Is this true?

[Melody]

Ok, im starting a mouse colony and with my experience, my mice to produce best and grow largest when their main diet is dog food. A friend of mine however, told me that i shouldnt feed my breedng ball pythons mice that have been fed dog food because it will either make them infertile or produce mostly slugs. Has anyone ever heard of this? i dont know, i sounds weird to me but if theirs any truth in it i really want to know.

[HighVoltageRoyals]

As far as I know, feeding dog food to the mice is fine, though you really should get them lab block (for optimal nutrition for them and your BPs). I have never heard of dog food eating feeders causing infertility/ slugs in BPs. Did you ask your friend where they heard that from?

[starstrukk]

I'm not saying the information is factual (because I really don't know) but I can see it happening, and making sense. Considering the quality of dog food the majority of people feed their mice/rats, such as Doggy Bag.... well, the quality is quite poor, even for a mouse. Mice & Rats in the wild naturally have an extremely widespread diet versus what these poor quality dog foods almost completely consist of- Corn, Soybean & dyes.

It has been proven in institutions, such as zoological gardens, that animals fed a poor diet can become infertile. Now, if you're feeding your rats and mice a poor diet, then doesn't it make sense that the snakes, consuming these poorly fed rats and mice, are being poorly fed?


EDIT: I also once read an article about dyes causing infertility. I'll try to find it. Can't remember if it was in a veterinary catalogue or a journal.

EDIT #2: Mazuri 6F ingredients: (from Mazuri's website) Ground corn, dehulled soybean meal, ground oats, porcine animal fat preserved with BHA, cane molasses, wheat middlings, dehydrated alfalfa meal, ground wheat, ground soybean hulls, calcium carbonate, fish meal, salt, brewers dried yeast, dicalcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, dried beet pulp, wheat germ, corn gluten meal, soybean oil, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (vitamin K), pyridoxine hydrochloride, DL-methionine, choline chloride, dried yucca shidigera extract, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, vitamin A acetate, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate.

Doggy Bag (from Tractor Supply's website): Wheat Middlings, Ground Yellow Corn, Meat and Bone Meal, soybean Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), Animal Digest Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate , Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Biotin, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Vitamin D Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid.

[Rhasputin]

I think the issues arise from red dyes?
Don't take my word on it, but it sounds like that might be what you're hearing about is the red dye issue, which I really don't know much about.

Can someone who knows more about that chime in?

[mues155]

Well I know with rats anyways that dog food supposedly has too high of protien content for them. Not sure if its the same with mice though.

Mazuri pellets are a great staple diet for them and not very expensive. The content looks better than your typical grocery brand dog food.
I also make sure my rodents get fresh greens and fruits as well as a small portion of seeds.

Feeders should be given a good diet because thats whats going in your snakes body as well!