# Snakes that don't need to eat mice?



## DominiCherry (Mar 19, 2009)

Hi,

Are there any snakes that can live off crickets and insects rather than eating pinkie/rats etc?

I would really love to get a snake but the thought of touching mice makes me feel rather sick..perhaps a snake is totally out of the question??

Thanks!


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

There are very few snakes that can be successfully kept and fed without using mice or rats.

The biggest problem with the two I can think of offhand - African egg-eaters and Rough/Smooth Green Snakes - is that they are usually wild-caught and will need treatment for parasites; they can also be difficult to acclimate to captivity.

That said, if you had a snake that eats mice, you don't have to touch the mice at all - get a pair of feeding tongs (I'd recommend that anyway!)


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

there are a few less common and not seen at all species in the pet trade that eat primarily insects, other option is snake sausage things dont know what they are like though


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

SiUK said:


> other option is snake sausage things dont know what they are like though


There's only one company that does these now (T-Rex have stopped marketing "Snake Sausage") and they only supply to zoological establishments, as far as I'm aware.


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## mackem hiss (Nov 27, 2008)

rough green snakes a pretty little cricket eaters or you have garters and some water snakes that take fish it all depends on what size of snake you want to own? Or you can always invest in a good pair of feeding tongs so you don't have to touch the mice? Hope some of this helps?


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## aaron lynch (Feb 13, 2009)

yes my boa eats rabbits! :lol2:

seriously though there are! theyre called rough green snakes, also smooth green snakes eat crickets theryre active pretty little snakes that i think need uv lighting. theyre easy to care for but pretty small and fast!
or there are egg eaters which obviously eat eggs, however i wouldnt get one of these if its your first snake, they can be hard to come by an can be fussy feeders!


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## Repta (Jul 29, 2008)

I was very unhappy with the prospect of even having pinkies in my freezer let alone touching them when we first started. A year down the line and I'm happily handling all sorts and you'll find me routing through the rep shops freezer, elbow deep in rodents, in order to find the right size for each snakes.

You do get used to them.


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## DominiCherry (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for such a quick reply!

So, really there probably isn't any snake-well not one that is easy to find in Reptile shops?

It isn't just touching the little mice things, even the look of them makes me feel sick. :lol2:

Also, I had pet Rats last year so I would feel a bit weird feeding rodents to a Snake, having said that my Boyfriend would feed the snake. (I would still have to have pinkies in the house though-not sure I can handle that)


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## bustergrey (Jan 23, 2009)

I think your best option is to look at Lizards. Still great to watch/ hold etc and most will survive on a mainly insect diet. That said prefer to handle dead mice than having to look after bloody crickets:lol2:


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## strangemouse (Aug 9, 2007)

What about garter snakes? Many can eat fish I believe.


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

If you dont want to handle dead mice then realisticly your gonna have to look at another type of pet.... But then most exotic pets eat something thats alive/icky xD be it crickets or mice

Theres only one way to get over a phobia though and thats by actually doing it! It's not as bad as you think it is and its great fun watching your snake strike feed


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## georgieabc123 (Jul 17, 2008)

id touch dead mice over crickets any day lol hate the thing they bit me :whip::lol2:


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## sam432 (Mar 8, 2009)

Egg Eating Snake - Dasypeltis fasciata, medici and scabra try this its seems like the answer to me


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## lizardloverrach (Dec 1, 2008)

i think you should just go for it! you WILL get used to it after a while.
never had a problem with frozen food, but good god, insects terrify me lol,
but after dropping a whole box of crickets on myself....and having various escapees....i am no longer really bothered by them!


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## Talk To The Animals (Jan 10, 2008)

It's really not that bad, and to be honest you kind of stop seeing them as cute mice that used to be alive, and they just become food. Sort of how you see chicken breasts!! Or tofu, if you're veggie!!

We've got a dedicated drawer in our freezer, at the bottom, just in case it breaks and everything melts so we don't get mouse juice all over the chips. It's full of mice, rats, pinkies and a chinchilla that is waiting to be buried when the ground gets less hard. And before any of you suggest we feed it to something, it was old and skinny!!


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## rantasam (Nov 28, 2006)

As the rest have said really.. you do just get used to it! It's like that first nappy change etc, it just becomes normal..


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