This Thanksgiving

[hazysnake]

Which do your pet corn snakes prefer - white or dark (i.e. mouse color)?

 

[dionythicus]

I would often joke about that very thing when I was picking out live mice at the petstore. Mine get mostly white meat, occasionaly they get multi-coloured meat.

 

[lefty_mussolini]

With my corns and kings, it doesn't matter. However, my Ball python hesitates when it comes to the lighter colors, but will snatch up a dark rodent really quick.

 

[Taceas]

Most of mine will eat anything that smells like mouse. Mouse, tongs, hands, water bowl rim (don't ask)...

But I do notice that they do show more affinity and aggressiveness when constricting when its a mouse of color. White mice will get a much shorter and less enthusiastic strangulation.

All of my snakes get pre-killed, so there is no danger there, and all have been fed this way since arriving at my home. So I don't really know how to explain it. Maybe white mice are seen as being weaker and colored ones more like wild mice in the snake's genetic past and are more work to bring down. :shrugs:

 

[hazysnake]

Might it be a matter of the darker mice simply being easier for the snakes to see?

My gf and I have been using Mice On Ice which are white but now that PetSmart carries Arctic Mice we're trying our snakes on dark ones. It will be interesting to see what they prefer.