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dezza09

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Has anyone had any trouble doing this?

any advice in doing so?

I'm sure I've read in places that people do, as well as Chicken Necks
 
My Diamonds eat chicken necks no problem, just put them on the floor of the enclosure like any other food.
 
Nope, only rodents for me :D
 
Why would you not use a whole animal body diet?
 
I got into a big fihht with a friend over this topic a few days ago. She fed her snake a big piece of chicken and i said it wasnt such a good idea, even rarely. Then i heard of her friend that feeds her snakes chicken legs all the time....

The thing is you have an animal that eats one thing, not very often. They dont get variety like we do. By giving them chicken necks, legs or flesh you rob them of vital nutrients, and roughage. Its all just calcium, phospherus and fat. You miss out on everything else thats in organs, skin, smaller bones ect.
I strongly advise against this, just feed whole prey items.
 
feel free to link me to them Solar 17 :)

feel free to link me to them Solar 17 :)

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Truthfully I'm just wondering as I am out of Rats at the moment but have a freezer full of Chicken Drumsticks and remembered reading about people using Chicken, I have never fed my snakes on anything other than Rats just to be clear
 
Don't get me wrong i only use them as an addition to rats , birds , and other rodents.
Mainly if i have leftovers from my lacies.
 
is full chickens ok for larger snakes
i thought chickens are ok to feed snakes not sure about legs or necks
 
Certainly can. Snakes can and will thrive on just about anything, and I'm of the opinion we don't understand their nutrition really all that well. The logic behind feeding whole prey items is definitely a good one, yet snakes will do well on food that isn't a whole item. I will feed snakes chicken necks every now and again because it's cheap. That doesn't mean I don't care for my animals and it doesn't make me irresponsible. Kinda the same if you give your dog human food instead of their usual RAW or packaged food that contains "all the necessary nutrients", not optimal but certainly won't hurt them (obviously not the same, but you get the point xD).

If you're concerned, then don't do it. But will it hurt them or suddenly make them sick from lack of nutrition? Certainly not.

I defrost them as you would normally for rats and mice and feed them in the same way (tongs to hand it to them, etc).
 
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I have fed my bigger coastals necks and drumsticks on the odd occasion when rabbits and XXL rats weren't available. They are still alive today and the earth's gravity didn't suddenly stop either.
 
I choose to do my research rather than believe the first person that comes along and tells me the sky is green. Chicken will not harm your animal, regardless of the body part. If you're worried about nutrition, give them suppliments (which you shouldn't have to, anyway.)
 
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Sounds like a cheapskate option in my eyes. Why wouldn't you go buy a chicken for them? I know my local reptile shop sells all different sizes frozen for snakes and monitors to eat along with their frozen mice, rats, rabbits, quail.
 
Load of S*&^ people saying its not nutritious. It has skin, low fat meat with high protein (if anyone on here actually does exercise and "work out" they will realise chicken is one of the healthiest meats!)
Scent it with Rats. Use a chicken leg with a big bone in it. Simple. I feed my Bredli a chicken leg between rat feeds.

Make it an inbetween feed. In the wild snakes eat more then just the same rodent! So it won't hurt to mix it up if you feel like it!


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Hi there.MAYBE l can speed this debate up a bit...[approx.] 5 years ago l purchased a yearling female bhp off a guy who said [after l paid for her] she ONLY eats one week old chickens, well the novelty wore off these real quick[ living in an inner suburb]so l tried her on a small drumstick BINGO!!!! well for the last 41/2 years [SHE WILL NOT EAT RATS] all she has eaten is chicken drumsticks [with one MYADEC multi-vitamin capsule placed in the flesh via a knife cut]........well for the last 2 years she has produced 8 hatchies each year and is gravid again....and she is so shiney she looks like she has been dipped in clear oil.....cheers solar 17

I agree with Solar 17 ;)

Good man!
 
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I tried our coastal with a drumstick, mostly just to see if he'd take it. He smashed it!! I wouldn't feed them animal parts as a staple, but I like to mix it up and feed them all different things sometimes.
 
This debate has been around for a long time. So when i first heard it i thought that i would give it a go, because at that time rats & other such foods were in short supply.
Works a treat. My BHPs & larger morelia liked them & took to them no worries, necks with fat taken off & chicken drumsticks.
I was so impressed at the cheap easy food supply that i thought that i would give it an extended trial. So some of my BHPs were fed chicken drumsticks/necks only & some where fed a full rat diet. The results so far are that they appear to have even growth & weight gain,with no ill affects. My large female who is gravid now & about to have pre-lay shed was fed chicken drumsticks long before her condition now, so has not hurt her too much. It will be interesting to see how the eggs turn out.

I have heard of some people feeding chicken drumstick diet for many years with great breeding results.
At the same time i have had people say that they need the whole food to get vitamins from the liver & gut content, as Baden said that is easily overcome by adding vitamins with the food. They certainly seem to like them & do well on them. Another thing that i have noticed is that they do not do great big poops, i was told that is because they digest most of the food item with no waste. The poop from a snake eating whole food is the left overs from what they do not digest, feathers/hair & guts.

People should feed whatever they are comfortable with & i am not saying for one minute that this is the be all & end all, but rather just an alternative to whole food supplies.

Cheers
Ian
 
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