.. .

. Snakes

 

Feeding Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How frequently one feeds captive snakes is often a matter of trial and error. Many species that feed readily can easily be overfed in the juvenile stage. Massive amounts of fat will build up in the body, eventually diminishing the functions of the internal organs and leading to sterility at the best, early death at the worst. It is also difficult to lay down hard and fast rules about amounts of food to be given at each meal, and a certain amount of experimentation will be necessary. However, the following generalizations can be made.

Juvenile growing snakes should be fed about twice per week. Small to medium sized snakes can be offered food about once per week, while larger snakes can be fed substantial meals about once per two weeks.

However often you feed your snake, try to keep similar periods between each feeding. The reptiles will soon learn to expect food at the given time and will be ready and waiting. If two or more snakes are kept together in a cage, keep a close watch at feeding time as two or more snakes may grab the same prey animal, resulting in injury or even one snake swallowing the other. Snakes will not feed during the shedding period, which may occur from three to eight times per annum depending on age and species.

If live prey is given to snakes, careful watch should be kept. If the prey is not overpowered and eaten in a few minutes, it should be removed from the terrarium and tried again a day or two later. Live mice and rats have been known to gnaw into the body and severely damage an uninterested snake. Most snakes can be persuaded to take dead prey, particularly if it is moved about in front of their noses; it is best to do this with a stick to avoid getting bitten. Dead animals may be left in the terrarium overnight, but if uneaten the following morning they should be removed and disposed of by burning. Dead prey will putrefy very quickly in the warm environs of the terrarium.

All snakes consume whole prey animals that they may capture alive or find in carrion form. The fur, feathers, and bones of the prey animals are an important part of the diet and provide roughage as well as valuable minerals for bone-building and organic functions. Vitamin/mineral supplements in powder form can be dusted onto the meat, fish, or invertebrates being fed to snakes.

Sometimes snakes will steadfastly refuse all food offered. Having ascertained that you are giving the correct food for the species, have tried various kinds of foods, and have offered it dead and alive, during the day and at night, it may be necessary to resort to force-feeding. Before doing this, however, ensure that the reptile is not suffering from any disease or condition that may contribute to it losing its appetite. Mouth rot (necrotic stomatitis), shedding difficulties, internal or external parasites, and many other conditions may affect the appetite, so treatment for such conditions should precede or accompany force-feeding.

There are two methods of force-feeding. The first is to take a whole prey animal of suitable size. Open the snake’s mouth by gently pulling on the loose skin below the jaw; the animal is pushed head-first into the mouth. Sometimes the snake will then start swallowing the prey of its own accord, in which case it can be released. If not, it will be necessary to work the prey down into the gullet and massage it into the stomach. The handle of a wooden spoon (lubricated with animal fat, glycerine, or mineral oil) or something similar can also be used to gently push the prey home. The second, more effective method of force-feeding is to liquefy the dead prey animal in a food processor, then place it in a large syringe with a smooth-ended rubber or plastic tube of suitable diameter and length pushed over the nozzle. The tube is lubricated with animal fat, glycerine, or mineral oil and pushed into the labial notch of the snake’s mouth and then down into the stomach (approximately one-third the length of the snake). The contents of the syringe are then simply squeezed out. In order to get all of the food out of the tube and into the stomach, the food should be in a slurry with water. Some of the more difficult feeders can be maintained for long periods using these methods, which seem to do them little harm; indeed, some appear not only to get used to it but come to look forward to this method of feeding almost to the point of voluntarily opening the mouth for the tube to be introduced.