Mice make garters bigger then on worms?

[BChambers]

All I can say is that, in many years of breeding marcianus, I've VERY seldom had a stillborn baby, nor anything but the very occasional infertile ova. I've never fed anything but rodents, and never provided UV lighting. My checkereds are kept exactly like my other colubrids-in rack systems with a heat-tape "hot spot" at one end.

After two decades, and hundreds of snakes bred, I think I can at least say that for this one species (T. marcianus), neither UV lighting nor a varied diet is either necessary or desirable (inasmuch as fish, worms and amphibians have a much greater potential of introducing harmful pathogens than frozen/thawed rodents).

I can't, of course, say anything about other species/ssp of which I have much less direct experience.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

All I can say is that, in many years of breeding marcianus, I've VERY seldom had a stillborn baby, nor anything but the very occasional infertile ova. I've never fed anything but rodents, and never provided UV lighting. My checkereds are kept exactly like my other colubrids-in rack systems with a heat-tape "hot spot" at one end.

After two decades, and hundreds of snakes bred, I think I can at least say that for this one species (T. marcianus), neither UV lighting nor a varied diet is either necessary or desirable (inasmuch as fish, worms and amphibians have a much greater potential of introducing harmful pathogens than frozen/thawed rodents).

I can't, of course, say anything about other species/ssp of which I have much less direct experience.

Yea!!! now my question is, why does it happen to some people, but not others?! you and I both feed differently but get the same results!

[BChambers]

Yea!!! now my question is, why does it happen to some people, but not others?! you and I both feed differently but get the same results!

I don't know the answer to your question for sure, but as an educated guess-I'd say that, while a varied diet may not be necessary, it is also not necessarily harmful-and in many cases may be beneficial-as long as the keeper (like yourself) is extremely careful about the issues of parasite transmission and thiaminase.

I know you keep and breed red-striped ribbons, and I would NEVER recommend feeding that species a rodent-only diet!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I don't know the answer to your question for sure, but as an educated guess-I'd say that, while a varied diet may not be necessary, it is also not necessarily harmful-and in many cases may be beneficial-as long as the keeper (like yourself) is extremely careful about the issues of parasite transmission and thiaminase.

I know you keep and breed red-striped ribbons, and I would NEVER recommend feeding that species a rodent-only diet!

right now my holdback trio are getting a pinky or silverside strips every other feeding! The funny part is the first time I offered pinkies I did it without any scenting and they went CRAZY for them!!!

[BChambers]

right now my holdback trio are getting a pinky or silverside strips every other feeding! The funny part is the first time I offered pinkies I did it without any scenting and they went CRAZY for them!!!

Now that really surprises me -the ones from around here (Cibolo Creek, Kendall County, TX) turn up their noses at pinks!