'd have to freeze for three weeks, and even then, don't know what they've been eating, like rodenticides.

 

[Tavia]

Not worth it to me.

 

[demonss]

Absolutely not, when I was a kid I used to catch crickets for my w\c toads and knowing what I know now about parasites and poisons I can't believe my animals never caught anything or died.

 

[MegF.]

I don't trust anything that wasn't raised in a place I know...however, I think if it were frozen in a deep freezer for an extended period, parasites would be killed off....it won't remove toxic chemicals or heavy metals though....CBB mice and rats may still have parasites though...one of the reasons I feed f/t and depending upon the quality of the food could very well have chemicals or heavy metals.....