Is it okay to feed weanling rats to a corn?

[cornchaos]

she is currently 1yo and 36 inches in length..The reason I ask is I have too many weanling rats in my freezer.She already ate two but seemed reluctant to eat them when she is normally a very aggressive eater..The weanling rats are on average 4inches from snout to vent.,..Thanks Cc

[KatieL]

I think there are a few people on here who feed rats to their snakes. I believe they are fairly similar nutrition-wise. So I think it should be fine.:)

[Drizzt80]

When we were over run with rat pinks and weanlings at the pet store, I had a continuous supply of them, and fed them quite liberally to my corns. Biggest thing I noticed using rat pinks and pups was the growth of my snakes. It was almost like watching real corn grow . . . almost overnight all the ones eating rat gained girth and length. My biggest concern would be overfeeding rat and having snakes grow too fast or become obese. Otherwise I had a great experience feeding them. I don't feed them now as don't want to pay the extra to get them compared to hoppers.

D80

[DAND]

The weanling rats are on average 4inches from snout to vent

There's a herper for you. :laugh01:

I transfer my corns to rats as soon as I can. I have noticed that some seem reluctant or even scared of the rats. I have a few corns that still won't go near a rat, pull it out and put a mouse in and it launches at it.

By the way welcome to the forum. :wavey:

[cornchaos]

Actually I was more concerned with the size of the weanlings..Im not talking about little fuzzies or crawlers but 4 inch(without the tail) rats. They are called weanlings from Rodentpro...
I originally bought them for my boa but she is growing far more rapidly than I expected and I also bought them for a Bullsnake that got away :cry:

BTW thanks for the welcome..

[DAND]

Could you post a pic of both together?

[cornchaos]

Are you talking about the rat and the corn? She just ate and the rats arent defrosted yet..I can in a few days get a pic though..

[DAND]

Are you talking about the rat and the corn? She just ate and the rats arent defrosted yet..I can in a few days get a pic though..

Yes. I think it would be the best way to see if the rat is too big for the snake.

[Jynx]

at that age your corn should be fine. As soon as my corns are over the small fuzzy stage, I swicth them to rats, They are just better in nuttrition, and like Drittz, I have been getting awesome results. I go through Perfect Pets for my f/t feeders. A rat pup, which is about the size of a small hopper) is the same cost as mice pinks, and rat weanlings ( about the size of a small adult mouse) are the same price as mice weanlings. Some of my corns also will not touch a rat, but those are my adults that I did not raise. Any snake that I raised and switched over myself has had no problems switching form mice to rats, and have had no problem staying on rats. I would reccomend switching to anyone.

[Mykuhl]

A weanling rat at about 4 inches long may be too large of a meal for a one year old corn that measures 36 inches long. A rat at that size is likely to be about 3 weeks old, since some people wean their rats at 3 to 4 weeks old.

You mention that these rats are from Rodent Pro. It states on the website that the weaned rats weigh 30 to 44 grams, that is approximately the size of a jumbo mouse. So if your corn is especially thick it could be an appropriate sized meal.

I also think you should most a comparsion photo. That will surely be the best way to tell.

[DdotSpot]

... and like Drittz, ...

Drizzt Do'Urden fans across the globe are cursing you.

j/k

[Tim Madsen]

I feed all my adult breeders small rats, I have a couple corns that can eat a medium rat with no problem. A 36 inch corn should be able to eat a weanling rat with no problem imo.

[larryg]

With mice, I guess hoppers can bite, but fuzzies can't. Can weanling rats injure a snake, or is it okay to feed live if that is convenient? I'm guessing rat pups probably cannot bite.

They are 'Red Rat Snakes', so it's not too surprising they'd do well on a diet of rats. I'll check the prices the next time I go to one of the local herp shops. If they aren't much more than $1.50 - mice of all sizes are $1 - I'll try a rat pup and weanling the next time, for my two larger snakes (24 inches and 28 or 29 inches.) So far my WC Miami has eaten a large fuzzy and a small hopper, in the 2 or 3 weeks I've had her, and the Okeetee will eat small adult mice, or most anything up to that size, including leftover pinkies, when I was still feeding pinkies, or whatever else I toss in his cage. The little/hatchling Miami has started growing a lot more since switching off mice pinkies to fuzzies, but he's still eating small fuzzies and probably won't be ready for rat pups anytime soon.

