Weanlings Mice vs Fuzzies Rats

[Smooth_Earth_Snake]

Weanlings Mice vs Fuzzies Rats

Its time to reorder. I’ve been feeding my Corn snakes Mice since I’ve had them.
Fuzzies Rats are on sale and about the same size as the mice that I need.
Is there any reason why I should not switch and save money?

Weanlings Mice:
Length (Inches): 2.00 - 2.50*
Weight (Grams): 13.00 - 19.00
* Measurement does not include tail length.



Fuzzies Rats:
Length (Inches): 2.00 - 2.50*
Weight (Grams): 9.00 - 19.00
* Measurement does not include tail length.

 

[Velvet]

Hi There,

Personally, i do not see any difference as long as the prey items are the right size.

Some people do say that rats have less nutritional value than mice but I am not sure if this is true or if there is any hard evidence to back up this claim. As corns are "rat snakes" I am sure it will not do them any harm to eat rats instead of mice.

Another positive thing that a breeder friend and I have noticed is that snakes tend to pick up condition nicely when eating rats...I have heard this from other sources too but again, I am not sure if there is any hard evidence to back this up...lol Just something people have noticed...

Personally I feed mine both, depending on what is available and they have not shown any ill effects and are all looking great!

*One of my corns and a few that belong to a friend REFUSE to eat rats, so maybe check that your corn eats them before ordering a whole bunch!*

 

[Smooth_Earth_Snake]

Snakes tend to pick up condition nicely when eating rats

Hi Velvet,

Thanks for sharing your insights with me.

I appreciate knowing that you are having success with both Rats and Mice.

*One of my corns and a few that belong to a friend REFUSE to eat rats.*
This will be a test to see if my Corns are picky or not.

*Some people do say that rats have less nutritional value than mice but I am not sure if this is true or if there is any hard evidence to back up this claim.*Now that is interesting. I can only hope that that is not the case. I certainly want them to obtain the best nutrition reasonable.

*Another positive thing that a breeder friend and I have noticed is that snakes tend to pick up condition nicely when eating rats*QUESTION: What do you mean by ‘CONDITIONS’ :shrugs:

Hi There,

Personally, i do not see any difference as long as the prey items are the right size.

Some people do say that rats have less nutritional value than mice but I am not sure if this is true or if there is any hard evidence to back up this claim. As corns are "rat snakes" I am sure it will not do them any harm to eat rats instead of mice.

Another positive thing that a breeder friend and I have noticed is that snakes tend to pick up condition nicely when eating rats...I have heard this from other sources too but again, I am not sure if there is any hard evidence to back this up...lol Just something people have noticed...

Personally I feed mine both, depending on what is available and they have not shown any ill effects and are all looking great!

*One of my corns and a few that belong to a friend REFUSE to eat rats, so maybe check that your corn eats them before ordering a whole bunch!*

 

[MegF.]

I've actually heard the opposite. That rats have more nutrition and fat than a mouse. Mine will eat either. Right now I'm feeding African rats as they are as cheap as the larger mice from my supplier. My snakes don't care what they eat.

 

[Susan]

I feed both, depending upon what I have and if the snake needs to put a little weight on. Rats do have a higher fat content so are great for females that just laid a clutch of eggs. I don't like to feed rats exclusively for several reasons...the higher fat content can increase the chance of obesity, rat pups the same size as adult mice have more cartilage and therefore may have less calcium for the snake (only a theory of mine) so the occasional adult mouse or calcium supplement is fed, and some corns either don't like rats at all...or like them too much and then refuse to eat mice. Since I breed my own (as well as buy), I usually have a choice every feeding day. I really like seeing the sales from my supplier...some are almost too good to pass on...so I would say go ahead and save a little money, but order some mice as well...just in case. You're paying for shipping anyway so what's one more bag of food...

 

[Smooth_Earth_Snake]

I don’t want them to have a calcium deficiency

I feed both, depending upon what I have and if the snake needs to put a little weight on. Rats do have a higher fat content so are great for females that just laid a clutch of eggs. I don't like to feed rats exclusively for several reasons...the higher fat content can increase the chance of obesity, rat pups the same size as adult mice have more cartilage and therefore may have less calcium for the snake (only a theory of mine) so the occasional adult mouse or calcium supplement is fed, and some corns either don't like rats at all...or like them too much and then refuse to eat mice. Since I breed my own (as well as buy), I usually have a choice every feeding day. I really like seeing the sales from my supplier...some are almost too good to pass on...so I would say go ahead and save a little money, but order some mice as well...just in case. You're paying for shipping anyway so what's one more bag of food...

