organic snake food?

[Mr.ssnortzz]

hello all
i am glad to be here there is so much knowledge and love, lots of people who have an open mind and care about their animals.
i am a proud keeper of a five year old normal male ball python, he has always eaten f/t. over the years i have had some pretty terrible looking f/t mice and rats, everything from ones covered in lice or mites and missing hair to some that look like they had been beaten to death or starved. i love my snake and would like to find a rat/ mouse breeder who feeds organic and has some sort of humane treatment of their breeders.
also i was worried that the mice/rats who never see the sun may be lacking in the vitamins etc that my snake needs from his food.
do free range rats exist?
thanks
charity

[Eric Alan]

I seriously hope you don't take this the wrong way - I'm just curious about one thing. You joined this forum over 5 years ago and THIS is your first post? How is that possible?

[LivingwithBalls]

I seriously hope you don't take this the wrong way - I'm just curious about one thing. You joined this forum over 5 years ago and THIS is your first post? How is that possible?

Well isn't that interesting...


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[The Snakery]

Thank you for the much needed laugh.

Free range rodents.

I suppose if you go to an organic dairy you will find free range, organic rodents if you can catch them.

[SnakeBalls]

Or organic feed and raise your own. I imagine the cost goes way up tho.

[Darkbird]

Not everybody joins a forum to post, and with a little intelligence it would be entirely possible to get all the info you needed here without ever asking a single question. Anyways, i highly doubt you will find anyone feeding thier rats an organic diet. As long as they are being fed a proper diet, they will provide all the nutrients your snake needs. What you seem to really be having problems with is suppliers that don't always provide a quality product. I can't offer any specific suggestions due to your not being in the states, since I have no clue what's available up ther, but I would suggest trying to find a local breeder who can supply you. If that's not an option, I'm sure someone here from Canada will be able to suggest something.

[Eric Alan]

I totally get it. It was more if a, "Hey look at that '67 Vette driving down to road!" reaction. It's just not something you see every day and I couldn't help but wonder aloud. Carry on...

[Paul's Pieds]

When i used to breed my own feed animals i used to feed farm food to them. The diet was mostly sow rolls, not because of any particular benefit but mostly cos they were cheap about £6 ($10) for a huge sack and no VAT (sales tax) as it isn't charged in UK on agricultural foods. Then the diet was topped up with vegetables either leftovers from the family diet or old fruit and veg. The farm shop sold a huge bucket of gone off apples or carrots that weren't straight as super markets like them. I think they were intended as treats for ponies/horses. Anyway we figured it improved the rodents diet and they certainly enjoyed having those addition items.

I wouldn't go as far as to claim this as organic but i expect it is more of a step in the right direction than most rodents get.

[Viol8r]

I seriously hope you don't take this the wrong way - I'm just curious about one thing. You joined this forum over 5 years ago and THIS is your first post? How is that possible?

Hahaha...

Not everybody joins a forum to post, and with a little intelligence it would be entirely possible to get all the info you needed here without ever asking a single question.

Especially considering the same handful of questions are asked over and over and over etc... like there is not a search button at the top right of the screen...

[The Golem]

"Free range" doesn't necessarily mean the animal is outdoors, or healthier. In the case of free range chickens it only means that they have the potential to leave the 'roost' and go outdoors but a lot of them stay inside, uncaged.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle1146977/

Ordering free-range chicken at a restaurant may make you feel good, but it turns out you may not be doing the birds any favour.Uncaged chickens are exposed to higher levels of bacteria, parasites and viruses that put them at greater risk for disease and infection compared with their caged counterparts, new research from Sweden's national veterinary institute shows..
Chickens not kept in cages are often housed in shelters where the floor doubles as a giant litter box. As a result, hens have direct contact with bacteria and microorganisms that grow in the litter, which can greatly increase health risks, said the study, available on BioMed Central's journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.
"We found that there was a higher occurrence of bacterial diseases, parasite disease in birds housed in the litter-based systems," said Oddvar Fossum, assistant state veterinarian at Sweden's National Veterinary Institute.
Exacerbating the problem is that hundreds of uncaged chickens are often kept in close quarters, allowing disease and infection to spread quickly.
Housing a large population of uncaged birds in close proximity also leads to increased incidences of pecking, which can result in disease or death.