other possible food?

[snake novice]

My cornsnakes are big enough so that they eat 3 fuzzies, but the local pet store's next size up is full grown adult, and it just looks too big, but they also had fuzzie hamsters and they looked about the right size. So my question is, could I feed my snakes hamsters until they get a little bigger (they have never been problem feeders, eat everything I have fed them) ?


CZ

[Neil]

Hamsters will be fine, they're still rodents. You may also want to order mice online.
Neil

[Iris]

One thing that could happen is that your snakes might begin to prefer hamsters over mice. If there is a really big difference in price b/t mice and hamsters, that could become a bit of a problem in the future.
You might want to look around for other petshops in the area first, or like Neil said, order them online.

[pinatamonkey]

I've also read that hamsters have a higher fat % than mice, so they aren't as good for food.

[Axe]

I'd been told that hamsters can take longer to digest and potentially cause more problems due to the thicker and longer fur - although I don't know how this stands up from a technical aspect with regard to how a snake deals with fur.

But I've also been told that pinky russian dwarf hamsters are nutritionally better for them than pinky mice - and often will tempt a non-eating reptile (at least, it's worked with leopard geckos) into eating again.

[Neil]

Oh, I certainly didn't mean that you should switch to hamsters and stick with hamsters. I only meant use them until you can find somewhere that sells the right size mice.
www.rodentpro.com is good for Americans because you can buy in bulk and it works out cheaper. They have hoppers and weanlings too.

[Axe]

Oh, of course... I didn't think you meant that at all. As far as pinkies go though, if that's what you're corn's eating, it might be best to stick with the russian dwarf pinkies than mice.

If you've got an adult corn, I'd stick with the mice & rats rather than hamsters (again, just from what I've been told) due to the longer denser fur.

[Neil]

That sounds very sarcastic, Axe. :D

[Axe]

hehehe sorry, didn't mean to sound sarcastic :)

[little twiglet]

i dont think that there is any problem with you feeding hamsters you could always try trimming there hair if it is the case of it being to long and dense!!