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Picky snake

G

galofgrace

New member
Hi
Does anyone else have a snake that only takes lizards? :I'm wondering what I can do to make him accept mice. I've tried scenting with anoles but he ignored it for hours. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks :wavey:
 
I've never had a snake eat lizards. When did you offer the snake a lizard? Maybe senting the mice with lizard sent?
 
Has he always been a poor feeder? And did you switch to lizards to get him to eat, or did you feed him one for variety and he never went back?

Generally you CAN switch them over to mice, it just may take some work to do so. First off I'd say, don't give up. Anoles really aren't all that nutritious, and they do have the ability to pass along reptilian parasites/diseases.

What other rodents have you tried in your quest to get him to switch? Some snakes seem to prefer rats over mice, gerbil or hamster young may work, a chick leg may work. Some people have even tried tuna/chicken broth on a f/t pink with success. There's a lot more things to try. =)

Have you tried:
1. Frozen/Thawed
2. Frozen/Thawed Brained
3. Live
4. Live Brained
5. Anole saliva scented
- All of the above leaving him in a small container in a dark room for overnight

If all he wants is anoles, I'd say tough luck and stop indulging him. Anoles are expensive (unless you happen to live in an area where you can catch them).

I've honestly had the best luck with anole scenting using anole saliva. It seems more potent than just rubbing the pink on the anole. So try that and see how it goes. Open the anole mouth (if f/t) and swab the pink head through it. If the anole is alive, gently restrain it and annoy it into biting the dickens out of a pink.

Just remember to be patient and minimize contact after you've put him in the feeding container with the pink. Leave him overnight in a dark closet or cabinet.

Although here lately I've gotten strict with my own hatchlings. If they don't eat within a time I feel they should on what I feel they should, they're fed to my kingsnake.

I'm not doing this hobby any favors by perpetuating bad feeders and snakes who want to eat alternative things. Some people think its their life's work to work with non-feeders, but I personally think its a waste of time considering how many might end up passing on such botched genetics. Sure it may be "natural" to do so in the wild, but these snakes are captives, not wild. There's nothing wild about a Sterilite tub or aquarium.

So I suppose you need to accept possibility as well. =/
 
Great answer Misty! You covered everything that needed to be said!

Good luck with your picky eater, but brace yourself for the possiblility it may never eat without considerate effort. And like Misty said, do you really want to propegate a line of problem feeders? :shrugs:
 
Well thanks for the great advice. He has always been a picky eater. when we first got him, he went 3wks. without eating. He was force fed 2xs then he accepted 2 pinks on his own then he stopped taking taking them altogether. I was getting desperate and tried an anole I got at a reptile show. They told me to try it since it was their food in the wild.When I gave it to him, he came to life, grabbing it and tossing his head around. I never saw him so excited over anything. since then he eats them instantly. The problem is they are'nt easy to find and like you said they're expensive. I think I'll try the saliva. Also, when you said chick leg, did you mean chicken leg? :wavey:
 
Some frozen rodent companies sell frozen baby chickens, or chicks, quite frequently for use as feeder animals.

You may try to obtain one and use it for scenting purposes, or you may hack a leg (the drumstick part) off and see if it'll eat it.

But to me, it sounds to be a lost cause anyway. You should never have to force feed a snake, I don't care how special it is. If an animal hasn't the willingness to eat on its own, then there's something wrong with it that you or I may never be able to know. Nature can be cruel at times, and most times we're just along for the ride.

I would definitely take it back to wherever you got it and ask for a refund. Then take the money and invest in a quality animal from someone on here (or locally) who has healthy hatchlings and can guarantee they'll be good feeders from the get-go.

Let us know how he does. =)
 
And why you would ever try a slug is beyond me, considering corns don't normally eat insects or gastropods in the wild, either.
 
i have no idea why.... well actually i do sort of... she found one in the garden, and having tried most other things, thought "why not"

it fed straight away though ;)

why try a lot of things i guess... i have had sucess with cali kings scenting with cows blood drained from a sunday roast pre-cooking... as has a mate with an non feeder neonate amazon tree boa... neither animal would eat a cow "in the wild" however...

sometimes, ours is not to reason why... ours is to do, or to die..

or in these cases, ours is to try the most oddest of things, to help them NOT die..

N
 
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