Specific Dietary Recommendations

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The variety of snakes kept in captivity is considerable, and

their food preferences are quite variable.  Following is a list

of preferred prey animals for the snakes most commonly kept in

captivity:**



Boa constrictors, pythons, rat snakes, gopher or bull snakes:





    * Warm-blooded prey is preferred, such as rodents and birds.

    Juveniles of these species prefer the very small warm-blooded

    prey species.



    * They may also consume very small lizards and snakes.  Some

    tree boas and pythons prefer lizards to mammals and birds.



Garter snakes, ribbon snakes, water snakes, etc:



    * Fish, frogs, salamanders, toads, earthworms, slugs and

    carrion are preferred.



    * Many accept dead mice if they are covered with the external

    mucus of frogs or fish before they are offered.



Indigo snakes, king snakes, and many racers:



    * Warm-blooded (mice, etc.) and cold-blooded prey (other

    snakes, lizards, etc.) are preferred.



    * The indigo snake prefers frogs but may eat anything when

    hungry, including dog or cat food.



Ring-neck or brown snakes and their relatives:



    * Salamanders, earthworms, very small snakes and lizards are

    the foods of choice.



Racers, vine snakes, coachwhips:



    * Lizards are preferred.  Racers also eat mice and chicks of

    ground-nesting birds.



    * The young of these snakes eat large insects, such as

    crickets and grasshoppers.





**Adapted from Frye, FL:  Preferred foods of selected

reptiles--the role of nutrition in the successful maintenance of

captive reptiles.  86th Ann Sci Seminar CVMA, 1974, p. 5.