Pythoness saved my Woma python

[Pythonking]

Originally Posted by PilbaraPythons

I can personally vouch for value in feeding day old chicks to pythons. I have been feeding near exclusively chickens to many pythons for years which have gone on to successfully breed and still a picture of health. It makes me chuckle at the amount of people who continually rubbish the use or value of day old chickens, I just quietly continue with what I know has proven to be very successful for me.

well that just goes to show a reputable breeder gives day olds the thumbs up

[Nagraj]

I too, feed my reptiles on day old chicks as their primary food source and I'm very happy with the the results but I think there are a couple of misconceptions in Pythoness info.

Originally Posted by pythoness

Considering a snakes diet in the wild is made up of mainly birds, i find it amazing that most people feed nothing but european rats to australian native snakes, that have not evolved to eat such large amounts of this type of prey, as they are fed in captivity.

There are plenty of small furry native mammal species analogous to rats available to reptiles in the wild. No doubt some snakes feed primarily on birds but many, as in the Aspidites, feed primarily on other reptiles etc.

Originally Posted by pythoness

.... being constipated or impacted with rat fur. I believe this is due to over feeding of the wrong food type in captivity.

IMO the down on day old chicks would have a similar effect to the fur on rodents and probably acts as 'fibre' not as a binding agent.


Over-feeding is probably a major cause of many of the health problems of our captive snakes and I believe that chicks are just as capable of causing this as any other food. I am as guilty of over-feeding as anyone and a couple of my snakes are a little obese, they have been raised on chicks.

[largeheaded1]

how old or big should they be before we start feeding them day olds?

i guess the bigger they get the bigger and older the chickens are we feed them?

[pythoness]

Nagraj, Quite correct, there are many aussy native rats and mice, but if you look very closely at the fur of the native fluffies you will see it is very different from euro rat fur, and much more easily digested. As for the down acting as a compacting agent such as rat fur, feather is completely digested by snakes due to it's structure, unlike fur, but i do agree with you on the fact that over feeding is a serious issue that causes a large number of the problems we see here everyday. I also agree that many snakes eat mainly reptiles in the wild, but no one feeds those particular snakes their prefered diet in captivity, and bird structure more closely resembles reptile bio, well more so than rats at any rate, and yet we feed reptile eaters rats in captivity.

Largeheaded1. I feed whole chicks to the abboreal snakes from the time they are about a year old, and the dwarfs and terra's from 18months. If your snake can eat a large mouse or juvi rat, they can eat chicks. The younger snakes i also feed on chicks, but i dismember then first, (the chicks, not the snakes lol ) and i suppliment with mice. The bigger the snakes get, the more chicks i feed, with the occasional larger item of mammal and large fowl once or twice a year.

I am not rubbishing rat breeders or feeders, please don't get me wrong, i only wish to share my personal experience and point of view. I do feel saddened when i see many posts almost daily on problems with snakes that could so easily be prevented with a more varied diet. Not saying you should never feed rats, but snakes do benefit from a change in the routine, after all, how long could you eat the same thing for EVERY meal, seemingly forever? It's no supprise snakes go off the food, i'd go on a hunger strike too if i had to eat the same thing forever.
love and goblin snot.
P.

[Bung-Eye]

i'll agree the day old chicks from pythoness are great. I picked up 20 or so a few months ago, and although I mainly feed rats, all my snakes get a chick as a treat every so often. I will however, be maybe upping the chick intake and downing the rat intake to a more level consumption rate for the two of them.

[steph]

good to hear your woma is now eating. i have a 14month old bredli and was wondering at what age i should i try him on day old chickens???? also just for future reference could some one tell me were i can get hold of day old chickens in brisbane at a reasonable cost. thanks julie

[steph]

thanks pythoness for your quick response. no doubt i'll were ill be getting my chickens from. how long can i keep them frozen?? and what age should i start feeding my bredli day old chickens max is only 14 months and is presently eating 2 fuzzy rats once a week. also should i feed him less frequently in winter as i was told that toxins eventually build up in snakes if there constently feed frequently is this true \????? would appreciate any comments

cheers
julies

[pythoness]

No probs Steph. You can keep them frozen for 6 months before they start to lose nutrition.
Your Bredli at 14 months can easily take day old chicks.
As for feeding in winter, in brisbane we don't have a huge climate change, and unless your breeding there's no real reason for cooling. Keep their heat up and you can feed them all winter

[Jason]

i feed my snakes solely on quails which are more or less the same. have been doing so for a long time now and they seem to be healthier and leener then they were on rats. the grow well but dont get fatty and they tend to have a nicer sheen to their scales.

[pythoness]

Thats it in a nutshell Jason.

[centralian11]

I advise my customers to feed chickens as well as rodents to avoid the problem we in Queensland are experiencing in not having sufficient rodent supplies. Sinse i have started feeding chicks myself my reptiles have never looked better . they look healthier , have less problems sheding and while heavy are not fat .
Barry

[Pythonking]

Hey barry I've noticed the lack of rodents around brisbane is there a reason behind the shortage? I had some real troubles last summer and I ended up resorting to breeding my own which i plan to reduce the 100+ rats I've breed slowly down cause they are a bit of a pain to look after and feed more day old chickens

[s_ricardo]

Wow what an interesting post... As I have just received my baby SW QLD stimson only a month ago this is good to learn! However I think it will be a while before he could take a day old chicken so the 2 day old mice will have to do... I find it interesting that chicken makes the snakes shine because years ago we use to breed and show Staffy's (dogs) and we would give them raw and cooked chicken meat with skin and all, as it would greatly increase there shine on their coat as well as being lean meat for them.....

[Pythonking]

Congrats ricardo its your first snake? and yea be a year or so before you could feed him a day old but once hes big enough i would definately give them a go. Also interesting to know about when you had your staffy's

[centralian11]

I think the lack of rodents in Brisbane is because 3 large breeders have left the industry. I have increased the number of breeding females i have but still find that i am selling so many pinky, fuzzy and weaners i am not in a position to run any on . With another 150 females being introduced into the breeding cagesi hope to be able to supply more next summer .
Barry