Herps as feeders

I was wondering if anoles can be bred easily. Since I plan on switching my ferrets from a raw diet to a whole prey diet and to get all the bases covered I need to feed a variety of feeders. So far my list includes:

Rats
Mice
Hamsters
Gerbils
ASFs

I will also include these once I have a house and enough space to breed them:

Rabbits
Chickens
Button Quail

Naturally, a ferret will eat small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. So I talked to someone who keeps ferrets and she said adding herps to the ferret's diet would be fine, especially in the summer when herps make up a good portion of the ferret's natural diet.

So I was wondering if anoles could be bred easily as feeders and if there are any non-toxic frogs would be a good choice.

(Note: Please only answer my questions. I've had enough of people telling me to feed my ferrets' crappy kibble. Please do not make any mention of what I should be feeding my ferrets. I have done my research and I know what I'm doing. I plan on going to veterinary school and specializing in animal nutrition and exotic animals.)

No, they are not easily bred. One of the easiest lizards to mass produce are probably the leopard geckos.

never done so myself but just read that its pretty easy, good luck

http://www.reptilespark.com/home/anoleman/anole.html

Possible to do so, sure. Practical, probably not. The costs associated with raising some kind of lizard or amphibian will probably outweight the benefits to an otherwise already balanced diet. You'll need caging, feeders for the breeding stock, etc etc, all of which adds up.

I'm curious to know if the diet you are planning for your ferrets will have any effect on their lifespans. I used to have ferrets, and they all lived very short lives (all fed expensive ferret kibble). They all seemed to develop some disease or another (I had them vaccinated, etc., and very well taken care of. But all my care was according to what I was told by vets & other 'experts'). Keep us posted.

That expensive food might not have been the best, just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's at all good for them. I've come across at least a few dozen products for Ball Pythons at the pet store that were absolute rubbish and they sold them for a fortune.

Here's a little more info about ferrets including their lifespan and more:
http://www.centralpets.com/animals/m...s/fer1396.html

I know that you can buy "feerder anoles" for decent price in bulk from KingSnake in the feeder section occasionally.

Some of the best kibble I found was 8in1 premium. It was highly recommended on the ferret forum I was on. But as far as herps as feeders, leos are probably the easiest for you to breed. You can also do a rack system but your need a incubator for the eggs.

Feeder Anoles...
Feeder House Geckos...
Feeder Tree Frogs...

I know you are looking at breeding them, but Just in case that ends up being too much ... You can always just buy what you need. I have never ordered from the guy that sells this stuff so I cannot vouch for him.. Just know that I have seen his ads.

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Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons

I'm curious to know if the diet you are planning for your ferrets will have any effect on their lifespans. I used to have ferrets, and they all lived very short lives (all fed expensive ferret kibble). They all seemed to develop some disease or another (I had them vaccinated, etc., and very well taken care of. But all my care was according to what I was told by vets & other 'experts'). Keep us posted.

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And that is probably why they lived short lives. Kibble is a horrible diet for ferrets, no matter how "good" the bag says it is. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, meaning they only digest and use meat based nutrients. A diet high in plants, such as kibble (grains and veggies are used to make it a kibble) can possibly lead to adrenal disease and several other health problems. This has not been proven scientifically but only because the only people who would do the study are the people that would end up losing money because of it. Feeding your ferret a meat only or whole prey diet allows them to eat the closest thing to a natural diet. This helps with weight management, teeth and gum problems, nutrient deficiencies, ect.

In short, as long as I'm feeding a wide variety of prey items or if I'm feeding raw, and feed a wide variety of that, and I monitor my ferrets' food intake, they should all live long happy lives. Switching them to a raw diet has already cleared up some issues they had while on a expensive "good" kibble.

I will look at those links. Thanks! I know it would probably be expensive to breed reptiles or frogs for feeders, but the raw diet is already expensive, so I wouldn't be adding on too much. If breeding them proves to be too difficult, then I will just buy the feeders I need.

