Snake Supplements 102 - Part One

[@kelseyn5508]

HOLY!! People have to pay thousands for this kind of knowledge / information to go to school, and here you are teaching the public for the betterment of their pets. Absolutely incredible job yet again! your passion for proper nutrition really shows. Im taking notes!!! 🤓 Learned a few things for my cats raw diet too (man I'd be curious on your take for freeze dried raw). I'd also LOVE to hear your thoughts on gutloading (i appreciate this is easier done for bug eating reptiles since we control the bugs feed before being fed to the lizard). Fascinating. Thank you!

[@HeartsScales]

Thank you so much for your support and kind words ^_^ It's true I have spent roughly a decade learning about pet nutrition, and paid for training and certifications, and this has aided me greatly in my research on snake supplementation. If you would like more information on dogs and cat specifically, I have a substack and a podcast under the name "Animal Nutrition Wizard" you might find helpful. While I stopped updating these a couple of years ago, they are still available for people who need them, and most of the information I provided is still current today. Freeze Dried Raw Diets can be wonderful. Just like with any manufactured food there are some better quality ones and some I would personally avoid, however, in general they are going to 1) Be just as digestible as Frozen or Fresh raw, confirmed in digestibility studies on both, 2) Offer an ingredient deck that is far less carbohydrate-loaded than dry kibble, and 3) Be a safe and easy option for folks with kids and/or immune-deficiency options; especially products that have undergone HPP (High Pressure Pasteurization). Gutloading for both insects and rodents, quails, etc. is going to be of the utmost importance - and I plan to address this more fully in the next supplements episode!

[@Sentinel_Serpents]

What a great video!! 👍

[@HeartsScales]

Thank you! I'm pleased you like it! ^_^

[@MoonstonePlains]

You should link part two in your description! ❤

[@MedusaHerps]

I've been waiting for this series to continue and now I can't wait for part 3! 🤗🤞 I've read that snakes that evolved as/from fossorial species(Hognose, Ball Python, etc)do not need/benefit from UV or D3 like other species. Thoughts? 🤔

[@HeartsScales]

Thank you so much for saying that! I'm over the moon that you are enjoying this series. I still don't really fancy myself a content creator and I've learned everything I know about editing on the fly, but the key is that it's accessible and people get something positive out of it! Ooh I love a good in-depth discussion on reptile biology and the like - thank you for bringing that up! Here are my thoughts; It's definitely likely that certain species of reptiles require far less UVB than others - especially nocturnal or perhaps even fossorial ones, but besides thermoregulation and Vitamin D3 synthesis, all reptiles need sunlight for a myriad of other reasons! They are, after all, ectotherms - animals that require the sun for their bodies to regulate and function (I know you know that, but I include that for anyone else reading!). There are other types of ultraviolet light besides UVB, too; UVA and UVC. UVA is also incredibly important to reptiles because they can see the different types of UVA light and it regulates many of their behaviors - including their instincts to eat and to mate. In fact, all UVB bulbs also emit a large amount of UVA, and the best UVB bulbs provide what they call 'full spectrum lighting'. I believe that Reptiles and Research discussed in their Masterclass video about Reptile Lighting (which is fantastic and really something I would urge all reptile keepers to go watch) that regulation of D3 requires both UVA and UVB, not only for synthesis but for preventing their bodies over-synthesizing D3 and essentially causing themselves VDT (Vitamin D Toxicity). It goes into incredible detail as to the importance of replicating true sunlight as best we can for all reptiles. Even nocturnal ones like ball pythons, or fossorial ones like hognoses. There is a years-long, thorough study you can find called "Natural History of the Hognose Snakes" by Dwight Platt that I would recommend reading. Hognoses do spend a lot of time underground - but they LOVE the sun and anyone who has studied hognoses in the wild or even goes herping in Hognoses-heavy states will tell you that hognoses are out and on the crawl whenever the sun makes an appearance. I think an argument could be made for the level of UVB required for different species, especially since we already know about the different Ferguson Zones for different species of reptiles, but based on all I have read and have heard from researchers and anecdotal observations from keepers and breeders, I have little doubt that all reptiles benefit from UVB. Really it's about rounding out and replicating natural light as best we can for our reptiles, because they have a very different relationship with light and the sun overall than we do, and all reptiles rely on the sun so heavily (albeit in different ways) that it would be very surprising and counter-intuitive indeed to find that any reptiles, fossorial or no, wouldn't benefit from access to the full spectrum of light that the sun provides. Link to the Masterclass, for those interested - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqOXeqBuZ8iIpq8si=KYljsswBUTEp1I1Z

[@MedusaHerps]

@@HeartsScales Nice, thorough reply, I'll definitely try and watch the video later. So, how does all this jive with keepers/breeders that exclusive use rack systems (Jeff Galewood comes to mind, as I see hundreds of animals in the background of his videos)? He has probably forgotten more about Hogs then I will ever learn, and is known to produce healthy, vibrant animals. Would a full spectrum light in his snake room provide any real benefit (tubs block UV??)? I ask because I recently acquired my 4 juvenile Hogs, and have them in tubs on a utility type shelf. I don't need things to be perfect, but also don't want them to suffer any health issues. ✌️♥️🐍

[@HeartsScales]

@@MedusaHerps That's a really great point and yes, he certainly does produce robust, healthy hognoses (and clearly is passionate about them and researching their care). I agree that we should not let 'perfect' be the enemy of 'good', in such cases. There are some folks in the reptile community coming up with ways to make bioactive racks, and at least one I know of building a rack with UVB, so these are things many of us are thinking about and trying to find solutions for. I think that is wonderful and inspiring, and hopefully someday in the near future UVB-friendly racks will be available commercially. In the meantime, many of us try to find ways to do better however we can. I take my hogs outside of their tubs many times a week, and when it's nice and sunny out, I take them outside to soak in some natural UVB for a few minutes, too. For those able to keep their hognoses in vivariums, UVB lamps are an option (for now) but should be used carefully and only after much research. After ensuring the proper wattage and size and distance from your snake, UVB bulbs can be an amazing way to add to the quality of life for our snakes. Great questions and discussion, thank you!

[@arturoflores1075]

Is live prey better? I understand there's a plethora of context behind my question, but, if gut loading a bug for a gecko is beneficial; would a hand raised rat, that is live fed to my snake, be more nutritious to my snake than a rat from a large scale feeder breeder? FyI my snake only eats live. I've tried frozen/thawed prey of different prey species and it doesn't matter. Live prey or nothing.

[@HeartsScales]

That's a very good question. Nutritionally speaking, it of course depends on a myriad of factors. I don't recommend live for the safety issues it causes, and have seen far too many a snake receive terrible and even life-ending injuries from live prey. However, at the most basic level typically yes, fresh food that has not been frozen will maintain more nutritional value than food that has been frozen. Especially, as you mentioned, one that has been fed an appropriate and high quality diet. I haven't spoken on this yet, but I plan to! It is my opinion that fresh-killed feeders are both the safest and likely the most nutritious option. If you are able to feed fresh-killed rather than frozen, that would be the best of both worlds. If you are interested in switching to F/T or fresh-killed, Bob Bledsoe of Green Room Pythons has a wonderful, informative video on how to do it with even the most picky of snakes ^_^ Thank you for your question!

[@MoonstonePlains]

Lmaooo “The Horror” at the overcooked steak! 🤣🥲🥲