Hey Terry, look at the irony in your statement...

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Posted by Kenny Wray on July 09, 2000 at 15:58:11:

In Reply to: Re: DO RAT SNAKES EAT FROGS posted by Terry Cox on July 08, 2000 at 17:33:02:

: In the wild some ratsnakes eat frogs, but most snake keepers won't feed them wild frogs because of the possibility of parasites. I used to feed spring peepers to baby black rats in the spring, before letting them go. This is what they do in the wild, so I figured it wouldn't hurt them. Many Asian ratsnakes eat frogs in nature. TC.

won't hurt them in the wild, it won't hurt them in captivity. True frogs carry parasites, as do most other prey items (and even freezing for prolonged periods at normal freezer temps, does not kill all parasites, that is a myth). If a snake developes a problem in captivity it would also develope that problem in the wild. Most parasites steel from their host, but if they killed the host, then they to would die. I have been feeding ratsnakes, garter snakes, ribbon snakes, and hognoses amphibians from the wild for 15+ years, and have never had an attributable problem to this. The whole thing has been played on by others and although could be of concern, it rarely is.
Best regards, KW.

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Ok, let's look at it again........... Terry 07/10/00 (1)
- Terry, agreed... Kenny Wray 07/10/00 (0)

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: : In the wild some ratsnakes eat frogs, but most snake keepers won't feed them wild frogs because of the possibility of parasites. I used to feed spring peepers to baby black rats in the spring, before letting them go. This is what they do in the wild, so I figured it wouldn't hurt them. Many Asian ratsnakes eat frogs in nature. TC. : won't hurt them in the wild, it won't hurt them in captivity. True frogs carry parasites, as do most other prey items (and even freezing for prolonged periods at normal freezer temps, does not kill all parasites, that is a myth). If a snake developes a problem in captivity it would also develope that problem in the wild. Most parasites steel from their host, but if they killed the host, then they to would die. I have been feeding ratsnakes, garter snakes, ribbon snakes, and hognoses amphibians from the wild for 15+ years, and have never had an attributable problem to this. The whole thing has been played on by others and although could be of concern, it rarely is. : Best regards, KW.

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