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Mice vs. Rats for snake food

stragen

stragen

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I weighed Smij today and he came out at a healthy 135g. He has been feeding on weaned mice which ties in with what the "Dean Chart" says, but i want to switch him over to rats as my friends have recently started breeding them. This means i can get nearly free food for Smij :)
My question is, are there any problems(other than convincing Smij that rats are tasty) with switching to rats? I'm going to get rats that are roughly the same weight as the weaned mice(14-20g). I've also heard rats are more nutritious. Is this true?
 
I am not too positive about a rat being more "healthy". I have heard though that rats are a little more aggressive :shrugs: . I've heard that, I don't think it will be TOO much of a problem for you to worry about. I would just watch and make sure your snake takes the rat down easily. I'll let some other people post about the nutrition's facts(I guess you can say)
 
I wont be feeding live, they will be pre-killed and frozen, then thawed. Feeding live is just too risky IMHO.
 
stragen said:
I wont be feeding live, they will be pre-killed and frozen, then thawed. Feeding live is just too risky IMHO.
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Ok well there is no "real" problem, just see how your snake takes it down.

Good luck :cheers:


me
 
Rodent Pro has a chart that compares the nutritional content of most prey items.

(Is it weird, or what, that one of the ads at the top of this thread is Taco Bell- Let us tell you what we are doing to protect you!)

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
(Is it weird, or what, that one of the ads at the top of this thread is Taco Bell- Let us tell you what we are doing to protect you!)
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Very weird-- and nauseating. :awcrap:

Except for a relatively brief period where I used spiny mice, I've always used regular lab type mice. I've never used rats, so I don't have much to say about them. :shrugs:
 
My corns all take rats easily. I mix it up depending on what I have in the freezer at the proper weight, so they may get rats for a few weeks then mice for a few weeks.
They do seem to grow more on rats, though that may be just more fat content in rats. I don't have any definite information on which is healthier.
 
I forgot to mention, I now have African Soft Furred Rats thrown into the rotation as well, and they take them just as easily.
 
Right, even if you know the protein/fat ratio of a prey, who knows what the ideal is for a snake, and at what age? Probably if the snake allows, mixing prey is a good thing.

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
Probably if the snake allows, mixing prey is a good thing.
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I suppose it doesn't really matter switching between mice and rats if the snake will eat both, but i have heard of people offering different prey to their snake and the snake becomes "addicted" to it and wont eat anything else...... :shrugs:
 
Well, Smij had his first rat today with no problems at all! Infact, he went for it with much more gusto than he does with mice :)
Normally he doesnt really constrict but this time he struck for the rat double hard, and instantly wrapped 3 coils around it and gave a good squeeze. Gave me a bit of a shock actually! Maybe its because its something different?? I'll have to see if he continues to do it once he gets used to the rats........
 
Most snakes readily take to rats and I often feed them to my snakes if I want to bulk them up. However, rats do have a higher fat content and if a snake is fed strictly on rats, there is a better chance of the snake becoming obese if you're not careful. Feeding mice as well would be much healthier. And since snakes have been known to start refusing mice after being fed rats for an extended period, feeding the occasional mouse will help prevent this as well, just in case you suddenly don't have rats to feed for awhile.
 
I like rats more. I breed my own feeders, and rats smell a lot less than mice in my experience. It seems at least with my BPs, that rats do give them a boost in the growth and weight gain department when compared to mice. I feed supervised live, and do not have any problems.
The corn that I am taking in has been eating mice, but hopefully I can get him acclimated, get some mice into him and then get him onto rats to make it easier; but if he only wants mice, it will not bother me to buy one for him for feeding day.
 
I have been feeding a female 05 corn fuzzie rats for the last 3 months, and in that time she has went from 141 in late December to almost 300 grams. I whole heartedly believe if I was feeding mice she would be a bit smaller. However I do feel this is an excessive growth spurt and I will NOT be feeding her rats for much longer.

The occasional rat for growing females is good for a bit of bulking up, but IMO rats are just too fatty for these slender little snakes.

Of course the royals just adore rats ;)
 
Hmmmm so from what people are saying, rats are OK for Corns, but its probably a good idea to intersperse it with mice so he doesn't "Go Off" them. I would like to keep feeding rats as i can get them extremely cheap, but I don't want Smij to get too fat! Do you think next time I get a batch it would be better to get slightly smaller ones to prevent this, or lengthen the time between feeds a bit?
 
stragen said:
Hmmmm so from what people are saying, rats are OK for Corns, but its probably a good idea to intersperse it with mice so he doesn't "Go Off" them. I would like to keep feeding rats as i can get them extremely cheap, but I don't want Smij to get too fat! Do you think next time I get a batch it would be better to get slightly smaller ones to prevent this, or lengthen the time between feeds a bit?
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IMO rats are just too fatty. Feeding less or smaller prey items is not entirley fair on the animal, and switching because its cheaper is also not a good enough reason.

I only fed Lacey the fuzzy rats because I ordered 100 for the royals, but the pastel outgrew them too quickly so hes on weaners... they had to be used up and they were the perfect size for her.
 
Uhhhhhh...

Why do you people think they are called Rat Snakes?

Anyhow, where in the world are you going to get mice large enough to feed a full grown Corn Snake. Mine eats 5-6" long rats (not including the tail) and had eaten rats since he became too big for mice.

He's four years old and a bit over five feet long. when I switched him over from mice I noticed no change in his eating. Then again he has always been a good eater. I feed him one every ten days to two weeks. He has gone as long as three weeks between feedings due to going into shed and my not noticing it until after offering him the rat, which he turned his nose up at.

He's as healthy as a horse!

Eric
 
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