I've been buying all my feeder rats from a local reptile shop. I don't have extra cash (or space) to buy months of food at once, even though it would save on costs in the end, so I usually pick up about 10 or so of each size I need when I need them. The problem is, the rats aren't cheap.

I have a friend that breeds her own feeder rats and sells them, and has pretty good prices on her rats. I've been staying away from her rats because she told me she feeds them hog food (at least, I think that's what she said). Now, I know nothing about keeping or breeding rats, but this didn't sound right to me. Why not feed rats rat food. She said the hog food is a lot cheaper, and (it was a while ago and my memory isn't great) that the hog food is similar to rat food. I guess I'm wondering if what she's doing is okay? If I decide to purchase rats from her, will this cause any problems for my snakes? Can feeder rats be fed this type of diet?

Thanks!