Supplementing mice only eating BP's

[Wizard]

I have a couple BP's that will only eat F/T mice and while it's not very cost effective to use mice to put on weight, I was wondering if I could supplement their feeding with a "high calorie" mouse.

What I mean by that is injecting the mouse with an organic food item that will boost the 40 gram mouse to that of a 100++ gram rat. I was curious if an intraperitoneal injection of a high fat and protein product into the abdomen of the mouse prior to feeding will increase the caloric intake of my picky, mice only pythons.

I'm wondering if that has ever been implemented and if there is a 'recipe' or concoction that has been tested and proven to supplement the feeding program with fussy eaters?

Thanks guys!

[Badgemash]

I haven't tried injecting anything into a mouse, no. I have one of the die-hard mousers though, and I've basically just ended up feeding him as many mice as he'll take. And I get your frustration, because he has grown MUCH slower than my rat and ASF eating snakes.

My concern would be that if the "supplement" was very far off from what they're used to consuming, it may cause some digestion difficulties since the gut flora are adapted to mice. And I have no idea where to buy tubs of rodent fat.

[Wizard]

My concern would be that if the "supplement" was very far off from what they're used to consuming, it may cause some digestion difficulties since the gut flora are adapted to mice. And I have no idea where to buy tubs of rodent fat.

I'm not sure that rodent fat is necessary, I would think that any animal protein and fat would be sufficient. With my processor, I could liquify a single piece bacon and boost an adult F/T mouse to the caloric equivalent of a small rat. What do you think?

[Neal]

I personally wouldn't try it. If they eat f/t though you can get the large retired mouse breeders from a place that sells rodents. I know a few people who have breeder females that have only ever eaten mice and while they're not huge, they still get up to weight but not on a scale of one that eats rats. The clutches are usually a bit smaller and the babies as well.

That's just my take on it though.

[Wizard]

I personally wouldn't try it. If they eat f/t though you can get the large retired mouse breeders from a place that sells rodents. I know a few people who have breeder females that have only ever eaten mice and while they're not huge, they still get up to weight but not on a scale of one that eats rats. The clutches are usually a bit smaller and the babies as well.

That's just my take on it though.

I'm not going to try it, I was just curious if there was any historical data of nutritional supplementation of F/T mice was ever used to assist with reptile weight gain.

I will look into the retired mouse breeders.

[TheSnakeGuy]

I've considered an experiment like this with either a vitamin supplement or a high quality ferret food. I think the first issue would be finding out the actual caloric/vitamin/mineral value that a mouse or rat has that gets absorbed by the snake. Then you would have to try to maybe double those numbers and see what your results are while tracking the number meticulously. The only true way to do this is through research and experimentation, but both of those things can put lives at risk. I would try it if I had a separate rack system and a couple hatchling normal balls that were aside from their diet, taken care of in the exact way. One would be the control and the other the dependent variable. Monthly and yearly weigh ins would be the standard to figure results. And a full case study to be published of course.

[gaplastina]

When my little guy wasn't eating, the vet gave him a vitamin A/B/D injection after which he gained and is now much healthier. I wonder if you can get those vitamin shots from a vet to give to a mouse only eater.

[eatgoodfood]

How hard have you tried switching to rats, and what methods have you tried?