Other food types

[steelsack]

Hey all,
Just out of curiosity, is there any reasons why rats and mice are the most popular food we feed our bp's? Have been reading that the bps' natural foodsource is gerbils. Now I know they're cute and all, but other than that, and being a little more expensive to purchase than rats, why not feed gerbils or hamsters?
I have a little rat farm going on, but with just one snake, I can get a lot of pinkies that need disposing! When they are tiny, my bp will take three at a feeding or so, but they grow FAST and you can easily end up with too many ratties.
So..........why not breed hamsters or gerbils? They don't crank out up to 20 pups in a litter, and are supposedly the natural meal choice. I don't care about thier cuteness, this is the circle of life here..................
Thoughts?

[Mike]

wel there are people that do that. i think the reason people feed rats ansd mice is because they are readily and cheaply available everywhere. and rats are bigger. i think gerbils are actually illegal in some places.(not sureon that one). people say gerbils are harder to breed. im not sure why. but that could be a reason they arent often used for food. with just one snake, you could probably breed enough gerbils for it. but you might not be able to get that snake back on rats or mice. once a snake takes a gerbil it may get "addicted" and not want rats or mice anymore. well those are my thoughts.

[Ken]

In praise of Gerbils, let me say a few words.

Gerbils are desert creatures and are therefore very low urine producers. The outcome is that they have very little odor, and their enclosure requires little maintenance. Mice & rats both stink and are messy. They are illegal in many western (desert) states, for fear of propagation and eco-imbalance.

Gerbils are easy to handle. If raised with human contact, they hardly ever bite. They grow to a decent size (2 1/2 - 3 times an adult mouse).

After reading this thread, I'm beginning to consider a breeding colony for my BP. We have 2 gerbils now (pets) and they're awesome critters to keep (as rodents go) .

Thanks, Steelsack, for raising a good question.

Ken

[Ken]

In my previous post, I meant gerbils are illegal in many states, not mice & rats. Doh!

[CTReptileRescue]

Just a quick note
Gerbils are monogomouse (sp?), so if you plan to breed them, you need to get a colony and let them pair off. Both mom and dad gerbil care for the young.
Rusty