Buying live from a pet store

[RobNJ]

I'm fortunate enough to have an incredible pet store near me. The owner breeds everything...fish, rodents, birds, reptiles... I get the majority of my rats, mice, and ASF's from him when I want new breeding stock. As long as he doesn't think you're a complete tool, he's cool about selling live feeders, regardless of what it is.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the snake loves gerbils because aren't gerbils their native food source? As in gerbils are native to Africa, and so are BPs

There are 100+ species of gerbils that have a HUGE geographic range. The gerbils that are native to western Africa are not the same gerbils primarily seen in the pet trade.

If rats are more nutricious than mice

...Than where do Gerbals fall into that? Are rats still more nuitricious? What else can BPs eat besides mice, rats and, Gerbals? Just curious...

No feeder is more nutritious than the next as far as we can tell, since we don't know what a snake's nutritional requirements are. The only feeder I've heard of actually not being good as a primary food source are guinea pigs due to their extremely high fat content.

Also supposed to be a more native food.
*Fila*

What a ball python feeds on in the wild is pretty much rendered irrelevant when speaking of captive bred animals, IMO. Maybe the first captive bred generation or two it could a preferred food source, but after several generations, the native food has become whatever you choose to raise them on.

[SquamishSerpents]

Yeah gerbils are NOT a good thing to get your snake on.

It took me almost 2 years to switch a Dumeril boa I acquired who had been on pet store gerbils...it was not fun at all.

[robinbanks]

My PetCo sells sells rodents as feeders.
In fact, that's how I ended up with 3 more pet rats.

[they were way too cute and sweet to be eaten]

oh shut up!!! i have the same problem. My supplier gave me these dumbo eared rats. and one was little bigger than the lot of them. and shunned by the lot of them. stuck in a corner no one to love it.. guess im ganna have 2 pets soon.

[RichsBallPythons]

Gerbil breeding you best have a HUGE operation. They dont produce well and stop as fast as they started. Few litters a year and thats it if they even breed.

[Salamander Rising]

oh shut up!!! i have the same problem. My supplier gave me these dumbo eared rats. and one was little bigger than the lot of them. and shunned by the lot of them. stuck in a corner no one to love it.. guess im ganna have 2 pets soon.

LOLOL!

So you have a big heart....that's not a bad thing....