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Posted by madmatt on November 07, 2002 at 01:33:33:
In Reply to: What do you use as a Vitamin B supplement? posted by Pierson on November 06, 2002 at 08:02:43:
I use a generic B-complex that is marketed by a West coast grocery store called "Trader Joes" but I believe the water-solubility would make any B-complex or even just pure Thiamine(Vitamiin B1??) do just fine. The B complex pill contains 100 mg of Thiamine in the form of thiamine mononitrate, amongst all the sister B's in the pill.
The snakes hate the taste so I crudely mangle the pill to get a shard of pill that can comfortably fit in the goldfish mouth. (Usually I run some tap water over the shard to dissolve the rough egdes so as not to hurt the ish needlessly before it is swallowed whole:) The fish quickly disgorge the shard if fish is left in water so I place the flopping fish on a flat clean surface in the tank making sure my compressicauda are in prime feeding condition(warm and hungry)
Observed Efficacy: Without supplementation,my snakes start twitches, diminished feeding response, nervousness if thiamine supplementation is skipped between 1 and 2 feedings. Keep in mind this is the only food source they have received due to size, tastes, etc.
I administer the shard(volume of a BB or two for yearlings) to the first fish fed which must be given as described above. That is typically enough to sastify them. They can eat the rest of the weekly feeding by catching the fish in water. Extra supplementation of multiple fish is unnecessary unless they have gone awhile witohut supplementation. Safest results achieved with supplementying first fish of every weekly fish feeding till satiation.
I know its a bit long but it took awhile to develop an effective delivery system that worked for me.
I hope this can save people some time if they find thenmselves discovering like I did the friggin high levels of thiaminase that goldfish have. Really impressed and grateful for your responses Pierson et al.
Matt
:I'm interested in knowing in case the need for it ever arises. I don't think it will, just want to be prepared. Thanks.
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