Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i read that some here breed their own rodents.if one were to decide to breed their own,would it really matter what type?i mean could one use jerboas,gerbils,hampsters,doormice ect?are some better than others?id love to raise my own but i think id rather farm one of these fuzzier,nicer animals in my house,rather than keep nasty rats.theres just something that bothers me about them.and while im at it,since youre breeding your own,and you do decide to go with rats,to you think a chondro would benifit at all from one of the fancy hairless types?much of the hair is not digested anyway it seems so maybe these types may digest better?

Hey,
While that may be true, hair does have a place in the digestive process and that is, that it acts much like ruffage in our own food. I think that white mice are a good source of food for a chondro and getting them to take anything other, is just plain asking for trouble as they can quickly shun everything else for a gerbil or hamster etc. Mice IMO, are the perfect food.
-Angel
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In life you can fall many times, but you're only a failure, if you don't try to get back up!
Evil Canevil

i agree... mice are great...
the amount of calcium a snake will get from a small rat is about the same if given a large mouse, and mice are easier to care for... they are alot less messy... as i breed both... and i agree RATS ARE NASTY...
IMO it is better to feed a chondro 2-3 mice as an adult as apposed to feeding it a large rat... i believe that a large meal such as a large rat is ALOT harder to digest because it is one large object... and i believe that this large meal may be what causes a prolapse... and in the case of a neo it is because they were feed too large of a mouse...
thats just an opinion, i am not attacking anyone... but in my head it makes sence... but that is another topic...

Shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

I started making cuts across the backs in 3 or 4 places for all my snakes. In a study one of the cornsnake breeders did, they noticed a marked difference in growth. They believe that the cuts down the back (where the skin is traditionally the thickest) helps make it easier for the snake to digest. I now cut all my snakes food, except my amel (who needs no extra help in getting bigger) and I think it would help avoid problems such as prolapse as the animal is more fully digested.
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

While I do not breed my own rodents, I have witnessed first hand the necessity and benefits of feeding your rodents the right diet. It seriously makes a huge difference. Rico Walder at signal herpetoculture feeds his rodents nothing but mazuri rodent chow, and by the fact that his animals grow faster and are healthier than most any others I have seen, I can see evidence to suggest that what you feed your rodents will effect your snakes in the long run. Anyway, I hope this helps!!!

Best wishes,
Max

PS-I realize this wasn't exactly what you were asking, but I thought it might be useful information towards making a healthy and robust colony of feeders

excelent point Max... when i started breeding rats i was feeding them dog food and i was actually loosing about 25% of a litter... In fact alot of the time the parents were chowing down in the babies...
well after i was educated by Brandon Osborne, i have sence switched to the Rodent Chow and i have only lost 1 baby since June... so it makes a big difference in both...
if Brandon woulden't have told me i would have never switched...
Thanks B

Shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

thats interesting.when i started breeding pygmy mice i was also having some babies eaten.i was told to actually add dog food because the mothers were lacking protine and thats why they were going canabil.maybe if you use all dog food it will increase canabilism but if you use a regular diet and add a little it will cut down on it.really interesting.its common belief that rodents are a higher level of animal over reptiles.well you can believe that but chondros dont chow down on their young.