goldenecho Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 So, my kiddo wants a pet snake. I love snakes actually. But I also love mice (had em as pets growing up). That's gonna be hard for me. So, a wild snake in our backyard we once identified as being a small snake that didn't grow very large and only ate snails and bugs and an occassional small frog. Snails and bugs I could really deal with. I could probably feed a snake just with the snails from my garden. Anyone know of a pet-worthy snake that eats mainly snails and bugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 I do not. I did have a pet snake for a short while, after having had pet mice, so the feeding part was not my favorite. My corn snake got by just fine on the pet shop’s “mice on ice”. I found that a lot easier, emotionally, to deal with than live mice. I would not do well with a snake that insisted on killing its own food. Some do! I don’t remember his feeding schedule (we’re talking more than 20 years ago) but it was infrequent enough that I got by on the whole circle of life/food web science-y perspective okay. Like vegetarians who have cats... they have different needs! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 The snakes that eat insects and invertebrates tend to not make the best pets. We have a corn snake and we order frozen mice on Amazon. Frozen food is actually safer for the snake, as well as being less icky. Ours only eats once a week and sometimes she decides she doesn't want to eat at all (she went three months during Spring last year, more interested in breeding than eating). If you put a live mouse in a enclosed container with a snake that isn't ready to eat, the mouse can actually injure the snake. Mouse bites can get infected easily. So, frozen (and thawed) food is usually recommended. Most captive breed snakes will eat thawed food. If you adopt one that someone has already been feeding live food, it can be harder but it is possible to make the switch over. I'd recommend corn snakes or ball pythons as the best pets. Corns are slightly easier because they are native to various areas of the US and don't need crazy humidity controls. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 I've seen "sausages" for snakes: https://reptilinks.com/collections/cased-whole-prey-links-ground-prey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 We had a ball python-, they’re super friendly snakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 In general, any invertebrate only snake will be hard to handle and more difficult to keep, and none are common in the pet trade. Furthermore, garden prey risks exposing your pet to diseases and pesticides, so isn’t a good idea-keeping insectivores means keeping insects. The easiest snakes to keep are rodent eaters who are already established on frozen/thawed prey-DD has a corn snake and a ball python. BTW-DD will be offering her Introduction to Herpetology junior instructor class at Athena’s Academy again in the fall, in case your snake lover wants other kids to talk snakes with :). 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 If you are set on a bug eater, how about a nice lizard? On the other hand, Second hand snakes are a real thing. Often kids are heading off to college, etc and need to rehome their pet. That’s how DD17 got started - she found a corn snake being sold for $50 with all its gear. The snake has always eaten F/T (frozen/thawed) and had been handled on a regular basis. - important things if you are looking to have one Most days, Sneaky Snake hangs out in DD17s sweatshirt pocket or hood. He has outgrown his original tank and is over 5 foot long with a new big setup that takes up a big chunk of my living room. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 I would agree with trying to find a snake that needs rehoming. Both of DD's snakes came from teens heading off to college. Snakes can be very long-lived-Pinkie Py(thon) is 28, and DD's mentor has several BPs that SHE got as an early teen :). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 We have a 14 yo corn snake and both kids will be at college in the fall. I figured it would die about the time son left (two years ago), but then I did more research and discovered they can live 20 years. Oh my. I considered rehoming the snake, but I am sort of fond of him and worry he wouldn’t end up in a good home, so we’re stuck with each other! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 (edited) On 3/24/2019 at 4:14 AM, goldenecho said: So, my kiddo wants a pet snake. I love snakes actually. But I also love mice (had em as pets growing up). That's gonna be hard for me. So, a wild snake in our backyard we once identified as being a small snake that didn't grow very large and only ate snails and bugs and an occassional small frog. Snails and bugs I could really deal with. I could probably feed a snake just with the snails from my garden. Anyone know of a pet-worthy snake that eats mainly snails and bugs? We have a pet rough green snake. All he will eat is crickets. (live crickets) And the occasional spider but I dislike feeding him spiders because I need them to eat the ants and mosquitos (We do buy most of our crickets from the pet store. We tried dried crickets and he won't touch them.) When I was a young adult, I had a corn snake for many years (that I fed frozen mice). Other than the food being different, I have not noticed much difference between this snake and that one. Edited March 25, 2019 by vonfirmath 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 22 hours ago, livetoread said: We have a 14 yo corn snake and both kids will be at college in the fall. I figured it would die about the time son left (two years ago), but then I did more research and discovered they can live 20 years. Oh my. I considered rehoming the snake, but I am sort of fond of him and worry he wouldn’t end up in a good home, so we’re stuck with each other! Where do you live? We're really looking for a second hand snake. My daughter wants a snake, but I am much more comfortable with a 10 year commitment than a 30 year one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 17 hours ago, Terabith said: Where do you live? We're really looking for a second hand snake. My daughter wants a snake, but I am much more comfortable with a 10 year commitment than a 30 year one... I pm’d you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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