should I switch to ASFs?

I found someone locally who is selling f/t ASFs. If my snake is a great feeder (eating 1-2 f/t adult mice at the moment) should I switch him? I know asfs are what they eat in the wild, but he has no problem whatesoever with mice and I had heard somewhere that the ASF tastes so much better that if they do eat it they might not want to go back to mice and then you are stuck with feeding them with the ASF's. He sells everything from pinkies to adult but said the subadult size would be fairly equivalent. He sells the subadults for $2.00 each. I also however , found this local (but much farther away) girl selling f/t mice and rats. she only has 10 mice but they are only 50 cents ea for adults and $1.00 for rats. The one with the ASFs has 40 available.It sucks when gas prices and usage affect your options.

If you switch a BP over to ASFs that is doing well on mice or rats you run the risk of them acquiring a taste for the new prey which would make it quite difficult to switch back. ASFs are more difficult to come by than mice and rats. So, if your supplier runs out or you move somewhere that they can not be bought in, you will be a bit out of luck. I'd switch your BP to regular feeder rats if anything.

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Originally Posted by Starywary

I found someone locally who is selling f/t ASFs. If my snake is a great feeder (eating 1-2 f/t adult mice at the moment) should I switch him? I know asfs are what they eat in the wild, but he has no problem whatesoever with mice and I had heard somewhere that the ASF tastes so much better that if they do eat it they might not want to go back to mice and then you are stuck with feeding them with the ASF's. He sells everything from pinkies to adult but said the subadult size would be fairly equivalent. He sells the subadults for $2.00 each. I also however , found this local (but much farther away) girl selling f/t mice and rats. she only has 10 mice but they are only 50 cents ea for adults and $1.00 for rats. The one with the ASFs has 40 available.It sucks when gas prices and usage affect your options.

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best thing to do is get 1 male and 3 females and breed them if your gonna go that rout.like Kymberli said there might be a time when you cant get them and risk the chance your snake wont eat mice and then your stuck.if you cant breed them then go to feeder rats.your snake wont be missing anything from asf rats that feeder rats dont have.stick to what you can buy all the time.its like that saying goes if it isnt broken then dont fix it.

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Originally Posted by FINGAZZ

best thing to do is get 1 male and 3 females and breed them if your gonna go that rout.like Kymberli said there might be a time when you cant get them and risk the chance your snake wont eat mice and then your stuck.if you cant breed them then go to feeder rats.your snake wont be missing anything from asf rats that feeder rats dont have.stick to what you can buy all the time.its like that saying goes if it isnt broken then dont fix it.

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I wouldn't recommend breeding unless you have quite a few snakes to feed. It would be much cheaper and easier to buy feeders for just a few snakes than to pay for food and have to upkeep a colony. Not to mention you will be overrun with rats in just a few months even if you freeze them, which stay fresh for about six months. Unless you want to get into selling them, or have enough snakes to justify breeding costs and stress, just buy a few feeders.

never really thought about the moving thing, duh. I am moving further North (only by abot 10 miles, but still, like I said, with gas prices and all) and I really don't want to have to deal with breeding since I only have one BP now. We are supposed to get a pair of BPs sometime in the fall, I'll see where I'm at then. Thanks for the advice guys!:)

If he eats F/T i dont think it matters dont know how everybody can keep feeding on F/T all the time only feed live to BPs