People who won't feed their snakes rats....

.... Why not?

No judgment, just curiosity :)

they say they are too vicious, and can cause to much damage with there teeth and claws.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

they say they are too vicious, and can cause to much damage with there teeth and claws.

---

uhmmmm....SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT.

so not true.

If the rats are kept in a healthy living enviroment and have plenty of food and water they are not likey to attack....and rats are FAR from vicious.

I have about 80-100 rats right now and I have not been bitten once. ever...and neither have my snakes.

just sayin'

Some people really like rats. And prefer to feed mice. :shrugs:

no i feed my snakes rats. i think they are fine. i think that people just get things in their head, and they stick. i have seen nice rats, and i have seen mean rats.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

no i feed my snakes rats. i think they are fine. i think that people just get things in their head, and they stick. i have seen nice rats, and i have seen mean rats.

---

i understand...I am just making it clear that not everybody feels that way and the whole myth about rats eatin the snakes eys out and stuff is crap.

If the rat is left in there too long it may. but of course...It is a scavenger looking for a food/water source.

Which is why you should always monitor your feedings.

:)

wierd that you say that. i went to a fish store yesterday and some salwater fish were eating the eyes of another alive fish........eerie

The way I see it, it is some people's personal preference to feed mice only, not rats. There are some BPs out there though, that refuse to feed on rats, but gladly take mice. I have no snakes like that, but I have read many others' accounts of this.
Some people just love rats, I guess, but don't love mice as much?

I could see several reasons.
Rats are generally stronger and able to do more damage?
Rats are more personable and therefor harder to feed off?
Mice don't get over-sized for ball pythons.
I feed small rats to my ball pythons. I can't stand mice. Only get mice hoppers for a baby that refuses everything else so far.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChrisBowsman

.... Why not?
No judgment, just curiosity :)

---

Let's see because

Some snakes are stubborn and don’t switch easily or don’t switch at all.

In some areas it is easier to find mice than it is to find rats.

etc

Bottom line it's about what work and what is convenient for the owner.

Ball Pythons that eat mice do as good as any other BP that eat rats

I feed rats, mice, live, f/t; as long as it works that is all that matters to me ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffnme

uhmmmm....SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT.

so not true.

If the rats are kept in a healthy living enviroment and have plenty of food and water they are not likey to attack....and rats are FAR from vicious.

I have about 80-100 rats right now and I have not been bitten once. ever...and neither have my snakes.

just sayin'

---

i would be more afraid of meme biting than the rats

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by reediculous

i would be more afraid of meme biting than the rats

---

I love to bite. :devilish:

and I leave marks!

:D

plus rats don't need to be as big as everybody thinks...........


60-80 grams! plenty (even for the big girls)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffnme

I love to bite. :devilish:

and I leave marks!

:D

---

cool with me.........makes for good conversation!

I have 44 Ball Pythons now and ONLY feed mice. My most recent addition, an 02/03 Hypo male who had only eaten rats his entire life, and the breeder didn't think he would switch, ate mice the first week he was here.

I feed them because I only feed live and they only get SO big, unlike rats. I can also keep more of them in a smaller area. I also prefer to vary the amount the snakes get each time so they aren't always expecting 2 or 3 or however many they get.

Also, I have pet rats and I'm not about to bring unquarantined rats into my house. It would be like bringing plague-infested fleas into my house and hoping I don't catch it and die.

I buy about 220-260 mice every month, but at 45 cents apiece, it's not breaking the bank at all. I can deal with $100 a month to feed that many animals.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by reediculous

cool with me.........makes for good conversation!

---

:8:

oh...well there is that.

Where I get my snakes food mice cost $1.50 for adults, pinkies, fuzzies and hoppers. Rats cost $6. Rat pups are $1.75 but they dont always have pups but I try to always feed rats when I can. I load up on rat pups when they do have em. Ive got 2 breeder rats but they cant pop out babies as fast as my snakes eat em. My hognose isnt big enough to eat rats too, he gets fuzzy mice and frogs every once in a while when I feel like dishing out a few more bucks. The boa gets rats, but he eats f/t so I guess thats a little different (cant bite back) he has scars on his face from the previous owner and it looks like a rat got the best of him,(hopefully he eventually got the best of the rat ;) ) 3 pretty good size scars.

Ok, since I don't have any issues with the snake eating rats, I guess I'll go ahead and give them a shot when it gets big enough. To be honest, I'm not especially fond of any rodents, so I'm actually kind of looking forward to trying out rats with him :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffnme

I love to bite. :devilish:

and I leave marks!

