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Mar 18, 2018 Feeder Frenzy Reptiles, Arvada, Colorado. At Feeder Frenzy Reptiles we are committed to providing you with high quality captive bred reptiles, amphibians, feeders and supplies. Jul 28, 2010 An alligator feeding frenzy tends to occur when the reptiles, fishing in evaporating pools or captive enclosures, engage in a violent free-for-all. In the alligator 'feeding frenzy' video. Oct 24, 2019 Reptiles are a diverse group of animals, and therefore have very different feeding habits—just as you wouldn't expect a zebra and a whale to have similar diets, so you shouldn't expect the same for box turtles and boa constrictors. Learn about the favorite foods of the five major reptile groups: snakes, turtles and tortoises, crocodiles and alligators, lizards, and tuataras.
FEEDING STUBBORN SNAKES - By Jonathan Rheins
I believe many readers would agree that for the most part, snakes make wonderful, low maintenance pets. However, some species are better suited as pets than others. Likewise, some snakes adapt smoothly to a captive lifestyle while other retain their more wild tenancies.
In the instance of the latter, it is not uncommon to encounter a snake that is what we call a stubborn feeder. That is, they refuse food for non health-related reasons. In some cases these are freshly imported animals that simply require time to adjust to their new surroundings prior to thinking about food. Other times it is a matter of offering the snake the wrong type of prey. Still in other cases, reluctance to feed is a result of naturally occurring appetite cycles that these animals would experience in the wild as well.
Regardless of the cause, once you have ruled out illness, there are a number of tips and tricks around that can drastically improve your chances of getting a stubborn snake feeding. Listed below are a few of my favorite tried and true techniques.
1) Know Your SnakeDifferent snakes have different food preferences in the wild. Some eat rats, others fish, still others are lizard eaters. You can't expect your snake to feed if you don't know what it should be eating! Some species change their dietary preferences over time. For example, some baby colubrids will feed on lizards exclusively until they are a few months old at which time they switch to rodents without a second thought. Ball pythons eat gerbils and African rats in the wild, so it can only be expected that they be confused by the sight of a white rat with red eyes!
In short, research the needs of your snake first. Doing so will make life much easier for both you and your snake.
2) Color CountsAs mentioned above, laboratory white mice and rats may be intimidating to a snake that is genetically programmed to hunt brown and black wild rats. Switching the color of the prey is perhaps the easiest method, and should therefore be tried first. Most pet shops or reptile stores should have brown or black rats and mice on hand at any given time, although the majority will no doubt be white.
3) Reduce StressStressed snakes will not be hungry. They will be concerned with avoiding whatever it is in their lives that is causing them discomfort. Stress can be caused by excessive handling (especially with new snakes that have not yet acclimated to their new homes), improper housing conditions, or illness.
If your snake has had ample time to settle into it's new environment, then you should double check that your temperature and humidity levels are correct, that the snake is set up properly, and that it has ample hiding places so that it may feel secure. And again, keep handling to a minimum until your snake has settled into a healthy feeding regimen.
4) Switch It UpAlthough most snakes can, over time, be conditioned to accept white mice, you should not ASSUME that yours will. If you have a snake that is naturally a lizard or fish eater, you may just have to bite the bullet and feed them what they want. Later, after they have fed a few times, you can try slowly switching them over to a food item that is more convenient for you.
Also, as far as snakes are concerned, mice and rats smell totally different. Try feeding rat pups to stubborn mice eaters, or large mice to snakes that would normally accept small rats. Again, this is a simple fix and should be tried long before any more invasive measures are taken.
5)When and WhereMost snakes are nocturnal hunters and may be more inclined to feed in the evening. Also, feeding your snake in a dark, small container may help to ensure that predator and prey meet, while additionally preventing ingestion of normal cage substrate during feeding.
I have found that with tropical snakes, especially ball pythons (which can be notoriously picky), a heavy misting of warm water 2 times a day for a few days prior to feeding can help. This ques the snake that the 'wet' season has come, when they would naturally be more active in the wild.
