Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have always offerred a combination of rats and mice to my snakes. Feeding rats a couple of feedings then switching to mice. My question is this. Is it bad to feed all rats? They are way more economical to buy frozen in bulk. I think my pits thrive better on rats. Even my red tegu seems to prefer a small rat to 3-4 mice. What do you think? What is your experience?

Mike B

Beautiful snake. Debate exists over what to feed. Personally, rats are the rodent of choice in my herp room. As soon as a snake is big enough, and willing to accept rats, the animal is offered pinks. Then we go from there in terms of size as the animal grows. My pits get quail every so often for variety, and will devour left-over mice from the non-rat feeders, but rats are the staple.

The animals grow well on rats. Plus, with the size of my collection, it's easier to order rats in a variety of sizes , and the mice as needed, since quantity discounts do apply.

regards,
althea

I have often asked that same question and wondered the same thing.

I personally keep my pits on mice as much as I can and have had pits do really well, growing fast on mice. My biggest adult pits though get rats, as it would cost too much to equate a meal in several mice versus one good sized rat. Heck..my adult male albino sonoran gopher was doing great on one huge adult mouse every other week.
I am feeding some of my baby pits rat pinks to see if there is any difference in growth rate, bulk put on, etc. So far..nothing subtantial yet but they are growing nonetheless.

So..in my experience..I have not seen a huge vast difference, if any, between feeding mice and/or rats.

Very nice cape there by the way!

Billy
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Genesis 1:1

It looks like it just had a coat of clear coat applied!! FWIW I am feeding my '04 Bull rat pups and my kings eat sm-med. rats exclusively as well now.

Some logic I've heard from breeders that seem to make sense is that younger animals have more fat, which excellerates growth in younger snakes. You can continue to feed a snake "young" rats as compared to adult mice. As far as other nutrition goes between the two, I see no reason why one would vary much over the other. Perhaps more calcium in a bulky rat ounce for ounce than a mouse with their smaller frames.
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Matt from Minnesota

I feed all of my snakes rats exclusively when they get big enough to eat them. When I bought my pair of Northern Pines, I fed them mice until they were big enough to eat rats...now they eat rats exclusively. The only time they get to munch on a mouse is if one of my other snakes that isn't big enough for rats yet skips a meal (which isn't often). Rats are more economical, nd you can go longer between meals with the animal suffering no ill effects (I feed my Northerns 1 med rat every 2 weeks or so.). If your snake is big enough to eat rats, I'd feed it rats.

-AzAtrox

I switch mine back and forth. Sometimes they get rats and sometimes, mice. My larger pits get rats of course but as young, they are definitely not picky and they seem to grow just fine. Since I breed all of my own, it's just whatever there seems to be the most of. Maybe I'll try a particular clutch one day with half mice and the other half rats for a year and see what happens.

Later
Scott

Here's some more eye candy.

Mike B

Nice snake!

I have had many PITS become very prey specific. I’ve gotten several of them “hooked” on mice or (drat) chicks. Not fun. My pits have been worse than any other snakes I’ve had for getting hooked on one preferred item.

Recently , any Pit I get is fed NOTHING but rats, starting with young rat pinks for newborns snakes…but I like to dust with calcium when feeding rat pinks, as they don’t have the skeletal system that a young adult mouse of the same size would have. Other than that, I see no reason not to feed only rats.

Most of my pits will take anything. Sometimes I think if I offered a TV dinner they take it. I do feed rats primariy unless my mouse production is high then I feed mice. I don't feed more mice at one feeding, I feed small amounts more often thats all. Ron Radloff
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The Crawl Space

"I have had many PITS become very prey specific. I’ve gotten several of them “hooked” on mice or (drat) chicks. Not fun. My pits have been worse than any other snakes I’ve had for getting hooked on one preferred item."

thanks dean! this discuss just jinxed my '02 female bull. normally a veritable garbage disposal. today she refused adult mice for the first time ever. i usually rotate mice, rats, quail, and chicks, with a smelt tossed in for every now and then for some added lipids. after trying to get her to down the mice, i switched to quail and she went right for it. crappola.

matt

Where did you get that cape from?