Can a rats diet effect my BP?

[Pythonfriend]

i have a source for rats and mice that usually services eagles, falcons, and other birds of prey.

and over there in falcon keeping, the food that goes into the rats is of highest importance, they say it has an effect on the color and quality of the feathers and on flight performance. they say you cannot maintain a top quality falcon unless feeder mice and rats are fed with highest quality food. they say that with cheap and/or improperly fed prey items, you can diminish the quality of the feathers, flight performance, and overall health.

falcons are really hard to keep and a premium pet, but for them it seems to be more than clear that whatever goes into the food item goes into the falcon. for reptiles, they say, if you source from breeders that service professional keepers of birds of prey and follow these high standards, it will also result in healthier and more colorful reptiles.

i dont know how true this is for snakes, but when falcon keepers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates go through the trouble of importing live mice and rats from Germany to feed their 20000 dollar falcons instead of sourcing locally, and when i can get the same stuff for my snakes, i just guess it makes a difference.

Its hard to tell for reptiles and more specifically ball pythons, but for falcons it appears to be a really solid case that food quality impacts the flight performance and appearance and quality of the feathers. i have no evidence, but my opinion tells me it will also hold true for reptiles to a degree.

oh, and, yes, the reason why ball pythons do not require UV light is because they get certain vitamins from the internal organs of the feeder rhodents, especially the liver.