Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going to breed rabbits to feed my large boids, wondering what breed would be best. Leaning toward Californians, but haven't ruled out New Zealands. or both. Would greatly appreciate any info. Thanks

new zealands tend to be a little leaner of meat, that is my preference
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

Hard to go wrong with either breed. I've bred both but now have only one Californian left. Just seems like the New Zealands are better mothers and are a little more mellow. Since you are just working toward meat production you can cross them up if you want. If you do feed the crosses to your snakes. If you are going to hold back any save the purebreds. If you have any more questions throw them up here.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to get a trio of both, work with them and see if I have a preferance. So I read that the hybrids grow faster and achieve a higher wieght, is it really a significant differance? Thanks Steve

For snake people the difference in weight gain between purebred and mixed is negligible. These stats genereally come from weights at eight weeks, fryer size, which is about five pounds. For a person producing hundreds of rabbits per year a half pound difference per rabbit can add up. Most of the time the difference is not really that noticeable.
In choosing breeding stock get quality animals bred for meat production. If you are having trouble finding good stock contact your local 4-H. You might need to get some younger animals and wait from them to get up to breeding age, about six months for does.
Good luck,
josh

I would breed flemish giants for large snakes, I buy these at bird and rabbit swaps and they look like small kangaroos, about 15 lbs for a large one, also Iwouldn't worry so much about how lean they are because some fat intake is needed. A balanced diet is always the best way to go, I feed my anacondas and retic a variety of animals,rabbits,chickens ducks and geese, still looking for small pigs or goats at reasonable prices but no luck yet. New zealands and california rabbits are good too just not as big as flemish giants!

Flemish Giants are great if you can find adults. From a breeding perspective they are not as desirable as the New Zealands or Californians, both of which are production meat rabbits. Meat rabbits have been selectively bred to have large litters, be good mothers, and have the fastest growth rates. You can of course use Flemish Giants but will spend more time getting them up to size and that means more food for the rabbits. I wish I had a place I could buy adult Flemish Giants for a reasonable price.
josh

they are very good. yes, some fat is good, but a retic is much different from an annie or burm. they need to be fed leaner prey items regularly. they are a lean animal compared to most of the other large boidae snakes
-----
retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

Glad someone started this thread. my male hit 9 feet last month, and i want to get him on rabbits. the 3 jumbo rats was getting lame. right now im feeding large guinea pigs bc my local petstore has a surplus. apparently they breed like crazy. should i stay with the guinea pigs for a while, or mailorder frozen rabbits? the one he ate today was about the size of a [bleep]zu. thicker than a rabbit for sure.

flemish giants can reach upwards of 25 to 30 lbs at full grown, and by time they are ween can be 3-4lbs i breed them year round, they work well for feeding my retics they grow very fast but are a lil more aggressive
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