Mice vs Rats (opinions?)

[Spirit]

From what I understand, rats have higer nutrition, but also are higher in fats. In your opinions, are there any benefits from feeding rats over mice (and what are the negatives)? Also, can someone post a comparrison pic? Rat pinkies are about the same as a small adult, no?

I just placed my order (all mice) but once I'm up to adults, I'm debating ordering rats instead.

Also, would that still be one mouse/rat every 10 days, or would I up that to 1 rat every 14 days...

1 adult mouse every 7 days is too much, no? But I digress... Mice Vs Rats. Pros and cons.

Thanks. :)

[howiet4702]

Great question! I was wondering the same thing!

This is what I heard the size comparision was between the two..

Rat Pinks= size of Fuzzies
Rat Fuzzies= size of Hoppers
Rat Pups = size of Sm Adult mouse

As far as nutritional value, I also heard that rats were a little higher in fats...

[TripleMoonsExotic]

I've found that it's much easier to feed a corn 1 sm rat then multiple mice. A sm rat makes a wonderful meal for my adults. I like to see some meat on my snakes bones! I substitute rats in for mice all the time. I switch back and forth without a problem.

I'll post comparison photos tomorrow...

[Spirit]

Yeah, I was sort of thinking to maybe feed rats on occasion (maybe 1-2x/month) instead of every meal. It's the fat content that concerns me, but if they're higher in nutrition, I'll order a few on my next order.

Thanks, Blckkat... Looking forward to the pics. :)

[WhiteLips]

Check out www.rodentpro.com they have one of those nutritional comparison charts. It is my understanding that rats are more nutritious than mice- before I started buying bulk I would buy which ever rodent was the right size- substitute a rat pup for small mouse etc...
good luck!

[DAND]

Spirit,

I'd see if I couldn't find one or two locally. Sometimes rats scare snakes. I have a few that won't take a rat and actually "S" up and get as far away from the rat as possible. Remove the rat and put a mouse in there and it will take my finger if I don't move fast enough. Better to check and see if they will eat rats before buying some and finding out they won't.

[TripleMoonsExotic]

DAND has a good point. Sometimes my adults just won't take a sm rat at one feeding...but will take adult mice. Then the next feeding they will take the sm rat no problem. Never really thought about it, but it makes sense.

Spirit, I didn't have time last night to take the pics. Digital is at home though and I will be sure to do so. I'm not sure what I have in the freezer currently...but I'll see what I can do for comparison...

[Amanda E]

1 adult mouse every 7 days is too much, no? But I digress... Mice Vs Rats. Pros and cons.
Well, you're not breeding your rodents, so if I were you I wouldn't see a need to switch to rats. Rats seem to cost more than mice, at least in my experience. If you were breeding your own rodents, then rats would make sense, because you could get the right sized rodent for your snakes without the high cost of raising them to adults because with rats they still would be nursing.

Also, I think I feed my snakes a bit less than most people but I want them to look lean and healthy, not round and fat. Therefore I feed 1 adult mouse (or equivalent sized rat) to my adult snakes every 14-21 days. The only adults that get fed differently are my females who are breeding or are gravid... they get 1 weanling mouse every 7 days.

[Spirit]

Well depending on his full grown size, I think I would rather feed every 14 days instead of 7-10. But see this is what I was thinking...

If rats are higher in nutrition (and a larger sized meal), if 1 mouse/10 days is good, then wouldn't 1 rat/14 days be about the same... if not better?

[TripleMoonsExotic]

Therefore I feed 1 adult mouse (or equivalent sized rat) to my adult snakes every 14-21 days. The only adults that get fed differently are my females who are breeding or are gravid... they get 1 weanling mouse every 7 days.

I find this statement a bit odd. My yearlings now get 2 small adult mice every 7 days...and are still begging for more. A weanling mouse once a week for an adult breeding female seems way too small of a meal. Unless your snakes are a lot smaller then what I raise up.

[Amanda E]

I find this statement a bit odd. My yearlings now get 2 small adult mice every 7 days...and are still begging for more. A weanling mouse once a week for an adult breeding female seems way too small of a meal. Unless your snakes are a lot smaller then what I raise up.I haven't weighed or measured my snakes recently, but I'd guess they average about 400 grams and about 3.5' long.

I just started feeding my 2002s adult mice a few months ago. Previously I was only feeding them 1 weanling every 10-12 days.

