chicken necks?

[snakehandler]

Like wise, can anyone out there provide credible data to show that beef strips and chicken necks are a suitable diet for snakes, not just as a supplement feed, but as a staple.....

To claim that studies have been done with no reference, what is the point of this, there is no backing up what is claimed. It is well known that humans can have occasional treats with no long term consequences, but to live on junk food has its associated problems.

When was the last time you saw a snake just eat a chicken neck or tear a piece of meat off a animal and consume that piece?

The only data I can find on feeding chicken necks and beef strips to snakes has NO scientific study behind it, NO controls and NO long term analysis of the data. Meaty foods can easily be fed to animals such as goannas as it is part of their natural feeding, however animals such as snakes do not feed this way. Whole animals are what they consume, there is a reason for it.

 

[snakehandler]

Understand also that many of the reptiles we keep do not all eat rodents, and as mentioned by scout the large rats will have a high fat content due to the diet that they are on. This is why people need to be careful about feeding frequency, variations in diet such as birds and rabbits and not power feed their animals.

 

[Glider]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...ing-snakes-drumsticks-chicken-necks-etc-90521

 

[snakehandler]

Glider, while an interesting post again I ask is there any data, not comments, as noted by Sdaji:

"I'm not going to keep highly detailed growth records, I'm not going to carefully measure feeds, I'm not going to work out to the tenth decimal place how much better or worse whole rodents are or compare chicken to beef."

So this is NOT a study, merely observations, this is NOT published and accepted by the scientific community and hence is NOT reliable....this is NOT long term...hence NOT reliable and accurate detailed records are not being kept!

Not that Sdaji is unreliable, he is well versed in scientific study and has a vast amount of knowledge which many people can and should learn from!

 

[snakehandler]

A very reliable researcher has just told me that feeding chicken necks is fine, so long as they are heavily supplemented....there is work done on feed alternatives through the Australian Reptile Park!

 

[scout]

Hi snake handler, im searching furously for the article i had found on the tiger snakes eating meat..It was an in depth research study that had been conducted over a period of two years. It was a scientific paper that i came across while at uni. It made a very interesting read. It was about 30 pgs with photos of xrays and autopsies...soo frustrating i cant find it when i need it, but will post it as soon as i find it

 

[jack]

"heavily supplemented"?, with what?

 

[ReptilianGuy]

Understand also that many of the reptiles we keep do not all eat rodents, and as mentioned by scout the large rats will have a high fat content due to the diet that they are on. This is why people need to be careful about feeding frequency, variations in diet such as birds and rabbits and not power feed their animals.

true that, variation works a treat also feeding animals like sub adult rats/mice will contain less fat

"heavily supplemented"?, with what?

lots out there mate, reptical, reptivite, Multical... any thing that is a reptile vitamin and calcium suppliment is on the mark, mix the 2 together at the right mix and just add the dust to the food item...


although it's been shown and seen that just feeding one type of thing over an entirety of a reptiles lifespan may have no visible signs, the fact of the matter is they naturally have a varied diet, just cos they eat it doesn't mean thats all they will ever eat and must only eat. food is food and each item of food has different nutritional value to say a rat to rabbit, or finch to chicken and beef strip to all the above said and chicken neck, so it's really common sense, if you must feed a staple of meat only or just rats and mice there is always going to be something they need for a "Healthy" life that isn't going to be provided and it's honestly the keepers responsability to try provide that something else, by supplimenting often or varying the diet around.

(sorry if i confused anyone)

 

[cement]

You don't need evidence or a scientific study to work out that chicken necks or lumps of meat aren't a snakes natural food source. Yeah, theres no problem feeding it OCASIONALLY, but they never eat it NATURALLY.
Don't feed your snakes rats over 180 gms but large pythons can eat 3 or 4.
Some snakes have been known to go off whole food like rats ,because they have been offered a change and then become fussy eaters not wanting rats anymore. There is no need to vary their diet, variety is the spice of YOUR life.

 

[cris]

You don't need evidence or a scientific study to work out that chicken necks or lumps of meat aren't a snakes natural food source. Yeah, theres no problem feeding it OCASIONALLY, but they never eat it NATURALLY.
Don't feed your snakes rats over 180 gms but large pythons can eat 3 or 4.
Some snakes have been known to go off whole food like rats ,because they have been offered a change and then become fussy eaters not wanting rats anymore. There is no need to vary their diet, variety is the spice of YOUR life.