[DAND]

Can rat weanlings or pups bite your snake?

Not if the are frozen first. Weaned rats could hurt your snake.

[Joejr14]

With mice, I guess hoppers can bite, but fuzzies can't. Can weanling rats injure a snake, or is it okay to feed live if that is convenient? I'm guessing rat pups probably cannot bite.

They are 'Red Rat Snakes', so it's not too surprising they'd do well on a diet of rats. I'll check the prices the next time I go to one of the local herp shops. If they aren't much more than $1.50 - mice of all sizes are $1 - I'll try a rat pup and weanling the next time, for my two larger snakes (24 inches and 28 or 29 inches.) So far my WC Miami has eaten a large fuzzy and a small hopper, in the 2 or 3 weeks I've had her, and the Okeetee will eat small adult mice, or most anything up to that size, including leftover pinkies, when I was still feeding pinkies, or whatever else I toss in his cage. The little/hatchling Miami has started growing a lot more since switching off mice pinkies to fuzzies, but he's still eating small fuzzies and probably won't be ready for rat pups anytime soon.


Rat pups are bigger than adult mice, at least in most cases. I doubt your 2003 corns are going to be able to chow down a rat pup that's bigger than an adult mouse, nevermind a weanling rat which is even bigger.

[Dayoh]

my undersized 1 year old eats 1 rat pup or hopper and 1 to 2 pinkie mice every 5-6 days right now. The rat pups are about the size of a hopper. Last night I fed him one hopper and didn't have more food for him and he was bummed cause he was still hungry. I could have put in a rat pup but I thought that may be a bit much for one feeding. I don't have a problem feeding rats at all.

[larryg]

I bought a live rat pinkie today, for $1.10. It was about as big as a hopper mouse or even a little bigger. I tried to feed it to my 03 Miami (WC), but she didn't eat, most likely because she is getting ready to shed, although her eyes are not yet cloudy. After a few hours, I ended up feeding the rat pinky to my slightly larger 03 Okeetee, the first live feeding he has ever had here. He could probably handle a rat fuzzy, since he can handle a small to medium size adult mouse. I'll probably go ahead and feed the Miami a big fuzzy mouse after she sheds, since I know she'll eat those with no problem, then try a rat pinky again after that. I'm not even sure I understand what rat pups and weanlings are at this point, but I do know a rat pinky is quite large, as big as a hopper mouse or even larger, and rat fuzzies are probably the equivalent of at least a small adult mouse. The prices don't seem that much higher than the $1 they charge for any size mouse (pinky to adult.)

[Joejr14]

my undersized 1 year old eats 1 rat pup or hopper and 1 to 2 pinkie mice every 5-6 days right now. The rat pups are about the size of a hopper. Last night I fed him one hopper and didn't have more food for him and he was bummed cause he was still hungry. I could have put in a rat pup but I thought that may be a bit much for one feeding. I don't have a problem feeding rats at all.

1 rat pup and 1-2 pinkies a week is power-feeding. I dont know if you care, but that definitely qualifies as it.

Are you sure you're getting a rat pup? I highly doubt any 1 year old corn unless it was 30" could pound down a rat pup.

[larryg]

I would guess it's probably a rat pinky instead of a pup, although I still don't know exactly what a 'pup' looks like. I'll get them to show me the various sizes when I go back to the store. The biggest any of mine can handle is a rat fuzzy, based on what I saw today. A pup is bigger than a rat fuzzy, right?

[Joejr14]

Correct. Pinks, fuzzies, pups, weanlings, etc

http://www.rodentpro.com/images/size_r_pups.jpg

[larryg]

Interesting photo. Are those fuzzies or pups? I see the eyes are closed, so I'm guessing fuzzies. It occurred to me I should have taken some photos of the rat pinky before I fed it. I'll try to do that next time.