:D

---

Nice :D

I have pet rats who are literally part of the family.. their cage is in the living room, they eat leftovers (healthy stuff only), they have home made hammocks, exc... so no rats for dinner here..

While I do find mice cute, I have had one or two bite the *%&$^# out of me so no thanks.. i dont mind feeding mice but a rat will never be dinner so long as im around.

I've had 2 snakes get their eyes bitten while eating... just had the rodent in the right spot. Both times the eye looked terrible. Both times had FULL recovery.

Both times it was a mouse, not a rat.

Justin

Quote:

---

Let's see because

Some snakes are stubborn and don’t switch easily or don’t switch at all.

In some areas it is easier to find mice than it is to find rats.

etc

Bottom line it's about what work and what is convenient for the owner.

Ball Pythons that eat mice do as good as any other BP that eat rats

I feed rats, mice, live, f/t; as long as it works that is all that matters to me

---

Well said!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

...I feed them because I only feed live and they only get SO big, unlike rats. I can also keep more of them in a smaller area. I also prefer to vary the amount the snakes get each time so they aren't always expecting 2 or 3 or however many they get.

Also, I have pet rats and I'm not about to bring unquarantined rats into my house. It would be like bringing plague-infested fleas into my house and hoping I don't catch it and die.

---

Well said, Becky. And two major reasons I won't do rats as well. Also, since I have two (three in spring) corn snakes who will never have to eat rats, it's so much easier to just keep everyone on mice. If someday Nagini converts to FT, then I would consider switching her to rats. But I do not want to bring in other rats from multiple sources that might affect my three pets.
Of course, for me there is also the emotional aspect...even though I have no problem seeing the line between pet and prey. :) I just love rats.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Also, I have pet rats and I'm not about to bring unquarantined rats into my house. It would be like bringing plague-infested fleas into my house and hoping I don't catch it and die.

---

I am a curious person.. so I am just wondering. Would unquaranted mice be less dangerous to your pet rats, than unquarantined mice? I am just wondering.. I apologise if I am missing something here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffnme

I love to bite. :devilish:

and I leave marks!

:D

---

I hate it when people leave me... :weirdface:

A lot of people won't feed rats because rats are just more personable then mice. So the cuteness factor comes into play.

I also have a colony of rats that are the gentlest of creatures, I've never been bitten myself, even when I've had to stick my fingers in their mouth to shave down some crooked teeth. However one of them DID bite one of my snakes inside the mouth once when it was grabbed. They WILL defend themselves if they can no matter how gentle they are otherwise.

I do have some balls that will eat only mice, however every snake that I have that will take a rat will also take mice with no problems and I can switch back and forth any time I feel like it. Sometimes I've had too many mice and will feed them off to my usual rat eaters and have never had trouble getting any of them to take mice. It doesn't always work the other way around so I've always assumed that mice just taste better.

Mark

We feed rats here, both regular ones and ASF's. The ASF's fill the role that mice might for another keeper in that they don't outgrow the snake's needs due to their smaller size but have the advantage of no smell as mice have.

For me, there's never been a moral issue with both keeping rats as pets or naming and spoiling my adult breeder rats, while just as easily feeding off their offspring. The adults that are a permanent part of the colony are one thing, their offspring is another - born to be fed off and never named, they are cared for properly of course but not handled or bonded with. For us it works, even the kids know that some rats get names and stay, other rats do not get names and are intended for the snake's dinner.

Personally I think rats are a fantastic creation of nature. A great pet, a great prey animal, easy to keep....my favorite rodent. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

We feed rats here, both regular ones and ASF's. The ASF's fill the role that mice might for another keeper in that they don't outgrow the snake's needs due to their smaller size but have the advantage of no smell as mice have.

For me, there's never been a moral issue with both keeping rats as pets or naming and spoiling my adult breeder rats, while just as easily feeding off their offspring. The adults that are a permanent part of the colony are one thing, their offspring is another - born to be fed off and never named, they are cared for properly of course but not handled or bonded with. For us it works, even the kids know that some rats get names and stay, other rats do not get names and are intended for the snake's dinner.

Personally I think rats are a fantastic creation of nature. A great pet, a great prey animal, easy to keep....my favorite rodent. :)

---

another thing about asf rats they dont need a/c to breed. they like it warm and breed better in warm areas and they dont get the odor. plus nice litter sizes compared to mice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

I am a curious person.. so I am just wondering. Would unquaranted mice be less dangerous to your pet rats, than unquarantined mice? I am just wondering.. I apologise if I am missing something here.

