Rodent diet

[adamanteus]

I have seen numerous cases of hair impaction (never seen bone) in reptiles from a diet of "fuzzies" (I'm not sure what you call newly furred mice in the US). As I say, never in Thamnophis, but surely it's worth considering.

As I said previously, some of the larger Thamnophis species may well eat rodents in the wild, but certainly not all species.

Yes, I agree, amphibians can carry parasites, but wild snake populations can cope with this, even we humans carry them. At least with our captive specimens we can treat for parasites if it becomes necessary. It seems to me that many reptile species are popular with pet keepers because of their ability to adapt to the artificial live-style we impose upon them, but should we be making them adapt or should we be adapting our husbandry techniques to better suit them?