Do red efts eat mushrooms?

[michael]

I read a for sale add on a popular site that says red efts eat mushrooms. It also states this help to keep them attractive and keeps them from morphing. Have you ever heard of this?

 

[dane]

oh my I just saw that too, I think someone who has some should test it, it is extremly weird, maybe you can contact that person who is feeding the efts mushrooms

 

[jennifer]

Sounds like a load of boloney to me. Someone sent me a photo once, showing Taricha looking carefully at mushrooms. The person was convinced that the Taricha were eating the mushrooms. On further inspection, she realized... they were eating bugs associated with the mushrooms. So it's easy to see where a "tale" like this could get started.

 

[kara]

that is probably the wierdest thing I have heard on this site...
where did you guys see this? I would love to take a peek!

 

[kara]

its kingsnake, and it said it has expired

 

[edward]

Jan,

We don't allow the posting of links advertising animals on the site.

Ed

 

[mike]

I tend to go with Jen's observations.

It's possible of course that the advertiser was on magic

mushrooms himself.

 

[Jan]

Ed, you are right - that didn't even cross my mind when I posted the link...sorry for the oversight.

If the animal is seeking the small insects on the mushrooms (logical), is it conceivable that it also gets a mouthful of the fragile mushroom when it captures its prey? This might be a potential explanation for ‘mushroom eating red efts’. I know my salamanders sometimes get a mouthful of substrate when eating crickets.

 

[edward]

Hi Jan,

No problem.

I still have strong reservations as the efts do not have the jaw strength nor the dentition to be able to bite chunks off.

Ed