Works for me. I suppose everyone does things differently. :shrugs:

[Spirit]

Ah, NOW I remember! I think Blckkat feeds her snakes more than the average... I had COMPLETELY forgotten about this conversation until just now (but I knew there was something I couldn't remember about her) that she had told me I wasn't feeding my snake enough (in a thread that had nothing to do with feeding habits) and we got into a discussion about overfeeding (or something related).

2 adults every 7 days seems like a lot to me, but one every 14 seems like not enough. Personally, depending on the size of the snake, I would go either 1 large mouse every 10 days, if not 2 small adults every 14.

But 2 adults per week? Is it just me, or does that seem like a lot for a corn snake? I mean if it works for you, keep doing it... I'm just curious. Seems like too much too often, imho.

[cka]

JMHO...

There are so many keepers who do things a bit different than the rest regarding what they feed, the frequency in which they feed, whether or not they brumate or keep snakes seperately or in breeding pairs, etc etc, that there are really no clear cut answers...Are rats more nutricious than mice?...Looks like it, but are your corns going to live longer or breed stronger?...Without long term study on this (and all the other debatable questions we "debate" on) who knows for sure...maybe mice have some trace minerals rats don't your corn snake would lack on an all rat diet...

On a side note the normal male adult corn I have here would laugh at two mice a week lol....he doesn't get fed like that but he is certainly capable of eating like that... :crazy02:

[Spirit]

Which is why I specified "opinion", cka. :p :laugh:

So what do you feed your adults, and how often? Again, I'm just curious on people's feeding habits because my next order, although it won't be until laye spring or early summer, will be mostly adults.

[cka]

Which is why I specified "opinion", cka. :p :laugh:

uhhh...., in case ya didn't know, the "O" in "JMHO" is for "opinion" :eek1:

lol...

1-2 adult mice or a small rat every 10-14 days for males, 7-10 for females...and i prefer rats, to answer the original thread question; that too, is just my "O" hehe...

[Mykuhl]

In my opinion 2 small adults for a yearling once per week is not too much if the snake is not becoming obese as a result. Keep in mind that a yearling corn still has quite a bit or growing left do do and can handle more food more often than a full grown adult.

I feed my largest and oldest corn two fairly large adult mice every 12-14 days. He is about 7 years old and a pretty thick snake at 53 inches long. I think one needs to gauge the condition of the snake and feed appropriately. A young rapidly growing active snake will need proportionately more food than inactive full grown adult. Just my two cents.

[TripleMoonsExotic]

In my opinion 2 small adults for a yearling once per week is not too much if the snake is not becoming obese as a result. Keep in mind that a yearling corn still has quite a bit or growing left do do and can handle more food more often than a full grown adult.

EXACTLY. The bulge that the 2 small mice create in my yearlings is gone within 2-3 days. The yearlings I received from another breeder weigh 50 grams, mine weigh 200 grams. If I gave them the opportunity, they would feed again after 3-4 days (the get jealous that I feed the hatchlings twice a week...and they watch with snouts pressed against their tubs - quite amusing). I will post a before and after feeding pic of one of my yearlings this weekend.

If you think about it, the snakes eat when they can in the wild...At any given opportunity. So their is a good chance in the wild they eat quite a few times in a 2 week period.

Attached is a comparison pic of some of my feeders. I don't have anything else in my freezer at the moment (I'm going to have to pick up more feeders where I store them at my mothers this weekend - I'll post additional pictures then).

[Spirit]

That rat weanling is HUUUUGE! I wasn't expecting that. :laugh:

Thanks for the pic, Blckkat. ;)

[TripleMoonsExotic]

I think that rat was right in the middle of weanling / small adult........

[starwarsdad]

In the wild, snakes are somewhat opportunistic feeders, but I do not believe they are not regular hunters. Once they have fed, they probably den/bask until they are hungry again.

Anybody got links to any studies on wild feeding behavior?

[tai_pan1]

I feed both rats and mice. I was hesitant to try rats, as I was afraid my snakes wouldn't switch back to mice, but so far they all take either. I've found that the snakes bulk up quicker with rats than with mice. Also, it takes a lot less time to grow a rat to the 40-50 gram range than it takes a mouse to get even close to that. I was going to try a feeding experiment in the near future. I have 8 corns left that were hatched in July. I'm going to seperate them into two groups. Feed the control group mice and feed the test group rats, and chart their growth. I'll let you know what I come up with. I'll probably start in february.