Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone ever feed their adult BP's rabbits as opposed to rats or mice? Why or why not?

I'm sure its been done before... But, if you actually had a ball python that was big enough to even swallow a rabbit, it wouldn't really be necessary and would most probably be more expensive than rats.

I think rabbits are excellent for growth though. I suppose if you happen to be a rabbit breeder that owns a bp, you could feed it babies...

Jeremy

Thanks for your input, but I wasn't referring to adult rabbits (probably should have made that clearer in the post). I agree the majority of bp's probably couldn't take them. But you can get baby rabbits which are roughly the size of small adult rats and half the price. Just wondering if anyone feeds their bp rabbits on a regular basis. Thanks.

I'm not sure that rabbits would be any cheaper per pound than rats.

Years ago someone posted claiming to feed their ball python still born miniature horses!!!

I did feed a newborn rabbit to a hatchling ball once and she ate it fine.

I thinki remember that Jared Horenstein had a female that ate baby rabbits. i know he posted something a year or 2 ago about her passing i think she was 6 ft long. Jared can you confirm this. Sorry if it wasnt you.
Aaron

I pay around 85 cents a pound for rabbits and lately I have been having the breeder keep all the newborns that die (she used to toss'em out). They are small enough for balls to eat but I still have not tried feeding them. Though it is cheaper for me to buy rabbits than rats I still feed all my balls rats since they are easier to get (I have to drive 2 hours to pick up my rabbits and 10 minutes for rats). I feed the baby rabbits to my baby burms and boas. I may start one of my yearling balls on baby rabbits and see how it goes.

I feed the occasional rabbit to my largest female ball, in about the 1-3lb rabbit range... Small yes, but they have really fattened her up better then the rats do. The rabbits seem to be a bit more meaty then the rats. And if I had the room to breed rabbits I would do so in a heartbeat! I'd invest in 1.3 good French Lops (does reach 14 lbs minimum). Breed each 3 weeks apart, 29-31 days gestation and the babies would be bigger then colossal rats in a month... Whack and freeze what you don't use and/or sell off the rest. Plus their "pinks" would be bigger and fatter in substance then adult mice. So if one had a younger problem feeder (live only to that point, or just needs the stimulation after a fast, or whatever) you'd run a much lesser risk of oh say - An adult mouse or even small rat nailing your snake. Anywho, thats just my opinion
-Sara