Feeding Snakes Birds?

[WiggumVBH]

I've got a Ball Python and a Sonoran Whipsnake and I just caught a little bird. The Ball Python is definately big enough to take it down, it's just about the size of a small rat, maybe even smaller. The Whipsnake is who I want to feed it to though. I have no idea if this is a good idea or what so I'd appreciate some feedback today if possible cuz I'mma go feed him after work today! I read that the Whipsnakes eat birds in the wild but I'm not sure if he's big enough to take him down. He's like 4 feet long, maybe a little smaller, but has a small radius. Biggest thing I've fed him so far is a fuzzy, Thanks for help!

[jpbaker93]

But it seems to me that feeding your PET snakes something WILD caught is not a good idea. The prey could have diseases and/or parasites that could be passed on to your pet. Furthermore, you have no idea what the wild prey has eaten that could be harmful to your snake. I once saw a red-tailed hawk that had eaten a gopher that had eaten rat poison. Luckiky (I guess) for the bird, someone found it and rushed it to a vet, but the bird was blinded and had severe brain damage from the effects of the poison, and is now forced to live the remainder of it's life in captivity as an educational animal.

[Donna]

My only concern would be the size of the prey vs the size of the prey you have fed him before, from your explaination it seems like an awfully big jump . Also, I would hate to see you have a snake that goes off mice expecting to eat a bird however I"m not up on all the species specifics so maybe they don't get to be so picky.

As for concerns about wild animal diseases.. most diseases are species specific. There are very few things that can be transmitted between birds and other animals and the few I can think of are not transmitable to snakes. Being that snakes are cold blooded, there just isn't enough in common with a bird to worry about diseases. Parasites... I dunno, it's been my experience that the major parasite concern with wild birds is mites. The mites that infest birds however are very species specific and will not infect humans, dogs, cats or reptiles.

Poison.. maybe but if you've held the bird for a few hours you'll know whether or not they have been poisoned.

In the end, to me, it seems silly to bother feeding a bird to a snake. Despite how I feel about what can and cannot be passed onto a snake, there are still risks and is it really worth it?

And one last note is that it's illegal to take most wild birds from the wild, all of our native birds are protected by federal law and there are very few exceptions.

Donna

[C. willardi]

Don't feed your ball python a bird. As jpbaker93 said you shouldn't feed your captive snake WC food. As for your whipsnake(I am assuming that this is a wc from your previos posts) should be ok to eat it depending if you think it is too large. I got a feeling your whipsnake could take down quite a bit more than a fuzzy but it is your call. Here is a picture that Kerby posted a little while ago. If you decide that you are gonna try and feed the bird to the snake read over Donna's post again and make sure you know if it would be legal, and if it is do you want to risk the health of your snake?

[garry]

Unless you're really hurting for food I wouldn't recommend it.

[reptilist]

With a hunting license, there are some birds legally available to catch as snake food. I can think of no problem relevent to this question save one....poison!
It happened to me once....I caught a sparrow that had been eating poisoned seed (nearby granery), fed the bird to my mangrove snake and the next morning I had a dead snake.
The bird I caught did not act sick except for the fact I caught it just sitting on the ground...that should have been a clue, but since I was in my 20's, well, duh...

Another time I caught a healthy full grown sparrow with my bare hands...Across a vacant lot from me, at a range of probably 300', I saw a flock of sparrows hiding in a shrub. I became a cat and sidled/low crawled/crept over there until I was just under the shrub. They all flew away in an instant except for one...I jumped up and with both hands grabbed the bird out of mid air! I fed that one to my mangrove snake.

Road kill and wild caught food for snakes is not usually a problem, however some people with valuable exotics would turn pale at the idea.

[garry]

Very good point.

[WiggumVBH]

Thanks for the responses everyone. The bird was an already messed up sparrow that couldn't fly or anything, but it ended up dying from shock before I could ever get it home, so no bird feeding took place. As far as feeding my whipsnake something bigger than fuzzys, I'd love to, but I can't imagine him fitting a full sized mouse through his mouth. I don't know, anyone who has a whipsnake and knows about this stuff, lemme know!

