fish as food

[frost]

i been looking around youtube and i saw a few vids of snakes eating fish. this got me to thinking that maybe i could give a few of my snakes some surf and turf. i dont see any problems with any injury to the snake that i know of. anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[dragonmetalhead]

In all honesty I don't think most snakes would take fish. Very few species display piscivorous tendencies. Fin spines are the biggest issue when swallowing a fish; if you down it tail-first it make get caught in your throat and puncture your esophagus. I know garter and ribbon snakes take fish. I've kept a half dozen different species of snakes over the past 20 years and have had absolutely zero issues with a rodent-only diet. Also, live feeder fish from pet stores are notorious for being loaded with parasites.

 

[frost]

yeah thats a few issues i was afraid of. i dont really trust most petstores. i dont really have a problem with feeding rodents but i was thinking of changing it up once a month or so.

 

[james.w]

Snakes don't need variety, they will be happy with rodents.

 

[Tegu Dude]

NEVER feed your snake a fish!

 

[jondancer]

Fish makes my tegus poop very stinky

 

[frost]

haha yeah, the raw meat doesnt really make it smell too good either. mice dont really stink tho.

 

[got10]

NEVER feed your snake a fish!

Why not?
A great many snakes DO eat fish.