gut loading mice ?

[Brandon.O]

is there any such thing ?? i was thinking that if it was more healthy i would buy a bunch of mice and keep them and feed them that special food so it would be more healthy for roxy......do they sell any thing like that ??

[Cody]

They probably do. But if you ask me it'd be a waste of cash. I'd think all the nutrients the ball needs are already in the rodent. If your snake is healthy and happy, I wouldn't bother. "If it's not broken, don't fix it"

[mlededee]

yeah i agree. i gut load crickets for my lizards, but if you think about it, that's because there isn't a whole lot to a cricket so you have to add vitamins and calcium and stuff. but a rat or mouse should already have all that. you can always ask what they feed the mice\rats where you buy tehm if you are concerned about it.

[Marla]

Actually, prey feed can make a difference, because there are some ingredients that the snakes can't metabolize like red dyes commonly used in dog food. Your best bet is to either make sure you're getting your prey from a good source (such as www.rodentpro.com or www.miceonice.com or www.gourmetrodent.com for example), or to raise and feed them yourself with a diet consisting of fresh fruits and veggies, rodent lab blocks, undyed dog food (such as Ol' Roy), and other healthful foods.

[mlededee]

they don't really "gut load" rodents though do they? i thought gut loading was basically pumping whatever the prey item is full of vitamins and calcium--like when you gut load crickets you can actually see that they are really fat and plump. although i guess i would want the rodent to be fat and full of vitamins too....

what happens if a snake ingests too much red dye from a rodent that was fed dog food? is it just harder on their digestion or does it have other ill effects?

[Marla]

Actually, some places do "gut load" rodents, but I don't see any point to that as long as they've been fed well. He also mentioned "feed them that special food", so I figured explaining good diet was fair input here. As far as the dye goes, hopefully Rusty or Becky or UberAlice can give a good explanation on that one.

[mlededee]

sometimes i wonder if i should just breed the rodents myself so i know for sure what they are eating. but again, there are space issues with my apt., and if i was going to add something to the household i'd rather it be a bearded dragon or a chameleon! maybe i could squeeze some rats into the laundry room. my poor cat would have a fit!

[Marla]

Yes, cats will typically freak a little over having rodents that they can't eat/play with in the house. I once had a cat "steal" a refused f/t mouse as I was putting the bp back in his enclosure (when I was still having to do the mousie dance). And Adrian's pet rat is a source of entertainment almost as good as the geckos for our cats.

[mlededee]

i used to have a hamster. i constantly caught phoebie laying on top of the cage (it was an aquarium with a screen top) with her face pressed against the top. luckily she is a small cat, and the hamster was fearless and assumed that anyone/anything watching her must want just want to play.

[Marla]

I'll bet! Punkin has an odd habit of trying to invite everyone into her home. She does this by gently grabbing hold of you with her teeth and tugging you into the enclosure. If you're a human and expect this, it's no big deal. But if you're a little kitten and get scared and jerk back, it becomes a very big deal indeed! :shock:

Several years ago, when I was pregnant with Adrian, my then-husband and I had a 55-gal fish tank, a large rodent enclosure housing two separated rats, and one kitten. The kitten loved to watch the rats and then when they got too boring, climb up on top of their cage to watch the fish, at which point you'd see the rats staring up at her. Somewhere I have a very cute picture of this.