mice vs rats- weight/fullness

I just went to my local petstore to buy a couple mice to feed Ferb and they were all out, didn't have live or frozen. But, they did have rat fuzzies (thats what they called them, have no idea actually what rat fuzzies look like, these ones had fur but didn't see yet), anyways, I took one because Ferb was hungry and he's a kickass eater, so I figured I would try and see. Well...he ate that rat like nothing. Here's my question... are rats more filling than mice? He's been eating every five days on mice. Should I stick with that, or is a rat going to keep him fuller longer?
Thanks guys!

I'd switch to rats as soon as possible, last thing you want is a mouser. Adult ball pythons would need like 3-4 mice at a time per feeding I think, as opposed to one proper sized rat. They may not necessarily be "better", but IMO it's a good switch.

Ive had a female last 2 years in a row, who is a mouser lay 11 eggs in which all BARELY made it full term. Where my females on rats lay nice plump clutches that are perfect and never need to worry.

Well this season i FINALLY got this one female to eat rats and has been gaining weight. This will be her 3rd season in row and will know if rats make a noticeable difference in egg production/health. For a 07 on mice she peaked at 1400g. Well now on rats shes already back to 1400g and growing after laying eggs 3 months ago.

Once i get her 3rd clutch next spring it will give me the info i need to see if mice or rats are better for females breeding.

If you dont plan on breeding then really dont matter what you want to feed them so long as they eat.

What you feed is up to you ultimately it is a matter of what works and what is convenient for YOU.

Whether you feed 20 grams worth the rat or 20 grams worth the mice it's really all the same gram per gram.

Now the difference is that as an adult your BP will require multiple preys when feeding mice whereas only one will be needed when feeding rats.

If you feed an adult BP a 80 grams rat it will obviously require 3 mice to achieve the same weight.

So whatever works and is convenient is what YOU should feed.

And for reference this is a rat fuzzy (10 days old eyes still closed)

http://stewartreptiles.com/wordpress...ies_10days.jpg

like rich said if its a pet and it eats mice thats fine just make sure you feed it the proper amount. if your breeding or at least planning on breeding i would make the switch over to rats.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deborah

What you feed is up to you ultimately it is a matter of what works and what is convenient for YOU.

Whether you feed 20 grams worth the rat or 20 grams worth the mice it's really all the same gram per gram.

Now the difference is that as an adult your BP will require multiple preys when feeding mice whereas only one will be needed when feeding rats.

If you feed an adult BP a 80 grams rat it will obviously require 3 mice to achieve the same weight.

So whatever works and is convenient is what YOU should feed.

And for reference this is a rat fuzzy (10 days old eyes still closed)

http://stewartreptiles.com/wordpress...ies_10days.jpg

---

i miss breeding rats for one reason the tan and white rats that popped up. i loved them so much i made a tan and white colony for them. but then i had shoulder surgery\knee surgery and had to stop for the time being.

really it sounds like you're not a breeder and just have snakes for fun. so it really doesnt matter what you feed it. just feed it once a week good sized meals

Rats are a lot easyer to feed with,one big meal and no having risk a tap on the hand or anything for feeding multiple mice.

Thanks guys! Yeah I am not planning on breeding, at least not anytime soon.

thanks again!

For years i used to start hatchlings off on mice pinks cause i was always told they have more calcium but for the past 5 years i feed rat pinks to my hatchlings for their first meals and keep em on rats their entire lives. Ive got some huge female balls and im talking gigantic. Ive got 6 girls that are over 4000 grams that have been on rats their whole life and now they eat jumbos. I do however have to take precautions when feeding them cause a rat bite sucks and you can imagine the bite a jumbo can deliver to a ball so i knock em out and yank the teeth. Now i also have 3 girls that i bought a year ago that were fed mice only and they are the same age as my big girls and they only weigh in the 1500 gram range so i dont know if that helps but over the years ive found they put on the weight and hold it better on rats

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snake lab

I do however have to take precautions when feeding them cause a rat bite sucks and you can imagine the bite a jumbo can deliver to a ball so i knock em out and yank the teeth

---

:omg: Holy crap man...that's like something out of a horror movie. Wouldn't it be easier/cleaner/faster to just warm up a f/t rat in some hot water.

I used to do live mice, but I got sick of driving to the pet store every week and having to go to the back with an employee to dig out an acceptable sized mouse. Now I just get the things frozen at another store and keep a month supply in the freezer. The gas I'm saving is ridiculous, even if the mice are a few cents more each. She took her first f/t faster then the live one too! Go figure...

