Switching from Hoppers to rat pups

[Gabriele]

hi all
hope you can help me with 2 questions.
My corn is just a year old and eating large hoppers, the guy at the reptile store suggested i switch her from hoppers to rat pups,
they are the same size but he says that rat bones are more dense which is better for calcuim and protein - is this right?

secondly how can i switch her? the first rap pup i put in her cage was snubbed and she wouldnt eat it? i want to try again, is there a trick?

she's not one to grab at her food, i usually just put it in her cage and as soon as she smells it she comes out of her hide and eats it. she's pretty laid back : ))

any suggestions will be appreciated.
thanks.

[PAIN]

Brain the pup, either tooth pic pop into the brain or you can take a new clean NON OILED blade and slice. Worked for me

[Gabriele]

yeah ok thats gross!! : ))
i'll try it.

[AliCat37]

Honestly, I would NOT feed rats to your corn snake. They're high in fat and can make your snake very obese. It sounds to me like the guy at your petshop is just trying to get you to spend extra money, especially when a corn snake will never outgrow an adult mouse.

[Gabriele]

Well that's interesting. He made it sound like it was better for her :( won't be going back there again. I trust the info on this site. Thank you for your input.

[AliCat37]

Well that's interesting. He made it sound like it was better for her :( won't be going back there again. I trust the info on this site. Thank you for your input.

Oh no! I didn't mean to turn you off of your pet store, that's just my opinion and the general consensus around here is that rats should only be used as treats if offered at all. Rat pups have a pretty high fat content and probably less bone mass than a hopper (younger animals have more cartilage than bones). I think there are a few charts around here that show the differences in nutritional values. But, if I were you I would stick to just mice, they are better for your corns! Rats are better for balls and boas.

[Gabriele]

no worries Alicat, it wasn't my regular pet store anyway.
what you say makes sense and my little girl is on a really good schedule with the hoppers right now, so i'll stay with them.
thanks for the input.

[MysticExotics]

There's really no need to switch a Cornsnake to rats, IMHO. Mice are the largest prey they will need. My adults get adult mice (females once a week, males every two weeks), & my large Cornsnakes (over 400grams) get an XL Adult mouse, on the same schedule.

[Lennycorn]

Honestly, I would NOT feed rats to your corn snake. They're high in fat and can make your snake very obese. It sounds to me like the guy at your petshop is just trying to get you to spend extra money, especially when a corn snake will never outgrow an adult mouse.

There's really no need to switch a Cornsnake to rats, IMHO. Mice are the largest prey they will need. My adults get adult mice (females once a week, males every two weeks), & my large Cornsnakes (over 400grams) get an XL Adult mouse, on the same schedule.

I agree too!!