rats Vs. chooks

[alienpunk]

hey crew

whilst at my local gloriously-upselling petstore, the lady tried to sell me chicks instead of rats...now im a big fan of the "if its not broke, dont fix it", she was trying to tell me the snakes will enjoy it more....now considering her amazing abilities to communicate subconsciously with herps aside, what do you guys think?....more opinions on this the better.....cheers

[jessop]

variety is the spice of life... don't be afraid to mix it up a bit. though i do hear snake pooh smells much worse if it's been eating fowl/chickens. i tried my dp on finches when i 1st got him but apparently they are not that nutricious.

[GreenWillow]

Gave my big coastal girl a chicken the other night. She has been uber-eager every time she sees me now, just incase another is winging her way! Poor Circe.. it was the only one in the snake-food freezer

My chondro bubs get a variety, including qualis, which they much prefer. However it hasn't stopped them from taking rodents. Same with the rest of the gang, who have also had quails/chickens at various times and reverted easily to rats/mice/bunnies.

[jessop]

anyway check this one out alienpunk... http://www.aussiepythons.com/index.p...pic&t=9867

[GreenWillow]

Baby ducks??? That's an awful thought. Do you realise how adorable those things are

Sometimes we would cut the wings off the quails and give them to the snakes seperately. It looked like the snake was chowing down on an angel, especially if the feathers were white.

[josho]

im a big fan of feeding chicken so long as the chicken is over a week old. there lower in fat and iv had snakes that havent fed for a ages grab them like its no tommorow

[alienpunk]

hmmmm...thanks guys...i will try them next time....and Willow....i had a duck as a pet....damn that angel line killed me....

[alienpunk]

oh and thanks for the link jess...

[cris]

though i do hear snake pooh smells much worse if it's been eating fowl/chickens

yes its actually quite a fowl smell :roll:

[Lucas]

day old chiks look pretty bad when they've had the remaining yoke squeezed out of them too. If you're going to feed them chicks do it in a tub that can be hosed out, not the enclosure. It can get pretty messy.

And Jessop ir right. The smell is really on the nose.

[Lurk]

I think all Herps need variaty...but not all will except something different.
I think all snakes enjoy there food no matter what it is...

[Pythoninfinite]

I'd be cautious of feeding whole birds of any sort - they carry a big variety of worms which may be a problem for your snake. Finches and aviary birds in general frequently die from the worm load they carry. I've never seen any evidence that a whole-of-life diet of rodents has compromised the health of any snake in any way at all.

Jamie.

[stencorp69]

I'd be cautious of feeding whole birds of any sort - they carry a big variety of worms which may be a problem for your snake

Just a thought - I wouldn't have thought day old chicks carry parasites, but I'm not positive. Can anyone enlighten me if the parasites can be past from parent to offspring via the egg.

[ponybug]

not 100% certain but i know when the chicks are born at the hatcheries they are fed antibiotics straight away, not sure if that means anything or is even right.........

cheers,

[alienpunk]

thanks guys, all advice taken on board...think i may stick withe "if its not broke" addage

much appreciated cheers crew