Which snakes are insectivores or don't eat rodents?

Question

I'm planning on getting a snake, though preferably one that doesn't require mice/rats. There's the rough/smooth green snake and ringneck snake but I read that those do not like to be handled, making them a "look but don't touch" snake. Are there any snakes on an alternate diet which are a bit friendlier?

Answer 1

Just for the record, garter snakes are not insect eaters. Crickets/grasshoppers/beetles etc. offer no nutritional value to the snake & are almost impossible to digest. I raise garters & they do not mind being handled more or less than any other snake & even wild specimens settle very quickly. The green snakes are about the only snakes that include insects as a staple of their diet, but they are not good specimens for the beginner. The ringneck snake is a pretty, small snake that is happy to eat earthworms, salamanders, small minnows, tadpoles. The drawback with them is that they spend almost all their time hiding under rocks.

Answer 2

While there are many snakes that routinely eat things other than mice or rats, most of them are not good pet snakes and/or do not like being held.

Some Kingsnakes, for example, eat small snakes, and are OK for handling, but getting other snakes as food is tough enough that most keepers just use mice anyway.

Gartersnakes, Watersnakes, and some other semi-aquatic species eat fish, frogs, etc. but do not like to be handled at all.

Some small snakes- Ringneck, Worm, Green, DeKays, etc. can eat insects and worms, but they do not like ot be handled and many are difficult to raise well.

Bottom line- for the most part, keeping snakes means using mice or rats as food. If you don't want to do this, try a different pet.

Answer 3

First of all, no snake really "likes" to be handled. Some just tolerate it better than others.
Most of the non-mouse eaters are small. I have kept ring-neck, brown, and red-belly snakes. All do well on a diet of earthworms, and all become calm enough for occasional handling.

Answer 4

Common garter snake

Answer 5

Garter snakes, ribbon snakes and Green snakes do not eat mice. Green snakes eat crickets and worms, and Garter snakes and ribbon snakes will eat crickets, worms, roaches, and fish (rosy red minnows or small goldfish).

Answer 6

That's a good question I hope you will get some valuable answers

Answer 7

Need more details

Answer 8

I am sorry to tell you this, but if you don't want to feed a snake mice or rats, then don't get a snake. ALL snakes eat mice or rodents. I should know, I LOVE snakes. I watch everything about them.

Answer 9

none.