[FlagstaffHerper]

I use to feed sickly Parakets and Zebra Finches to my WC Mangroves to get them feeding. I had a deal with the owner of a local pet shop that I would buy all of the sickly finches and parakets from him at 50% of what he paid. That way he didnt lose out completly and I got to get my import mangroves feeding. There isnt anything much cooler then watching a finch fluff up and then WAM!!! all you see is feather left drifting around.

[JJFeldner]

there are several unfortunate baby grackles which fall from their nests to the ground where my dog locates them and points them out to me. The adults scream and scold as I walk to my snake room. There, the scrumptious little vitamin-laden bird becomes acquainted with a Gopher or Kingsnake and meets an early demise. Of course, one assumes that babies falling from the nest are healthy and will not carry anything that could affect a snake negatively. When I was having difficulty feeding a newly WC Blue Speck, the wind provided and several baby grackles appeared as if by magic. Since I fed the snake the baby birds, he has not missed a meal. Now he happily eats FT mice.

Ok, Im brand new here and to the ownership of reptiles.

The person who gave me my Ball Python also gave me some information but as I have heard differing answers I wanted to get "second opinions" from other owners.

The first question may or may not be all that important.....do they need water? I am sure that they need SOME water but I was told that they get all that they need from the food they eat, in Stryke's case, hoppers. I was also told to have a bowl in the tank large enough for her to fit her entire body in so she can soak, however I was also told that a bowl of water in an 85% tank would make it more humid then her natural habitat and would make her sick... I was ALSO tolds that balls are avid swimmers, yet I was told by another person that balls tend to drown themselves in there water bowls.... so you can see my confusion?

Food wise, I live in Connecticut and have a rodent problem in my house. Namely, field mice. I have read this thread and am not sure even so how feeding her a "have-a-heart" captured mouse could affect her. If I WERE to trp mice, would keeping them in a tank for a few weeks prove whether or not they had been poisoned and were healthy enough to feed to her? Out of 7 cats I don't think any of them associate mice with free food. . .

Now, once a week, twice a month. . . . When should I start to wonder if she simply "isn't eating"? How long can she go WITHOUT eating if she wont eat?

To kill, or not to kill.....pre killed hoppes or live game??

Now comes the subject of her dwelling... I was given an old tank... it was full of water for the longest time. The glass is stained... I was told by my aunt who ran petstores never to use any detergent in an animals living space and that plain vinegar would do an acceptable job and not harm the inhabbitants. After using the vinegar the tank leaves a lot to desire. I haven't the money right now to replace it. I was told by someone else that Clorax and hot water, rinsed well afterwards would be fine...I haven't yet, we ran out of clorox. Is that safe??
When you buy a poster via the mail, it usually comes rolled up in a cardboard tube, with plastic caps. I have a tube like that that is 5 inch diameter and strong enough to hold my own weight is the ends are suspended and prevented from crushing... I cut a 5 inch long piece off the end with a saw, and put the plastic caps on it to have a 5X5 closed container, and then cut a whole in the side as big as Strykes girth. She loves it. It is insulated well by the thick walls and stays cool. She rarely comes out... I also cut a segment about 7 inches long and used a coat hanger to make a chain-link handle (Im always doing stuff like that, not to save money but just because it is fun...). When I take her with me some place, I take her out of the smaller container in her tank, and use the same caps on the larger container. How much ventilation do I really need for short (30 minute) trips?

Speaking of trips, I am traveling from Georgia to Connecticut...and she is going with me. What preperations should I make before we go? I was told not to feed her for at least 5 days before and a few after...?


Im using newspaper for a floor out of simple abundance...


Sorry for all the questions, but I wanted answer from people who own snakes and LIKE taking care of them as opposed to jerks in pet store who just get paid to. Obviously if you do work in a pet store, and you are reading this, then you dont fit into that category in the first place, so no offense :P

Thank you anyone who replies or e-mail. I appreciate your time!

Mike at DieCastoms.