- Jan 5, 2008
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Well, I love to talk about my reptiles, particularly my snakes. So I'm going to explain how I feed my 18ft reticulated python, I'm sure there's somebody out there who wonders how I feed my animals. In any case, I love talking about it, lol. I hope you guys don't mind more threads like this concerning my other reptiles (I'll take requests, lol) in the future...
His name is "lemonhead". He's a color morph called ambon yellowhead, to see what that morph looks like, see this link:
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/retic_yellowhead.html
Well, anyways, lemonhead is the only snake I own that lives in an outdoor enclosure. He's simply too big for the house.
If I walk into the enclosure smelling like chickens (that's right, he eats chickens), he might mistake me for food. So, I built a little chute in the wall of the enclosure that is closed and locked when not in use.
Now, unfortunately, lemonhead is one of those few snakes that I never could convert to prekilled food. It's a shame, because dead prey can't harm the snake and also makes my life easier because I can freeze the prey for later, or for a pet-sitter when I take vacations. So..yeah it gets tricky.
So, the chickens are tossed in live. live, but stunned. I try to make it as humane for the prey as possible, being the softie that I am. I swing'em around inside a sack (to make them dizzy), give'em a good whack on the head, and push them through the chute. They're alive when he goes after them, but too "out of it" to know what hit them.
I keep many breeds of chicken, I like to order day-old chicks from Murray mcmurray hatchery and grow'em up. I like baby chicks, I like watching them grow. Of course, I allow the chickens to breed freely during their "stay", so that saves a lot of money. I still usually order about a hundred every spring. I like to eat them too, lol. I order the breed assortments from the hatchery, that way lemonhead gets a more varied menu. He's probably the most spoiled snake on my ranch.
His name is "lemonhead". He's a color morph called ambon yellowhead, to see what that morph looks like, see this link:
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/retic_yellowhead.html
Well, anyways, lemonhead is the only snake I own that lives in an outdoor enclosure. He's simply too big for the house.
If I walk into the enclosure smelling like chickens (that's right, he eats chickens), he might mistake me for food. So, I built a little chute in the wall of the enclosure that is closed and locked when not in use.
Now, unfortunately, lemonhead is one of those few snakes that I never could convert to prekilled food. It's a shame, because dead prey can't harm the snake and also makes my life easier because I can freeze the prey for later, or for a pet-sitter when I take vacations. So..yeah it gets tricky.
So, the chickens are tossed in live. live, but stunned. I try to make it as humane for the prey as possible, being the softie that I am. I swing'em around inside a sack (to make them dizzy), give'em a good whack on the head, and push them through the chute. They're alive when he goes after them, but too "out of it" to know what hit them.
I keep many breeds of chicken, I like to order day-old chicks from Murray mcmurray hatchery and grow'em up. I like baby chicks, I like watching them grow. Of course, I allow the chickens to breed freely during their "stay", so that saves a lot of money. I still usually order about a hundred every spring. I like to eat them too, lol. I order the breed assortments from the hatchery, that way lemonhead gets a more varied menu. He's probably the most spoiled snake on my ranch.