6)Tease FeedingThis one can be a little tricky, so proceed at your own risk. The idea is to hold a pre-killed prey item with long forceps, and gently tap the snake on the side on the mouth. What you are hoping for is that the snake gets irritated enough to strike and grab the prey item. In the best case scenario, they grab the prey, and if left completely alone with NO interruptions, will swallow it.
Unfortunately the worst case scenario is that the snake remains un-interested and just gets further stressed from being tapped in the head with a dead mouse. This technique should be reserved for after other techniques have failed, and works best with naturally aggressive or arboreal species.
7)ScentingSometimes you can get a stubborn snake to feed on a rodent by simply scenting it with a more appropriate prey item. Lizards, frogs, and birds are all examples of scents that snakes may find highly appealing. For scenting purposes you can use the actual animal, it's droppings, or dirty bedding to transfer the scent. If using one animal's feces to scent a feeder, please note that the risk of parasite transmission is fairly high, and this should be an absolute last resort.
Begin by washing the rodent with warm water, and maybe a bit of unscented soap. Rinse thoroughly, and dry. If you haven't already guessed, this is much easier to do with a pre-killed rodent. Then place the rodent is a non-porous container with the item you are using fro scenting. In some cases this will be a live (or dead) frog/lizard, or perhaps a bird feather. You can gently rub the two together to facilitate scent transfer.Snakes have a remarkable sense of smell, so it shouldn't take long to transfer enough scent. When you are satisfied, present the prey item to the snake as you normally would.
8) Braining/SplittingI do not know who originally figured this one out, but it truly works like a charm. It's a bit gruesome, but it can get stubborn colubrids and some boids to eat like clockwork. The method is simple, in theory, but may pose a problem if you are squeamish.
Essentially what you are doing is taking an (obviously) pre-killed pinky, fuzzy, hopper, or mouse, and splitting it's head open, revealing the brain matter. The combination of scents from the blood and brain seem to trigger something in snakes that they can't resist. Nine times out of ten this trick works with baby colubrids and is nearly as effective with other species.
Place the 'split' prey item in a secure, dark container with the snake, and leave it alone for at least 30 minutes. This is an effective technique, so even if it fails on the first try, consider repeating it a few days later.
In ClosingKeep in mind that the vast majority of pet snakes will eat standard rodent prey with gusto. Do not allow the above to sway your opinion regarding the ease of snake keeping. Only a small percentage of snakes sold (and even a smaller percentage of captive bred specimens) ever present feeding problems, but when they do, it can be terribly frustrating.
All of the above techniques have been used by both myself and many other with great success. My hope is that you can keep these tricks in mind should you encounter a stubborn feeder in your herping career.
There are many different types of food items to offer captive reptiles and amphibians. For smaller carnivorous lizards and amphibians, feeding them a varied diet that includes insects dusted with supplements, such as calcium and vitamins, goes a long way in promoting optimal health for your herps. For larger carnivorous reptiles, such as monitor lizards and snakes, rodents provide an appropriate staple. We will look at a variety of commonly available live food choices and explain how they influence your herps’ health and well-being.
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Mealworms are a popular food for many reptiles.
Common Crickets as Reptile Food
Crickets provide an adequate dietary staple for smaller insectivorous herps. House crickets (Acheta domestica) can be purchased at most pet stores and from a variety of online sources. Although it can be more cost-effective to purchase crickets online in larger quantities and maintain them until you feed them to your pets, keeping them often presents new problems. Crickets escaping into the house or dying in large numbers due to disease can cause savings to quickly dissipate. Many herpkeepers find it more convenient to drive to their local pet store to purchase them.
We keep our crickets in 5-gallon buckets or small trash cans depending on their size. It is vitally important to keep these food items warm; crickets have a much lower survival rate if they are not maintained at a minimum of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures should range from 75 to 95 degrees, but it is best to keep changes within that range as narrow as possible.
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Several methods can achieve the appropriate temperatures. A low-wattage incandescent bulb or ceramic heat emitter can be suspended over the enclosure, but take care not to let the insects jump onto the heat source, which may facilitate escape or cause thermal burns. A digital thermometer can be used to find the optimal distance from the top of the enclosure to the heat source. Heat pads placed underneath the enclosure also maintain adequate temperatures.
