Can Corn Snakes Eat Fish?

Corn snakes are pretty popular as pets and they like to eat live creatures. So the owners must offer them live preys which are small in size and do not choke them.

When they are in the wilderness, they are not much choosy about the food, only they prefer to have non-vegetarian items instead of vegetables and greens. Any small items that are living, moving, and available near them, often become their food.

What foods do the corn snakes eat?

Corn snakes can eat small creatures like small birds, frogs, rodents like mice, and various kinds of lizards. They love to prey upon the live creatures and thus they usually grab the creature and suffocate it while devouring. They do not tear the food or chew it in the process.

While in the wilderness they live on these small creatures that are available around their surroundings.

Are fishes good for feeding the corn snake?

Fishes are not usually available around the area where corn snakes live. So it is not much possible for them to catch a fish and eat on their own. But when it comes to feeding them, the owners can try a few of the fishes to feed their corn snakes.

Can there be any health-related issue if the corn snakes are fed with fishes?

Other than the right size, fishes will never cause problems with the corn snakes. smaller fishes are easier to be fed and those ones do not have the chance to choke the corn snake. So minnows and such small fishes should be fed to the corn snake, but do not try to feed them, the dead or frozen ones. Corn snakes do not prefer to eat their food dead, so it will not do them any good when you offer them some frozen or tinned fish.

How are corn snakes as eaters?

Corn snakes are basically meat-eaters, and they do not prefer to have vegetables or greens on their food palate. As they possibly love to eat live foods, like any small creatures, the pet owners who are much sensitive may find it disgusting or cruel to feed them. When you decide to adopt a corn snake as your pet, you must consider this fact.  Feeding may be a stressful job for you once you see it grabbing a live creature and constrict it while consuming.

Which fishes are good for feeding the corn snakes?

As per the rule, you cannot feed anything that is larger than the girth part of the corn snake’s middle portion. So for the baby corn snakes, a smaller variety of fresh fishes will be an ideal option. For the large corn snakes, you can choose bass or such a larger species of fishes. This is to remember that, corn snakes do not usually have fishes, so you can offer those fishes but on the regular basis, they should be fed with small mice and frogs.

How much nutritional value is available from the fish?

Fish is a good source of animal protein and thus if you decide to provide fish once a week to your corn snake, it will do them good. Good cholesterol and omega-3 fatty acid are present in the fishes as well as riboflavin and vitamin D. also there are certain minerals like zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. All these minerals have good impacts on the consumer. For the corn snake, fish can be one of the ideal sources of protein which they can intake once every week.

Do the bones of the big fish create a problem for the corn snake?

As we have already mentioned, the size of the food matters a lot when it comes to feeding the corn snake. You can offer small or big fishes to the corn snake depending upon the size of the snake’s body. But make sure that the fish pieces or the whole fish do not contain any sharp bones. It is best to provide the de-boned fishes or a piece of big fish to your corn snake, which will be sized accordingly for the consuming purpose of the snake.

Can corn snakes eat cooked food?

Fishes are often delicious when cooked. We, humans, love to eat the fish in cooked form, but when it comes to feeding the snake, you should not offer the cooked fish to your snake. While cooking, some ingredients and nutrients change their form.

Corn snakes are habituated to eating raw meat or protein. Their digestive system is designed in such a way that they can consume the raw meat and absorb the nutrients present in it.

When it comes to having a cooked form of protein, it will not be easy on the corn snake’s digestive system. They do not taste their food so it will not even appeal to their taste buds as well.  The spices and oil present in the cooked fish may also cause them digestion problems, so it is preferred to provide them with raw and deboned fish.

More:

• How Often To Feed Corn Snakes?
• Why Won’t My Corn Snake Eat?