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Feeding strictly lizards?

ArpeggioAngel

ArpeggioAngel

Around Here Somewhere....
I apologize in advance if there is a thread about this already. I did a few searches and couldn't find anything that specifically addressed my question.

One of the trans-pecos rat snakes that Joe got from Mike has only eaten once for us since getting him. We have tried just about everything. Mike advised he had been able to "tease" him with a pinkie on tongs but even that has not worked for us. We tried lizard scenting and many other options with no luck. He doesn't look unhealthy yet, but I have been getting more and more worried with each refused feeding.

Last week I happened to catch a small gecko in my house. Normally I release them outside to save them from our cats, but I decided to toss it in with Sagebrush to see if he might be interested.....and low and behold..he ate the little guy! It was a very, very tiny gecko, but I thought maybe it was a start. Yesterday I had another small gecko and tried to scent a pinkie once again and he refused it yet again.
So today I caught a live anole and thought I would give it a shot with him again. (after reading some earlier threads I know now I should have f/t it to kill any possible parasites...but I was desperate to see if I could get him to eat). He wasted no time in constricting and eating the anole. I stunned it at least so that it would not be able to bite him. He now has a happy little lump!

So my question is this...is it bad to feed only lizards? Is the nutritional value of lizards non-existant or extremely low compared to mice? Being a trans-pecos I imagine in the wild the majority of their diet would consist of lizards so do you think it would be ok for me to start buying and feeding him strictly lizards? (or catching my own and making sure they are f/t to avoid any potential parasites?) I just want to make sure he is eating and it seems that he likes the lizards but doesn't fall for the lizard scenting.

Any feedback, suggestions, info etc...would be appreciated. Thanks everyone in advance!
 
I have zero experience with feeding lizards to snakes, so these comments are just based on things I've read:

I'd say that it's not bad feeding lizards exclusively if that's all he will eat! I'd try a frozen/thawed lizard next, to make sure he'll eat those, and to reduce the risk of parasites. Have you tried the scenting method where you open the anole's mouth and squish the pinky around inside it to scent with anole saliva? I've read a number of success stories using that method. I've read a lot of good things about tuna scenting too. That one's easy, so it's probably worth a try.

Good luck. :)
 
Thanks Dean. Appreciate the feedback and suggestions.
I have not been able to get one of the anoles to bite onto a pinky yet to try that. I just found that in some of the older threads yesterday. And I had not heard about the tuna option either. I will probably give them a try, but part of me wonders if it is even worth the effort with this guy. If he is happy eating lizards, eats them without any refusals/problems, and it isn't a potential detriment to his health...it may just be the way to go for him. That's why I wanted to see if anyone else on the forums had any snakes that were strictly lizard eaters and how it works out for them healthwise.

I would love it if I could get him to eat mice...I don't want to pay $8 for a lizard that runs around wild in my backyard, but they are a real pain in the butt to try to catch on my own! But if I can't get him to eat mice, then I have to do what I have to do to feed him lizards one way or another.
 
Sorry to hear you're having continual trouble with Sagebrush. I went back through my records and saw that his first refusal was in early March and I think you got him in April. I would continue him on lizards if he's accepting them readily and try a pink every third meal. We need to get him back on rodents at some point. If you catch some anoles and freeze them, put a pink in the same bag. Upon defrosting the anole scent should be strong enough to mask the pinky scent. Just a thought, or you could try the old favorite chicken broth. It may be a case where he just doesn't like the scent of rodents as opposed to liking the scent of cold blooded prey :shrugs:
Keep me posted.
 
I am going to keep trying to catch more anole this week. They are such a pain in the butt...I spent two days trying before I caught that first big one yesterday. Hopefully,...if I can get more than one I can freeze them and save them to use for straight feeding and trying again with scenting. I would like to try to keep one live one as well to see if I could get it to bite on a pinky.

Mike - did he ever refuse for you before March? Do you think he might be refusing due to breeding season? Like I said in my original post, he doesn't "look" unhealthy...no spine sticking out or anything, but he feels stiff like a board everytime I take him out. I don't exactly know how to explain it, but he doesn't "feel" right in my hands.
 
I know there is a sizable thread on this subject somewhere. It would be a great injustice for me to try and recreate the info here. I can't seem to find it on search at the moment either, but I'll keep trying to think of unique things that would cause it to come up in a search.
 
No, he was taking one or two (ocassionally) every week since October'05 when I got him. I show a refusal on March 28, followed by 2 pinks on April 1.
That is the last meal he had here. He's always been picky, sometimes being left in the feeding box overnight, but always ate eventually. Good luck with him and if you ever don't want to deal with it anymore, let me know. I've got a few snakes I could consider trading. :grin01:
 
Carol - thanks for the info and the link. I looked through the threads that I could find pertaining to eating lizards last night but couldn't really find an answer to my question.

Mike - I will certainly keep you in the loop as to how he is doing. I really don't want to trade him or Tumbleweed if I can help it. I think they are both beautiful snakes, but I will definately keep it in mind if I can't figure out a way to resolve the issue.

:-offtopic
I am however, thinking about trading off Malachai up at Petz A Lot. Don't really want to...he is such a beautiful snake with that perfect stripe. But his little attitude problem is driving me nuts and if I have this much of a problem handling him now while he is still small...I would have no luck handling him at all when he gets larger and still has an attitude.
 
ArpeggioAngel said:
I am going to keep trying to catch more anole this week. They are such a pain in the butt...I spent two days trying before I caught that first big one yesterday. Hopefully,...if I can get more than one I can freeze them and save them to use for straight feeding and trying again with scenting. I would like to try to keep one live one as well to see if I could get it to bite on a pinky.
Click to expand...

Are their any neighborhood boys around that you can maybe pay to catch them for you?

I don't have any advice about getting him to eat, though. At least none that hasn't already been given. But I do wish you luck.
 
ArpeggioAngel said:
I am going to keep trying to catch more anole this week. They are such a pain in the butt...I spent two days trying before I caught that first big one yesterday. Hopefully,...if I can get more than one I can freeze them and save them to use for straight feeding and trying again with scenting. I would like to try to keep one live one as well to see if I could get it to bite on a pinky.
Click to expand...

You do know that you can just open the mouth of a dead anole and put the pinkies head in there and get just about the same results as using a live one. But you would have to defrost in a bag and not just by putting it in warm water without the bag, that way you don't dilute the saliva.
 
BeckyG said:
Are their any neighborhood boys around that you can maybe pay to catch them for you?
Click to expand...

Or girls . . . I knew a girl who was better than ALL the boys at catching just about everything. ;) She's all grown up now, but she can still hold her own with the guys. ;)

edited to add: That only goes for finding and catching things. After that whole puberty, testosterone, and slight-to-moderate sexual size dimorphism thing, I really can't compete with them in football anymore. :shrugs:
 
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