# Other Animals > Other Pets >  snake food

## hopper

whats the easiest frogs to breed for snake food ?

----------


## milky85

i have always believed under uk law that it is illegal to feed live food to snakes (such mice etc) unless you have the permission of a vet because the snake will not take dead food, i maybe wrong, just sure i heard this somewhere. Also from your other posts you say you are feeding your snake wild caught toads, this is a little risky as the parasites that these toads could harbor, surely you are putting your snake in danger by doing this.

plus in another post you asked about firebelly toads, no to feeding to your snake as their toxic

----------


## Lacibeth

What kind of snake is it?  Is there a reason behind not utilizing more readily available food sources?

----------


## hopper

> i have always believed under uk law that it is illegal to feed live food to snakes (such mice etc) unless you have the permission of a vet because the snake will not take dead food, i maybe wrong, just sure i heard this somewhere. Also from your other posts you say you are feeding your snake wild caught toads, this is a little risky as the parasites that these toads could harbor, surely you are putting your snake in danger by doing this.
> 
> plus in another post you asked about firebelly toads, no to feeding to your snake as their toxic


No plenty people feed live food to snake's , so do you know which would be easy to breed ?

----------


## hopper

> What kind of snake is it? Is there a reason behind not utilizing more readily available food sources?


i got alot of grass snakes they seem to feed best on frogs thats why i thought i could breed some if i new which are easy to breed.

----------


## Lacibeth

Grass snake as in _Natrix natrix_?  Could you feed fish instead of frogs?

----------


## hopper

> Grass snake as in _Natrix natrix_? Could you feed fish instead of frogs?


 got no small fish around here , thats why i thought breeding frogs would be the answer , i catch them frogs after its been raining but its a real pain , can you tell me which frogs are easy to breed

----------


## Lacibeth

> got no small fish around here , thats why i thought breeding frogs would be the answer , i catch them frogs after its been raining but its a real pain , can you tell me which frogs are easy to breed


Unfortunately, I don't have any experience w/ amphib breeding.  Hopefully some of the others will chime in.

----------


## milky85

when i was a kid, the common frog was very easy to breed if you have a small body of water in your garden its kind of leave them to it. 

you could go to a shop and buy a few guppies these again breed by themselves

fish would be much easier and safer for your snake i reckon mate

----------


## hopper

> when i was a kid, the common frog was very easy to breed if you have a small body of water in your garden its kind of leave them to it. 
> 
> you could go to a shop and buy a few guppies these again breed by themselves


 cool never thought of guppies

----------


## milky85

my friend kept a species of water snake and they snapped these guppies up, i know that grass snakes feed on mainly fish and amphibians, but try them on some pinkies, in the wild they do feed on mammals to, by doing this you'll be doing good for your snake by giving a bit of variety in their diet, again i know my mate fed his pinkies with no issues

----------


## hopper

thanks for your help , i was just trying to give them a natural diet but pinkies would be good , the other reason i asked is because i was told i couldn't just catch common frogs up and use them for breeding because its against the law thats the reason i asked about breeding other frogs but now i have something to think about , pinkies , guppies etc

----------


## milky85

yes i think your right a lot of species have been are protected under the countryside act 1981, certain wild caught species are permitted to be kept, although you are not allowed to cause any harm to these, so using them as a feeder species, would prob breach this... but your little guys should be very happy on a diet of guppies and pinkies.

good luck with them, would love to hear how they get on and got any pics of them  :Smile:

----------


## xihha

Grass snakes will also eat minnows, slugs, snails, crickets, worms, grubs, beetles and baby birds

You  probably already know this but just in case, If you are feeding live  food be careful about live mice as they can hurt your snake.

Best bet is to go to your local reptile shop and see what food they have (remember that the laws are a bit wierd about keeping grass snakes tho because they are protected so you are likely to be quizzed on it) also as far as i know you can actually collect commonfrog spawn so long as you have the permission of the land owner and do not sell it so if you are catching them from your own garden that may be the answer come next spring

----------


## BG

See that ,you learn something everyday.

----------


## John Clare

Amphibians in the UK are highly protected.  You can't collect them to use as food.  It's not legal, pure and simple.  The Wildlife and Countryside Act protects these animals from abuse like you're describing.  Do yourself and the snake a favour - buy some guppies or a larger live bearer and use those fish as food for the snake.

----------

