All the feeder insects are not recommended as a food sourse for the garter snakes ??

[NickB]

I remember reading a report of Natrix Maura (Viperine) eating flies in the wild, someone posted about seeing it on some website. Ofcourse flies don't really have much of an exoskeleton though. Out of interest how come Thamnophis can't digest exoskeletons but they can digest skeletons from rodents?

PS.
I know I bumped this. I was searching for something and bumped into this.

[Stefan-A]

I remember reading a report of Natrix Maura (Viperine) eating flies in the wild, someone posted about seeing it on some website. Ofcourse flies don't really have much of an exoskeleton though. Out of interest how come Thamnophis can't digest exoskeletons but they can digest skeletons from rodents?

PS.
I know I bumped this. I was searching for something and bumped into this.

Different material. Chitin requires different enzymes (chitinase), or, according to wikipedia, "bacterial symbionts and lengthy fermentations". You'll also find that many animals have trouble with keratin as well.

I'd also like to hear more about this fly eating thing.

[ShadowBeast]

The only way I'd trust feeding a snake a frog would be feeding it tank raised frogs since they would have less chance of parasites.
It's strange that garter snakes can't digest insects and yet some garter snakes are able to eat eggs.

[NickB]

Different material. Chitin requires different enzymes (chitinase), or, according to wikipedia, "bacterial symbionts and lengthy fermentations". You'll also find that many animals have trouble with keratin as well.

I'd also like to hear more about this fly eating thing.

Aaah thanks for sharing, very interesting. A quick google for the fly stuff and I found this person claiming to have seen it: Viperine Snake Natrix maura but that certainly isn't the one I read before, which is more intriguing as it shows their are multiple people who believe they've witnessed Maura hunting flies. I've never read any particularly reliable source claiming it though, it's always just posts on forums.