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 #490118


HerpGirl
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 Question about feeding.

I might be getting a pair of Northern water snakes. Would it be healthy to feed them captive bred north american leopard frogs?



09/25/05  02:35pm

 #490331


Tefoe
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   Message To: HerpGirl   In reference to Message Id: 490118


 Question about feeding.

In captivity all water snakes should be eating rodents.Its the best thing you can feed them.Frogs,fish,worms,toads whatever,none of them match the nutritional value of mice/rats.
09/25/05  04:39pm

 #490471


HerpGirl
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   Message To: Tefoe   In reference to Message Id: 490331


 Question about feeding.

If you’re going to keep a species in captivity, why not feed them what they naturally eat? I don’t get it.



09/25/05  06:08pm

 #490505


Tefoe
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   Message To: HerpGirl   In reference to Message Id: 490471


 Question about feeding.

Whats not to get?Animals in our care deserve the best you can give them.And on occasion they naturally eat small water fowl & rodents anyway.

Its like king snakes,they mostly eat other snakes,so in captivity do you feed them other snakes?
09/25/05  06:30pm

 #490738


HerpGirl
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   Message To: Tefoe   In reference to Message Id: 490505


 Question about feeding.

Well. In the wild, water snakes eat a variety of fish, small frogs, and the occasional mouse. I would like to give them the diet that they would normally get in the wild. Why? Because it’s what nature intended.

My kingsnake eats a variety of mice, and captive bred garter snakes and geckos.
09/25/05  08:52pm

 #490888


Anole_keeper
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   Message To: HerpGirl   In reference to Message Id: 490738


 Question about feeding.

You have a savanah monitor if I remember right? So do you feed him giant African land snails, emperor scorpians, and giant millipedes? You dont have any point here and he is right, you should be trying to switch over the snake to mice ASAP.
-Adam
09/25/05  11:04pm

 #491040


HerpGirl
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   Message To: Anole_keeper   In reference to Message Id: 490888


 Question about feeding.

I had a sav, yes. And I fed him what my vet recommended; various hard bodies insects such as roaches and mealworms, turkey, eggs, and an occasional mouse. He now lives with a friend who has a larger enclosure than I could build.

The fat round bodies that you see in captive savannahs is artificial and unhealthy. That comes from being fed too many rodents.

I’ll feed my water snakes mice, but not as a staple. I still disagree though, and I will never take your side. Whatever an animal eats in his natural habitat is what he should be eating in captivity. We shouldn’t try and alter a diet because it’s "healthier." We should be feeding them a wild-like diet, because it is NATURAL.

Is ANYBODY on my side?
09/26/05  01:55am

 #491045


SDKSnowboy
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   Message To: HerpGirl   In reference to Message Id: 491040


 Question about feeding.

Natural has nothing to do with it. If given an option in the wild of prey items that were more nutritious then any certain species’s most common natural prey, adaptation and evolution would lead instincts of that creature to primarily feed on the best alternative. But prey creatures do not adapt to suit their pretadors best dietary needs, so such is not the case.

In keeping many different animals for years it has been shown that a longer, healthier, happier life can be achieved by altering certain species’s staple diet, outside of what they eat naturally.
09/26/05  02:08am

 #491145


SCSnakeman
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   Message To: SDKSnowboy   In reference to Message Id: 491045


 Question about feeding.

I agree with HerpGirl. I think it is best to keep a captive animal, any captive animal, on as close to its natural diet and environment as possible. There are times when we cannot do this for lack of resources but I agree with her that it is best to feed the water snakes a variety of frogs, fish and the occasional mouse.
09/26/05  07:57am

 #491237


HerpGirl
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   Message To: SCSnakeman   In reference to Message Id: 491145


 Question about feeding.

Ah, THANK YOU SCSnakeman. See, I knew I made sense to SOMEONE.
09/26/05  10:55am

 #491419


Tefoe
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   Message To: HerpGirl   In reference to Message Id: 491237


 Question about feeding.

I’m not starting a fight here!!just proving a point!!
If you had a dog would you let it be covered in fleas because its "natural"!!
Do you eat fruits a vegetables with worms in them because its "natural"!!
Do you let your animals live with mites because its "natural"!!
Do you live in a cave because its "natural"!

So I don’t think you can hold your corner by saying its natural.
If you take these animals in they deserve the BEST possible care you can give them.And if you cant give that to the animal why take it in?!


PS: this gos for everyone,and please people keep civil tongs when replying to this:)
09/26/05  02:36pm

 #491953


HerpGirl
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   Message To: Tefoe   In reference to Message Id: 491419


 Question about feeding.

There’s a difference between "modern behavior" and "natural behavior."
09/26/05  09:53pm

 #493982


Zarathustra
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   Message To: HerpGirl   In reference to Message Id: 491953


 Question about feeding.

herp girl, its not necessary to feed your king other snakes, plus you run the risk of passing along parasites and diseases. if you dont NEED to feed a snake other reptiles...then why do it? lots of people have kings who are healthy and feed them rodents exclusivly. not to mention its cheaper.
09/28/05  09:28pm

 #494683


HerpGirl
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   Message To: Zarathustra   In reference to Message Id: 493982


 Question about feeding.

True, I don’t NEED to.... I’m just still sticking to my theory of natural diets. I eat a natural diet as well. I don’t freeze things, and I don’t eat canned things.



09/29/05  04:14pm


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