Also I find that it is very funny that that webpage says the average life span of a ferret is 7 years. Average means there are a few below that line and a few above it. That number is incredibly sad. A healthy ferret can expect to live over 10 years, possibly even to 14 or 15.

Be careful. Anoles (that are very common in my area) often have lots of parasites and nasty stuff in them. If I sent my boys out in the back yard, it would take them 30 minutes to catch 20.

However, I would never feed them to my snakes or anything else because of the parasites.

If you check out the kingsnake link mentioned earlier in this thread you will see this disclosure:

Animals offered for sale have not been quarantined or treated for parasites. They are otherwise all in apparent good health. I strongly recommend that all animals (captive born and wild caught) be quarantined, checked by a vet, and treated accordingly. For more information please go to my web site.

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Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons

I'm curious to know if the diet you are planning for your ferrets will have any effect on their lifespans. I used to have ferrets, and they all lived very short lives (all fed expensive ferret kibble). They all seemed to develop some disease or another (I had them vaccinated, etc., and very well taken care of. But all my care was according to what I was told by vets & other 'experts'). Keep us posted.

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yeah i mentioned this in another thread. The reason they have short spans and got diseases (my guess is that yours got Adrenal first right?) is because you fed the expensive ferret kibble. it has too many carbs in it. Ideally a ferret should be fed whole prey as they are obligate carnivores and plant matter is only doing them harm. most people i know that feed whole prey, mostly feed chickens and whole rabbits. there are various sites online where you can buy the whole prey frozen.

the one problem is that ferrets are picky eaters, if they've grown up eating kibble, its really really tough to get them to switch to a whole prey diet, they don't see it as food any longer. you have to basically starve them and force them to eat it.

My four eat raw meat like crazy. They love it. Three out of four will eat whole prey willingly and two out of four will actively hunt their own whole prey. Its a work in progress.

What is the best way to introduce a ferret that has been eating kibbles forever to a raw meat diet and later to whole prey?

Is there is any technique to do that?

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Originally Posted by dracovolans

What is the best way to introduce a ferret that has been eating kibbles forever to a raw meat diet and later to whole prey?

Is there is any technique to do that?

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it can be very difficult. The best method i've heard is to take away all their kibble and let them go 6 hours or so without food. then offer them raw. you will have to start with boneless meat because they aren't going to have the jaw strength to saw through bone and such quite yet. They will probably turn their noses up to it at first and not see it as food, but if they get hungry enough they will try it.

essentially you have to somewhat starve them and force them to try the raw meat. but don't go too long either.

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Originally Posted by kitsunex

it can be very difficult. The best method i've heard is to take away all their kibble and let them go 6 hours or so without food. then offer them raw. you will have to start with boneless meat because they aren't going to have the jaw strength to saw through bone and such quite yet. They will probably turn their noses up to it at first and not see it as food, but if they get hungry enough they will try it.

essentially you have to somewhat starve them and force them to try the raw meat. but don't go too long either.

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What about to mix it with the kibbles? I would like to try it but I'll be more confident if some one explain a few techniques!!

One way we got Twitch, our oldest girl, to start eating meat was to withhold food for a few hours till she was really hungry. We then rubbed a piece of kibble with raw chicken and gave her the kibble. She recognized the kibble as food so ate it, but it being rubbed with chicken introduced her to the new flavor. We then tried wrapping a small piece of chicken around the kibble piece and gave it to her. Once she tried that, she was hooked and hated her kibble after that.

Another good method is baby food meats. They don't have to chew it and it introduces them to the new flavors.

If you are serious about switching your ferret to raw, try this forum. They are really great people. I am fuzzymom on the forum.

www.holisticferret.proboards80.com

some others i know have had good luck started them out with hamburger. scruff the ferret, and when it opens its mouth to yawn, stick a small piece of burger in there. i did that with mine and he had to chew on it and decided it was really food and i wasn't trying to poison him.