Alternative feeding instead of rats/mice

[Tail_less]

Hi all
I have a question: a long time ago I heard about alternative meat pellets that are available for feeding snakes, has anyone heard of these? I know about T-Rex snake steaks/sausage but cannot find a supplier here in Aus.
I also see some people discussing homemade sausages and was wondering if anyone would care to share recipies? I can't find any recipies anywhere.
Regarding feeding roo meat, how does one go about this? Do I just get a suitably sized chunk and warm it up?
Does this require additional stimulant of some kind to make them more appetising?
If anyone wants to share advice on methods of feeding, recipies or suppliers etc. or links, that would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
Tail_less

 

[redbellybite]

SNAKES NEED THE WHOLE ITEM for a healthy life ..which means HAIR BONES BLOOD /FEATHERS ETC ... feeding them chicken pieces is a variety and yes some do love their chook pieces but this cant be a whole diet alone ....pellets pffffffft .....in all honesty if you cant afford to feed your snake what it needs to sustain a healthy balanced diet /life ...then DONT OWN ONE!!

So please do your homework and make sure your budget allows for the on going costs of rodent /bird feedings to your snake ...forget the sausages and roo meat...unless the roo meat is still inside the furry carcass ..

 

[Serpentor]

maybe there's a market for hairy roo sausages?

If people can sell roo scrote purses, anything is possible.

 

[Chris1]

maybe there's a market for hairy roo sausages?

If people can sell roo scrote purses, anything is possible.

haha, roo scrote purses, lol,.....

cant imagine those sausages would be cheap, if u wanna offer variety chicks and quails with the rats and mice should keep things interesting for ur snake.

otherwise i guess u could blend up a whole lot of feeder animals and turn them into sausages,..ewwwww

i did once see an ad for vegetarian snake sausages from teh US, typical vegetarians forcing their beliefs on their poor pets.

 

[Tail_less]

I was asking this question on behalf of another, and it's not really a matter of cost. I agree that no animal/reptile of any sort should be kept by someone who cannot afford to properly feed it. It is more a question of variety.
Agreed on the 'veggie' snake food being wrong too...carnivores should be feed meat as it is what their systems are designed to process. I am a 'dreaded veggo' myself by choice, but I don't force it on my pets. I feed meat to my dogs, ferrets etc and have no issue with animal slaughter as long as it is done humanely.
The pellets were actually meat pellets, or rather chunks of meat, or sausages, I think made of prepared rabbit/rodent meat. But again I haven't found a supplier here.
Lol @ hairy roo sausages....amusing concept. Not completely out of the question. There are heaps of roo shooters around here and it would be an easy supply. Same with rabbit shooters.
Ah well, investigations are always interesting. Thanks for the feedback guys n gals.

 

[Claire]

just had a quick squiz over this, but am i to understand that you can feed bits of chicken or steak to snakes as well as (not instead of) its regular diet of mice, rats etc??
is there any kind of nutritional value in this???

 

[grizz]

SNAKES NEED THE WHOLE ITEM for a healthy life ..which means HAIR BONES BLOOD /FEATHERS ETC ... feeding them chicken pieces is a variety and yes some do love their chook pieces but this cant be a whole diet alone ....pellets pffffffft .....in all honesty if you cant afford to feed your snake what it needs to sustain a healthy balanced diet /life ...then DONT OWN ONE!!



Why have you a bug up your cyber pass all the time? I can not find any indication that this person can’t afford rodents on a regular basis. How about being a little more pleasant to new members for a change and help rather than make assumptions...
Sheesh Kaboondies!

 

[Southside Morelia]

Probably hormonal....she loves to be the blunt one as she calls herself...lol and 41 no spring chicken anymore.... many issues to face there, just feel sorry for her. :lol:
ANIMALS DON'T HAVE HAIR do they?.....lol and FUR is not a food item with nutritional value or digested for that matter, check your snakes feces next time and you'll see the fur in it, most of the time its excreted and sometimes like fur balls....
Personally I feed rodents always, rabbits secondly, chicken necks and drumsticks as a rare treat...
I do hunt and as such have been mulling over roo meat as an "additional food item", which I plan to do when there's room in the freezer. IF you do feed roo meat, I suggest freezing it first to kill any parasites that may be in the meat as wild roos do have worms sometimes and it's not worth the risk to your animals IMO.

 

[garycahill]

The internal organs are very important in the diet.
Trace elements & vitamins is not found in flesh in the same amounts.
They would have to eat a lot of flesh to equal the amount found in just one liver or one brain, etc.
Bones & bone marrow is equally important.
Fur is just fiber, helps keep things regular.
If you own a scrubby or olive, you might be able to feed the whole roo to it, depending on size.
For everyone else, just choose an appropiate sized prey item & feed it whole.

 

[cris]

Snakes eat animals or suitable parts of them (mainly vertebrates for most Australian snakes). I have fed snakes many types of mammal, bird, fish and to a lesser extent herps(only where legal). I feed a combination of whole and part animals and its seems to work well. I think whole rodents are great food for snakes, but it isnt the only thing that they eat.

 

[yommy]

I feed as an alternative 4 week old JAP Quail to my larger animals and the grow rates have been impressive and the Stools - bloody massive and solid. I recommend to give them a try............. I also alternate feeds with rats too.......

 

[Tail_less]

Hey thanks for the great feedback guys and gals: very helpful! It is nice to throw some ideas around and see what treats and variety are possible.
After all...forums like these are great because it is all about sharing info and educating 'newbies' and yeah...I would rather ask a question and risk getting flamed than not ask at all. Am just looking at enrichment for reptiles and variety. In the wild they get variety in the diet and I figure that must go a long way towards good health.
Cheers all!

 

[Noongato]

Sounds like a good thought though, get a giant blender, throw in a whole roo and make sausages or something for the freezer. You could even be cruel by offering them at a mates BBQ.

Roo is definately more natural than rodents.

 

[jessb]

Am just looking at enrichment for reptiles and variety. In the wild they get variety in the diet and I figure that must go a long way towards good health.
Cheers all!

I understand that snakes might benefit from variety in the form of different whole prey (alternating quail, day old chicks and rodents for example) but I'm not sure how a processed meat pellet could be seen as better than feeding whole food, and what reason there could be for choosing it as a staple.

 

[pythonmum]

I have fed alternate meals with chicken necks, or used them as a second food item when I had a small rodent. Quail and chicks are good, but tend to be really watery out the other end. I have seen folks feed pure chicken breast meat, but only as a treat. Sdaji said he would test a diet of pure chicken neck/thighs for some snakes and see how they do on only meat and bone. No results yet. I think something like sausage might be difficult for them to swallow because of the high possibility that the skin of the sausage could rupture. A snake isn't going to crawl around cleaning up the random bits of mince like a lizard might.