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Keeping and feeding reptiles is not for the squeamish. Most require live or freshly killed animals or insects for their food. Nevertheless, even the most squeamish person around can find a reptile whose eating patterns are acceptable. Most turtles can live off dog food and many lizards are vegetarians. All reptiles need to be provided ready access to drinking water.

In the wild snakes will eat just about anything that they can get their jaws around, including baby chicks, rats, mice, whole eggs, frogs, kittens, and the odd poodle. Snakes are strictly meat eaters.

Pet snakes are normally fed only rodents – mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils or guinea pigs. These can all be acquired from your local pet store or you can raise your own.

When feeding your snake, choose a rodent about the same size as the widest part of the snake. Thoroughly research your particular variety of snake to determine if it has special feeding needs, and how often it should be fed.

In the wild, snakes eat their prey alive, or immediately after killing the prey. In the home, you may not wish to feed live animals to your snake for several reasons.

• Due to the stress of capture or their environment, they may be afraid to catch and kill their own dinner.
• If the snake does not eat the prey immediately, in a confined space the prey may damage the snake.

Reptiles that eat live animals may be taught to eat dead ones. To train your reptile to eat dead animals, begin by stunning the prey and presenting it to the reptile to eat. When they have grown accustomed to this, present them with a freshly killed prey. The next step is to train them to eat preserved kills, i.e., one's that have been kept in the freezer. To prepare a frozen dinner, thaw and warm to body temperature (100° F) by placing the prey in a heavy plastic bag and submerging it in very hot water until the desired temperature is reached.

• If you don't want to kill your own snake food, most pet stores that deal in reptiles, sell frozen rodents.

If you've never killed a rodent before, watch someone with experience make a kill. This will give you a feel for the task, and will teach you how to do it correctly so that the rodent does not suffer.

The three main methods of killing a rodent are:

• Suffocate it with carbon dioxide
• Hit it on the head with a hammer
• Break its neck

Except for Tortoises, all turtles are carnivorous. Luckily for the pet owner, they can survive quite nicely on a diet of canned dog food or cooked lean ground beef along with a vitamin supplement.

• Tortoises are vegetarians and will eat almost any vegetable matter; their diet should also include a variety of fruits and berries.
• All turtles eat vegetation, including grass. Provide a wide variety of dark leafy greens to help insure a balanced diet, such as kale, chard, spinach, and beet tops.
• Turtles will also eat ground up fish, insects, tadpoles and worms.

While many varieties of lizards eat only live insects, there are also many that are strict vegetarians. The vegetarian lizards are easy to feed, simply provide them with a large assortment of fruits and vegetables. As long as they have a varied diet, they usually do not need vitamin or mineral supplements. However, this will depend upon the species and their environment.

For insectivores, acquiring insects in the summer, when they are plentiful, does not present a problem. However, you will need to raise your own insects in order to provide for your pet over the winter months.

• Summer – collect spiders, beetles, moths, crickets, anything that is attracted to an outside light at night, or to your window screen. Capture your insect prey in a bottle, and release them into your lizard's cage – they'll take care of the rest.
• Winter – most pet stores sell a variety of insects, but this is an expensive way to feed your pet. Consider raising your own food. Crickets and worms are not difficult to tend to. The department of entomology, at your local university will be able to offer advice and guidance on how to raise your own 'insects'.

To determine the exact nutritional requirements of your pet, consult with a herpetologist or a reptilian veterinarian.