Susan Willis,

Thanks, I really appreciate you sharing your expertise with me.
Like MegF. Who said “My snakes don't care what they eat.” I do have a female Corn that can be picky. I would like to breed her in the near future. From your post I discovered that, “Rats do have a higher fat content so are great for females that just laid a clutch of eggs.”

I except your suggestion “order some mice as well...just in case”. Occasional I will per your suggestion, feed them a Mouse I don’t want them to become addicted to Rats nor do I want them to have a calcium deficiency. :duck:

 

[MegF.]

I've had a few that were picky about eating. Especially about color. I had one female that wouldn't eat a rat that had a black head. After brumation however, she was an eating machine and now eats anything that dangles her way. My other female after laying ended up eating anything too. Mine rarely check out what comes on the end of the tongs these days. It could be mouse, rat, or cheeseburger probably. They just strike, constrict and eat. They certainly aren't stopping to smell the rats I could switch them off no problem. Just depends upon what I pull out of the freezer. My only problem is that most mice are too small for the largest of my corns or my chondros. They are on weanling rats or small/med. African rats. Most are fed only every 2 weeks except for the recovering females.

 

[Smooth_Earth_Snake]

What are you feeding your largest full grown Okeetee Corn Snakes?

I've had a few that were picky about eating. Especially about color. I had one female that wouldn't eat a rat that had a black head. After brumation however, she was an eating machine and now eats anything that dangles her way. My other female after laying ended up eating anything too. Mine rarely check out what comes on the end of the tongs these days. It could be mouse, rat, or cheeseburger probably. They just strike, constrict and eat. They certainly aren't stopping to smell the rats I could switch them off no problem. Just depends upon what I pull out of the freezer. My only problem is that most mice are too small for the largest of my corns or my chondros. They are on weanling rats or small/med. African rats. Most are fed only every 2 weeks except for the recovering females.

MegF,

That was certainly a confidence builder.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.

:-offtopic My largest Male Corn (Okeetees) is still growing he is only about a year old.
You said: “My only problem is that most mice are too small for the largest of my corns”

QUESTION: What are you feeding your largest full grown Okeetee Corn Snakes? :eats02:

 

[Velvet]

What I meant by condition is that they pick up weight and get fat faster on rats than on mice so if you need to bulk up a snake, feed it rats.

I always wondered about this as that seems to be a contradiction in terms...how can they fatten snakes up but have less nutritional value than mice? lol

MegF, you have NO idea the hassles I have had feeding that one particular corn! lol When I got him he flat out REFUSED to eat white mouse fuzzies and only ate black or browns...I started feeding him brown and whites and eventually got him eating mice that were completely white! lol Now he doesn't care.

I fed him live when I got him but as soon as frozens came available I started feeding him f/t, which he ate no probs...he has since decided that he "doesn't eat f/t anymore" and now only takes live!

And now he won't eat rats of any colour either! Sheesh! lol Love him to bits though!

Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit! lol

 

[Smooth_Earth_Snake]

What I meant by condition is that they pick up weight and get fat faster on rats than on mice so if you need to bulk up a snake, feed it rats.

I always wondered about this as that seems to be a contradiction in terms...how can they fatten snakes up but have less nutritional value than mice? lol

MegF, you have NO idea the hassles I have had feeding that one particular corn! lol When I got him he flat out REFUSED to eat white mouse fuzzies and only ate black or browns...I started feeding him brown and whites and eventually got him eating mice that were completely white! lol Now he doesn't care.

I fed him live when I got him but as soon as frozens came available I started feeding him f/t, which he ate no probs...he has since decided that he "doesn't eat f/t anymore" and now only takes live!

And now he won't eat rats of any colour either! Sheesh! lol Love him to bits though!

Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit! lol

Velvet,[/SIZE]


"Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit! lol"
Please don't be I enjoy hearing the up and down that my fellow Snakes Lovers are having caring for their Snakes.

"And now he won't eat rats of any colour either! Sheesh!"

"I always wondered about this as that seems to be a contradiction in terms...how can they fatten snakes up but have less nutritional value than mice? lol"
I just received the following and thought you might injoy it. This Link is from RodentPro.com

http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp

 

[MegF.]

High fat content does not necessarily equate beneficial. I always thought that a rat would have a higher calcium content than mice due to their larger bone structure.

 

[Velvet]

Thanks SES, Most interesting!!! Saving that for future referrence!