Feeding crickets a proper diet is critically important both for the health of the crickets and for the animals eating them. Cricket diets can be purchased online and found at most pet stores. Adding squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and some mixed greens to this base diet is important for providing other nutrients and moisture. Offering fresh food items on a daily basis ensures the proper health of the crickets, and removing uneaten food items is helpful in reducing the odor associated with culturing crickets.
Chitinous Meals
Mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) are also a great food item for many insectivorous reptiles and amphibians. One mealworm contains several times the caloric content of a single cricket. Thus, feeding your herp mealworms helps to maintain its body mass.
One drawback of mealworms is their thick, chitinous exoskeleton. Secondary to the difficulty in digesting these insects, overfeeding mealworms often causes regurgitation in herp pets. Feed the worms to herps in moderation.
Mealworms can be purchased in bulk and are easily maintained in a 5-gallon bucket. The substrate should consist of wheat bran, and moisture can be provided in the form of potatoes, carrots and occasional leafy, green vegetables. Again, remove uneaten food items to reduce the smell associated with culturing these insects.
In the past 15 years or so, the king mealworm (Zoophobias spp.) has become a popular food item. These larger mealworms are popular because they are more conspicuous movers and often a more appropriate size for larger insectivorous reptiles.
Lowly Roaches
Several companies offer cockroaches for insectivorous herps. These insects are easily reared in plastic tubs, and most of them do not require substrate. Like crickets, cockroaches require warmer temperatures for optimal production. Keep them at temperatures around 75 degrees.
Many species of cockroaches, such as lobster roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), can climb smooth surfaces, including glass, so extra precautions must be taken to ensure that the enclosure is escapeproof. Several products can be smeared along the top lip of the enclosure to prevent escape. Vaseline is the cheapest product to use. Simply place a 1- to 2-inch strip of Vaseline along the top of the enclosure.
A number of cockroach species do not climb glass. One such species is the orange-headed roach (Eublaberus posticus). Although this species does attain a larger size, the instars (the stage between molts) are of an appropriate size for many species of lizards and frogs.
Culturing cockroaches has significantly cut down on our monthly cricket bill, and despite our initial disgust at the thought of raising these insects in our home, they actually have a number of benefits over crickets. These benefits include decreased odor production, a reduced chitin-to-meat ratio, and in some cases more conspicuous movement.
Silky Wigglers
Silk moth larvae (Bombyx mori) can also be acquired via several online resources. Vendors typically have them at reptile expos, as well. Often called “silkworms,” they are raised on a nontoxic diet and are perfectly safe for use as a herp food item.
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Silkworms can be maintained on a diet of mulberry leaves.
Silkworms can be maintained on a diet of mulberry leaves, and a mulberry leaf powder can be reconstituted to feed the worms during the winter months.
A simple plastic container works well to maintain a group of these worms. Depending on how much they are fed and the temperatures at which they are maintained, these worms can grow very quickly and to a large size. Keep them at a temperature range between 70 and 85 degrees, and they will do well.
Mulberry leaves have a high mineral content, so silkworms make a nutritious food item and can be an excellent source of calcium. Easily reared, they are relatively inexpensive if raised from a small size or egg.
Tomato Honkers
Like silkworms, tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) can be picked up from a variety of online sources. However, do not use wild-caught tomato hornworms because these may be toxic to your insectivorous herp. Only purchase these worms from a vendor where you can be assured they were raised on a nontoxic diet and are safe for your herps to eat.
Tomato hornworms are sold in large deli cups with the appropriate food. In this setup they grow quickly and thus must be used in a timely manner, usually within a few weeks.
Tomato hornworms weigh up to 12 grams, so they provide many more calories than crickets. These worms are especially helpful for reptiles and amphibians that need to put on a little weight, such as anorexic animals, those that have been ill and are recovering, or those that are ready for breeding.
Fuzzy Feeders
A rodent colony can be extremely helpful in reducing the cost of maintaining a large group of snakes or large carnivorous lizards. Like culturing feeder insects, rodent husbandry is very important in ensuring a healthy food item for your captive.
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Pinky mice and rat pups.
