Live food is living food for carnivorous or omnivorousanimalskept in captivity; in other words, small animals such as insects or mice fed to larger carnivorous or omnivorous species kept either in a zoo or as a pet. Live food is commonly used as feed for a variety of species of exotic pets and zoo animals, ranging from alligators to various snakes, frogs and lizards, but also including other, non-reptile, non-amphibian carnivores and omnivores. Common live food ranges from crickets, waxworms, mealworms and to a lesser extent cockroaches and locusts, to small birds and mammals such as mice or chickens.
Varieties
Live foods commonly available are crickets, waxworms, mealworms, superworms and locusts. There are however many more species used such as butter worms, calci worms, buffalo worms, bean weevils, phoenix worms, sun beetlegrubs, earthworms, a variety of cockroach species , silkworms and more. Insect species are most commonly used to feed small reptiles and amphibians. Another common form of live food, most commonly used to feed snakes, is small rodents. The most commonly known small rodent used for live food is likely the mouse; many pet stores which carry snakes or cater to snake owners also carry "feeder mice" for this reason. It is also common to feed reptiles freshly killed or frozen/thawed rodents as most reptiles will readily accept them. Creatures that are the most common choices for live foods, ranging from feeder mice to crickets and mealworms, generally are bred and raised in captivity themselves, and can often be found both through local pet stores and from wholesalers or "farms" that breed them specifically for live food sales.
Animals commonly fed live food
Animals that are commonly fed live food include bearded dragons, leopard geckos and other lizards, various types of snake, turtles, and carnivorous fish, though other animals, such as skunks, being omnivorous, can also eat some live food, though it is unknown how common this is in practice.
