New snake update & A frequently asked question

Hey all. Been gone a long time! I'm really bad at devoting myself to things, but hopefully I'll get better.

Anyway, I've updated my collection since the last post! I now have my normal corn snake, my normal ball python, plus an albino tangerine honduran milk snake, male sunglow boa and female axanthic blonde trans pecos rat snake! So life has been pretty good.

Now I'm going to attempt to cover one of the most frequently asked question about snakes:

ARE THERE VEGETARIAN SNAKES?

In a very simple, 2-worded answer...

No.

To put it in a more detailed answer, I will begin to explain why snakes aren't vegetarian, and go over other options if you want a snake without having to watch a mouse die right in front of you.

1. It's not natural
As humans, we are naturally omnivores. However, with today's technology, humans can afford to cut out huge amounts of what would naturally be crucial parts of our diets. Such parts include meat, poultry, fish, and even as far as dairy, eggs and honey. Wether this is moral or just because you love animalst that much, we can survive (and thrive) without stuff that in the wild we would waste away without.

Snakes cannot do this.

While many multi-vitamin supplements are avaliable for snakes today, they are in no way to take the place of a snake's favourite thing: meat. Word was that a company was working on a vegan sausage for snakes, however, as far as we know, this project has been long dead in the water. It just isn't possible. Snakes need everything in the mouse, from the bones to the fur. Taking this away would be deadly to a snake. They are not built this way.

You wouldn't try to make something that's CLEARLY an obligate carnivore vegetarian...say, a lion, but in reality, people don't realize that snakes are as obligate carnivores as anything. Sorry, but it just isn't naturally possible.

2. Smell
Snakes don't have good vision and rely on smell to find their prey. Also, snakes can sense the blood of a warm blood of a rodent. Fruits and veggies don't even have blood, let alone warm blood, and a snake would not in any way think a vegetable is food.

3. Digestive track
I don't even think a snake could DIGEST a vegetable or fruit. Even if you scented the mouse to smell like one, and the snake ate it, the snake would almost certainly be doomed to run into impaction or another deadly digestive problem.

So all in all, do not even attempt to raise a snake to be vegetarian. Instead, consider these options:

1. Frozen and thawed rodents
You can buy frozen rodents humanely culled (or basically killed) with Co2 gas. It's painless and you don't have to feed like the death of the rodent is on your hands.

2. Garter snakes and Ribbon snakes
While I would never put a Garter or Ribbon snake as an ideal snake to keep, some people have had very good fortune with these snakes and adore them. However, my experiences have been contrary. You can feed a Garter or Ribbon little fish or worms, HOWEVER, when they get big, they will need to be fed either frogs (hard to find) or rodents. -WARNING- DO NOT FEED GARTER OR RIBBON SNAKES GOLDFISH. THEY CONTAIN THIAMENESE (??) AND IT WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY LEAD TO DEATH. CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL (NOT A PET STORE) TO FIND OUT WHAT TO FEED YOUR FISH-EATING SNAKE--

3. Smaller bug eating snakes
IF you are desperate for a snake, you can consider possibly something like a Rough Green Snake, however, these snakes are less than ideal to keep, and I would not reccomend buying one if you are a beginner.

4. Vegetarian lizards
There are vegetarian lizards out there, like Uromastyx and Iguanas, however they are no where near as easy to care for and most Iguanas are HUGE and hard to care for, so do your research and buy responsibly.

Reptiles: What are they??

What is a Reptile?
Reptiles are among the oldest groups of animals on Earth: Dinosaurs were reptiles, and Dinosaurs are also some of the earliest creatures ever seen on Earth. Reptiles have been around much longer than humans, so it's not always fair that people think they have a right to go around killing snakes and lizards: after all, technically, you are in THEIR territory.

Who is a Reptile?
There are four basic groups of Reptiles:
-Snakes
-Lizards
-Turtles and Tortoises
-Crocodilians (Caiman, Gharial, Crocodiles and Alligators)

What makes a Reptile a Reptile?
Reptiles have a few main characteristics:
-Cold-blooded, which means they cannot make their own body heat like mammals can.
-They are covered in dry scales (unless, of course, they are aquatic, but the scales themselves are not slimy, they are just wet)
-Normally long lived

Can a Reptile be a pet?
Many people make the decisions to keep Reptiles as pets, and the truth is that this is perfectly acceptable! Reptiles can make good--even great--pets that the whole family can enjoy. They are often beautiful, docile to handle and easy.
The most reccomended Reptiles are pets are:
-Corn snakes
-King snakes
-Milk snakes
-Ball pythons
-Leopard geckos
-Bearded dragons
-Anoles
However, there are some Reptiles that DO NOT make good pets, and they are Crocodilians. Crocodilians are big, aggressive and strong. They can smash watermelons with the sheer muscle of their jaws, and cannot be tamed. The very smallest ones get 5 feet long. That being said, Crocodilians are NOT pets and should NOT be kept in captivity.
Turtles can be kept as pets but usually require tons of work, so are generally not for beginners.

Are Reptiles expensive to buy?
This depends mostly on the Reptile: some can cost thousands, others $20. But this doesn't count their care: altogether a "cheap" reptile to, everything included, would be around $80 or more. So, if you wish to keep a Reptile as a pet, make sure you have the money for it.

What will you cover in this blog?
Care of various Reptiles, updates of my own reptiles, pictures, information, tips to raising feeders and more! If you are considering keeping a Reptile as a pet, stick around!

-Natalie-