The principle consideration when maintaining a rodent colony is cleanliness. Change the substrate at least once a week. Sometimes twice a week is better, such as during periods of heavy breeding.
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Rodent breeding typically slows down during the winter months, which can present a problem if you are feeding reptiles and amphibians that are active year round. Plan accordingly and try to have a number of frozen food items during these months. You can purchase these or cull them from your livestock during periods of higher production.
Another consideration in rodent production is the frequency in which producing adult mice should be culled. Ideally, older mice should be fed to pets roughly every two to four months.
The final component to successful rodent maintenance is diet. Several companies manufacture rodent blocks specifically for mice, rats and other rodents. Although costly, these food items ensure proper nutrition. Many people use dog food made in part with plant matter as a rodent diet. Dog food is less expensive and provides rodents with an adequate source of nutrition, but laboratory diets are considered ideal. Provide clean water on a continual basis by using gravity-feed water bottles. Mice often defecate or urinate in a water bowl, so change it often. Just like gut loading crickets, a properly fed rodent provides nutrients to your herps for proper metabolism.
If you’re feeding adult mice to pets, it is often prudent to humanely kill mice before feeding them to snakes. This prevents feeders from harming the reptile and also reduces the amount of suffering by the food item.
Problem Feeders
Even if you have the correct food item for your captive reptile or amphibian, occasionally animals will refuse to eat in captivity. It may sound obvious, but certain species do not eat crickets or mealworms in the wild, and they may refuse to feed on these insects in captivity.
Research the animal you are keeping. Find out what time of day it normally eats. If you feed a nocturnal species in the morning, it is unlikely to eat. Conversely, if you feed a diurnal lizard at night, it is not likely to eat. Perhaps a hide area is necessary, so the animals feel a sense of security. Sometimes you can entice animals to eat by making their food smell like their desired prey.
Reptile Nutrition
During the past 10 to 15 years, a lot of advancements in reptile nutrition have been made. A number of new feeder insects have come into the hobby; new dietary supplements have been developed; and herpkeepers have a better understanding of ultraviolet light, vitamin D synthesis and calcium metabolism. It is our hope that the field of reptile nutrition will continue to advance and herpetoculturists will achieve greater longevity and better health in their captive reptiles.
Popular Reptiles and Their Food Items
California kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula californiae): Unlike the kingsnakes L. zonata, L. pyromelana and L. alterna, the California kingsnake feeds well on mice. If the mice are offered a well-balanced diet, these snakes do very well feeding on them, and they can live well into their 20s.
Ball pythons (Python regius): With many beautiful morphs available, these snakes have become immensely popular during the past 20 years. Ball pythons do well on a rodent diet. Adults feed on rats, and young animals can be fed mice.
Green treefrogs (Hyla cinerea): These beautiful North American frogs do very well in captivity, and they make a great first pet for people who want to maintain a frog. Fed crickets and the occasional silkworm, they can live almost 20 years on this simple diet. Dust gut-loaded crickets with calcium before offering them to this frog.
Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularis): These lizards do well on an insectivorous diet of crickets and king mealworms. Be sure to “supercharge” these food items by dusting them with calcium before offering them to the geckos.
Bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps): These omnivorous lizards feed on a diet of greens, such as red leaf lettuce, kale and squash. Crickets and king mealworms can be added to supplement this diet, and the occasional pinky mouse is also appreciated by these animals.
Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina): These turtles make a good pet if provided with a wide variety of food items, including worms, insects, greens and fruit. Make sure to purchase one bred in captivity because they will be easier to feed. These turtles can live up to 30 years in captivity, so be prepared for that commitment.
Argentine horned frogs (Ceratophrys ornata): Also known as the Pac-Man frog, these natives of South America do well under captive conditions. They can be fed a base diet of crickets supplemented with the occasional king mealworm and pinky mouse. Feeding frenzy tab. Overfeeding these frogs leads to obesity, so it should be avoided.
Crested geckos (Rhacodactylus ciliatus): These geckos enjoy a diet of insects and soft fruits, such as peaches, nectarines, mangos and bananas. Dust crickets with calcium to ensure they get the nutrients they need. Keep in mind that their jaws are not very powerful, so the more hard-bodied insects may not be appropriate.