Im confused:? What Australian snake has a natural history of eating commerically farmed sewer rats under a speficied weight as a staple diet?

 

[snakehandler]

NONE, however several species of snakes such as browns and taipans have been very successful on the european house mouse and the rats introduced into Australia since white man arrived. What you need to remember though is feeding oversized rats fed a diet of rat and mouse cubes has a much higher body fat than a wild rat of the same size.

We have never found a snake to go off a food type if you offer variety frequently, we vary size and type most feeds, but always feed whole animals. Scout the study you are thinking of is NOT a research paper, but a series of observations by a person who has no credentials at all. His paper also notes that the food is offered after feeding the animal a rat or mouse, not as a staple, but as a filler.

What is missed when feeding parts of animals is the gut content of the prey item, the internal organs and all the trace elements and nutrients that these provide, these cannot be supplemented properly. IMO feeding body parts is like feeding children bread, it is a good part of a diet, but should never be considered a wholesome meal!

 

[cement]

Im confused:? What Australian snake has a natural history of eating commerically farmed sewer rats under a speficied weight as a staple diet?

No your right, though I don't aplogise for your confusion thats your own fault.

Its a great idea of yours to try and point out that rats aren't a good staple diet for captive snakes, we don't want people new to the hobby getting the wrong idea and feeding whole animals when really they should just feed out chicken necks.

At the end of the day Scout, you can feed whatever you want to your snakes, its of no concern to me or anyone else, but if you want advice on whats best to feed them, then listen to guys like Snakehandler.

 

[spilota_variegata]

How do you mince the necks? I asked my butcher if he could do this and he said "No".

I remember asking my local butcher a similar question a few years ago. I enquired about the possibility of mincing chickens and making sausages for my snakes. He told me that he couldn't do it because the sausages would be 100% chicken and he'd be breaking the law because sausages cannot be more than a certain percentage of meat (can't remember the number but it was small).

 

[zulu]

re chicken

used to feed chicken necks and drumsticks to the bhps,the female used to eat two kilos at a sitting,pain in the bum sitting down scraping all the fat off them and of course they put heaps of water in them to bump the price up so i had to dry them out,rats are easier.

 

[ellysteaparty]

Sorry to take the convo of track here but I'm new to being a snake owner and I was wondering about your referal to "minced" and "chicken. Is there a way to mince chicken and feed it to a snake? I am giving one snake day and two day old chickens aswell as the rats to feed on. I have been offered free chooks aswell but don't want to be feeding the snakes chicken pieces. How do you present minced feed to a snake...what keeps it in form? Sorry if it is a silly question but your post implies you have a bit of variety in feeding.

 

[Trouble]

hey guys,

just bumping this thread up... wondering if you guys heat up your chicken necks like you do the rats..? I bought some chicken necks today to give my snakes, and I'm guessing we do have to heat them up to feed..? hot water or microwave or something else..?

thanks
tam.

 

[hornet]

Sorry to take the convo of track here but I'm new to being a snake owner and I was wondering about your referal to "minced" and "chicken. Is there a way to mince chicken and feed it to a snake? I am giving one snake day and two day old chickens aswell as the rats to feed on. I have been offered free chooks aswell but don't want to be feeding the snakes chicken pieces. How do you present minced feed to a snake...what keeps it in form? Sorry if it is a silly question but your post implies you have a bit of variety in feeding.

\

They are referring to 100% chicken sausages so they are in the normal sausage skin and basicly look like normal sausages.

Trouble, i feed chicken necks and rats, with the necks i just thaw them in hot water like i do with rats

 

[Trouble]

Hornet - awesome, thank you. About to feed my snakes now, fingers crossed they like them

 

[pythons73]

Ive fed my pythons chicken necks-drumsticks for years,only once a month or so,always eat rodents...I never heated them,as long as there defrosted you shouldnt have a problem...IMO Aspidities love them alot,compared to Morelia etc...The bigger ones get drumsticks,yearlings etc usually chicken necks..IMO i think they put condition on quicker then rodents,especially the breeding females...Nothing wrong with giving them some variety.....

 

[hornet]

i find they take to them alot quicker if they are slightly warm, i do the same with rats but the rats are very smelly so i'm sure they would take them no matter the temp