I tried feeding a few rat pups to her, and she loved them, but they're so hard to find live and are proving to be impossible to find frozen at my nearby stores. I'm contemplating buying some online, but I really don't have the space to keep 50-100 of them in the freezer, and I really don't want to spend 40+ dollars on shipping. :(

You can also look at the "long term" cost.
Going by box store pet store prices here.
Mice $2.49 each
Rats $4.99 each
3mice=$7.47 plus tax;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Salodin

I used to do live mice, but I got sick of driving to the pet store every week and having to go to the back with an employee to dig out an acceptable sized mouse. Now I just get the things frozen at another store and keep a month supply in the freezer. The gas I'm saving is ridiculous, even if the mice are a few cents more each.(

---

Thats why I started breeding my own rats. Costs me about $40 a month to feed 21 snakes;)

Edit: ^What he said is true. Rats are cheaper in the long run.

Rats are a little more nutritious than mice, not to mention it is easier to feed one appropriate sized rat than it is 3-5+ mice. I start my baby balls on rats. Its easier and better for them. I don't even wanna know how many mice our 3,400g female would need to survive if she was a mouser. Then again, I doubt she would be anywhere near that big if she was a mouser.

I personally like feeding live cause it keeps their kill instinct fresh and that keeps them eating better every week. Yes its easy for me to do that cause i breed my own rats and i suggest anyone that can should. Its alot cheaper.

I didnt really fear live rodents, its just more a pain with transport; ive even had 2 escapes and a near 3rd one in the car!

I only have only one 1 year old snake atm so breeding isnt really an option. I also dont know of any nearby breeders so i cant get a bulk on some cheap rats or even mice, so im stuck paying 1.99 for a live mouse, 10.99 for four frozen mice, or i think it was 4.99 for a frozen rat. As you can see, each passing month brings me closer to the time where i really want some decent priced rats, but i dread doing them live (at like 2.99), and 5 bucks for a frozen, ugh.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

What is your location??
Someone here might be near you:gj:

Coral Springs, Florida. Technically Parkland, but I'm on the border and more people are familiar with Coral Springs lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Salodin

I didnt really fear live rodents, its just more a pain with transport; ive even had 2 escapes and a near 3rd one in the car!

I only have only one 1 year old snake atm so breeding isnt really an option. I also dont know of any nearby breeders so i cant get a bulk on some cheap rats or even mice, so im stuck paying 1.99 for a live mouse, 10.99 for four frozen mice, or i think it was 4.99 for a frozen rat. As you can see, each passing month brings me closer to the time where i really want some decent priced rats, but i dread doing them live (at like 2.99), and 5 bucks for a frozen, ugh.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

---

For 1 snake you are right that breeding is not a cost effective choice. Isn't there some places in fl that do mail order frozen close by him that he could pick up to save on shipping?
Why do you dread feeding live? Most of the stories you hear about are from people leaving a live rodent in the cage for an extended period of time unsupervised and some rats are able to get their last bite in but in my cases they don't even break the skin. If my snakes show no interest within 5 min's of knowing it's there and me watching till it hugs it then they will have to wait till next time. The only reason I prefer live is that if a snake refuses I can put him back in his cage till next time. Other than that I like the rats and will hold and pet them so it's hard for me to feed them off ;)

I dread feeding live because anything over a hopper in age chews through the carry case they give you at the store. It takes about 15-20min to drive back home, and in that time there is usually a nice hole made in the box with a mouse trying to squeeze through unless I'm constantly shaking the box every few second to keep it from getting a grip to squeeze out >_<, I'm almost positive a rat will be more successful.

I've had 2 1/2 breakouts already, and it is no fun chasing a rodent through my car =(.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Salodin

I dread feeding live because anything over a hopper in age chews through the carry case they give you at the store. It takes about 15-20min to drive back home, and in that time there is usually a nice hole made in the box with a mouse trying to squeeze through unless I'm constantly shaking the box every few second to keep it from getting a grip to squeeze out >_<, I'm almost positive a rat will be more successful.

I've had 2 1/2 breakouts already, and it is no fun chasing a rodent through my car =(.

---

I bought one of those cheap plastic pet carriers to stop that from happening:gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

I bought one of those cheap plastic pet carriers to stop that from happening:gj:

---

Yup same here (critter cage) or the right size sterlite container with a locking lid

^Yup, we occasionally have to pick up live when our colony isn't being productive and we just use one of our extra 28qt tubs with a lid. They have sat in there for half a day before and no escapees, just a nasty, dirty tub to clean.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AK907

just a nasty, dirty tub to clean.

---

I put about an inch of bedding in mine and change it once a month:gj: Its only used to get 12 mice once a week (till mine start breeding) and they might be in it for 2 to 3 hours if they are lucky:banana::banana: