What Do I Feed My Snake

In the wild, snakes are opportunistic feeders and may go for months without feed or gorge themselves in times of plenty. Digestion or metabolic rate is influenced by temperature so hotter temperatures will accelerate digestion which can shorten feeding intervals and increase overall growth rates. Growing snakes may consume up to 30% of their bodyweight weekly if ambient temperatures are high.

Temperature is the primary environmental factor in influencing your reptiles tendency to feed. Once this is correct, pink rabbits, quail and chicken are useful to trigger the feeding response in reluctant feeders.

We recommend that animals be fed one packet of Rodent Farm animals, then graduate to the next size food item. Rodent Farm food comes frozen in clear, resealable plastic bags. For use with reptiles, our products should be thawed and fed slightly warm (at a surface temperature of 30-40°C) as soon as possible. We recommend thawing in hot tap water (straight from the tap at about 40°C) as the wet food item assists swallowing and hydration of your pet. Reptiles are best fed whole food items so as to supply a nutrient balance with trace elements included in animal organs. Hair, feathers and bone also provide digestive fibre to aid digestion.

Rodent Farm owner, Warwick Denshire (aka Wokka) has been breeding snakes for over ten years and is well-renowned for his high quality snakes. He started Rodent Farm through the frustrations of not being able to source good quality, reliable frozen rats to feed his snakes. Here, Wokka shares his tips and tricks for happy snake keeping with the snake community. Find out more about Wokka.