Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Which is better as a food item? Mice or gerbils pro's and con's. Just curious.
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0.1.0. Cally King (Pearl)
2.2.0. Corn snake (Amel, Hypo, and two Blood Reds)
1.2.0. Cats (Buddy, Little Bit, and Spikey)
1.0.0. Beta Fish (Gouda)
1.0.0. Yorkshire Terrier (Buster)

Gerbil pinkies are bigger, but clutch is small. Mice stink! Gerbils are dessert animals and don't smell nearly as bad.
I keep both. I have found some snakes prefer gerbils and won't eat mice.

Gerbils are interesting rodents. I used to keep a group to feed a trio of Ball Pythons. Unlike mice, they didn't seem to do well in communal groups, rather they did better in pairs. They are definitely less stinky then mice - and a little slower to breed. Still, between 2 gerbils vs. 3 BPs, in a year or so there were more Gerbils than all the snakes could eat.

They showed a lot of genetic variation, with various color and pattern morphs, e.g, normal, albino, black, ginger, and piebald. Interestingly, a trait that came out was "fainting" - sort of an extreme freeze-response. These guys would keel over at the slightest hint of danger, appearing as dead as the best Hognose. A great defense against BPs! Then there was the "ninja" strain, which were so fast and agile as to be essentially untouchable by the fastest BP. Besides that, Gerbils have a high "cute-factor".

Gerbils do make excellent feeders, and provide larger individual servings. They are easily bred, and low maintenance. Unlike mice and rats, the skin covering their tails will come right off, interfering with the "whack 'em on the edge at a hard object" killing method.

I think they make an excellent supplemental food source to augment mice/rats in the diet of any mammel-eating snake, and they can't be beat for keeping BPs.

Hope this helps,

John D.
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I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

Snakes LOVE gerbils. Good? Well they get hooked on them too.
They certainly smell less.
They chew more and cages need to be better.

WORST part, gerbils are smart. I've often fed a snake a gerbil live and the gerbil will go right after the snake. So be careful. This particular snake I recall would not eat F/T.

All in all, I'm very surprised tht people have not bred a strain to have larger litters, like websters in mice. They urinate far less, which is why they do not smell as much. A Major plus.

I use to breed Degus and people wanted them for feed. But that is a terrible option. One, you do not want a snake hooked on an odd mammal you may not be able to get. And they are not rodent, no not under the vermin area of animal rights. Or lack of animal rights.
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Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.herpzilla.com

i dunno what ya'll are talking about small litters....i had a gerbil that had 6 babies.... that was 6 more babies than i wanted!! i ended up keeping them b/c no one would take them... i'm having more trouble with my mice! they are too stupid to multiply....its like they're an old married couple!!! hahahhaha

~kin
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. unknown hypo? normal? (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
1. Miami Phase partial zigzag (Starkey)[Emilys F2 baby]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
2 snows coming soon....

Rats:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)

Cal Kings:
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
more coming soon...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Normal het Midnight Blizzard (Mr. Spot)
.1 Blizzard (Blitz) was attacked by a cat and still living!
.1? unknown very yellow and brown spots...hypo?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~

.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)

~~~~~~~~~~~~OTHER~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.0.1 American toad

I too have had trouble breeding mice. Feed has to be right, and temps low. Or not much will happen. But mice can have 15 or more per litter. They also have an odd strain at hospitals that pop out 30 or more. But the offspring do not carry the breeding prowess. One of our breeders relatives works at a hospital, and that is where he learned of them.
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Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.herpzilla.com