Lost Snake

[abcat1993]

As some of you know I bought 2 snakes for $150 a month ago. I decided to house them in the same cage because everybody says garters are fine with that. I came back from a week long fishing trip and the expensive one of the two was missing. I found no cracks or holes in the lid and I VERY strongly doubt that he could push the top up at all, since he's not even 9 inches yet.

Is it possible that the other, same size, same species (Sirtalis sirtalis) ate it? He was slightly more aggressive than the one that got eaten, but he didn't appear to be any larger than normal.

[Josh]

Did you check under the bedding? Or any cracks or crevaces you normaly dont look?

[abcat1993]

Yeah, I completely took out everything. If my other snake did eat him, would you be able to tell by it's feces?

[adamanteus]

Matt, I'm sure you could tell, there would be scales in the feaces.

[ssssnakeluvr]

nope..you can't tell what snakes ate by looking in the feces. scales will digest...known fact from wandering eating lizards....looked just like any other poop...on rare occasions, mouse fur will pass, but generally everything digests. garters are master escape artists. it would be hard for one to eat one near the same size, unable to the the whole thing ingested. snakes can outdo Houdini!!! I know of a 6 ft red tail boa that squeezed out of a cage with the widest gap only an inch and a half....happened at my work. the snake was big and stocky, didn't think it could squeeze out. babies also can get up the side of aquariums....they crawl thru the water dish and get wet, then stick to the side of the glass....had that happen to me....

[flakgunner]

hey,
the only time I every had this happen to me,was when I had a 38" Chicago Gartersnake,late August,she gave birth to 60+,and we went bonkers trying to care for the little ones,feeding them redworms,a couple of times we had two ,go after the same worm,and when they met in the center,one would go up and over the other,in my 30+ years of caring for snakes,Ive never had a problem keeping multi Garters together.

Joe

[adamanteus]

Originally Posted by ssssnakeluvr

nope..you can't tell what snakes ate by looking in the feces. scales will digest...known fact from wandering eating lizards....

Actually Don. on the few occasions that I have had adult male Garters eat the neonates as they were born, there have always been scales clearly visible in the faeces.

[GarterGuy]

I actually have a buddy of mine the breeds king cobras and is always complaining about the mess from the scales in the feces.

Roy

[Serpentine99]

I think the lizard ssssnakeluvr was talking about would have special acids in the stomach to digest reptiles, especially if they specialize in snakes and lizards.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I was refering to my wandering a few years ago, ate some lizards, all scales were digested. I guess some some scales could pass, but most of the time that stuff is digested.