---

I haven't had any problems bringing in unquarantined mice, especially if they are from a reputable source. Unquarantined rats, however, have caused alot of heartache. I once lost about 10 rats in a week because I brought in 3 babies from PETSMART of all places. They were carrying Strep. pneumoniae, and while they were immune to it, my rats were not. I lost alot of my heart-rats then, and now I quarantine over a month just in case. I don't take those risks anymore. I'm still surprised my 3 dwarf girls weren't affected at all.

For me, it's pretty much the same reasons others have listed. Rats make great pets, so I wouldn't be comfortable feeding them off. Mice are easy to breed, stay small, and bite. I don't like them at all.

We had a rescue burm once, for a month. We fed it a rat and the thing bit a huge hole in the poor snake. It wasn't left in the bin, it wasn't unsupervised, the snake just happened to grab the rat in a position that the rat could still bite, and did.

I've seen mice grabbed the same way that sit and chew on the snake while dying and never leave a mark. So, it's the best choice for me :)

I don't want to be a pill, but mice can make great pets too :) I had a pet mouse in high school, and she was as tame as any rat pet that I have had. She would walk from my hand, across my arm, back and down the other arm, and repeat.
But in my opinion, whatever works well for every individual, is fine. Snakes' health does not suffer for being fed on mice, so I see no problemo.
Sorry about what happened to your rats, Becky; that is a real tragedy :(
I for one cannot stand the smell of mouse urine. Just sayin' :)

I feed mice and rats, and I have two pet rats (And I'm picking up three soft furred rats tomorrow :D), and I'm actuly thinking about switching to rats completely (rat pups instead of mice). As much as I love rats, it doesnt reqlly hurt me too much to see a rat that I'm not attached to go... But I can understand some people on why they wont feed rats- if rats were like dogs to me- then I probably wouldent either. lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffnme

i understand...I am just making it clear that not everybody feels that way and the whole myth about rats eatin the snakes eys out and stuff is crap.

If the rat is left in there too long it may. but of course...It is a scavenger looking for a food/water source.

Which is why you should always monitor your feedings.

:)

---

I have pics to prove that rats can eat snakes eyes out. But I agree with you 100%

I feed rats if they will eat them. I finally got my oldest switched over to rats and just started feeding my Albino a small rat instead of 3 mice. Now I just need my female to get older and get her switched.
I buy live @ Petco and a sm rat is 4.99 compared to mice @ 2.29 x 3. So it is cheaper and easy to feed 1 rat instead of 3 mice per feeding.
I keep a careful eye when I feed and if my group doesn't hit the rat within the first 2-4 mins they aren't going to and I remove it.

If you feed live you feed live. I don't see why one critter is more important or harder to feed then another. It is what it is. I don't value one more than the other or consider one more of a pet than the other. Tis food in my eyes.

ive had rats bite my snake before. i stand by now with a pencil and if the rat is going to bite the snake i just give him the pencil to gnaw on until all the life is squeezed out

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by visiontoreality

ive had rats bite my snake before. i stand by now with a pencil and if the rat is going to bite the snake i just give him the pencil to gnaw on until all the life is squeezed out

---

Bingo! That is what I do. If you keep a watchful eye no harm will come to your bp. Soon as my bp strikes and wraps I check to see where the rats head and mouth are to ensure there is no biting going on.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

I don't want to be a pill, but mice can make great pets too :)

---

Yeah, I can cede that point easily enough. We do have a couple that are used to being handled and are as tame as can be, I keep them as breeders/pets.

I feed mice for the simple reason that it's more convenient for me to do so at this time. If my snakes refused mice and would eat only rats...I'd deal with that and feed 'em rats. But they love their meeces....and it's so much easier for me.

Personally, I don't think one rodent is superior over another as far as the snake is concerned. If they'll eat it, it works. Sometimes one is more cost effective than another. Sometimes one is easier for someone to buy than another. And for me...I never have to worry about an uneaten rodent growing too big to eat before the snake finally gets around to it.

In Tucson, I had a pet store that would happily take back uneaten rats. Here in San Antonio, I don't have that option. I'd had rats grow too big to feed off and was left with the dilema of what to do with an unwanted rat an no large snakes to feed it to. With mice...I may have to deal with feeding and cleaning up the little buggers for a week or two sometimes....but at least I don't have to kill them off myself.