New Rabbit Breeding Setup

[Expensive hobby]

Are the same rabbits you breed to feed your snakies good for eating?

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Ya actually they are very common food breeds. In fact because of the New Zealand Whites and the Rex I can also use then for pelts.

But the snakes don't care haha. As long as they get big enough.

Curious, I've done no research into rabbits as feeders for larger pythons. Do you feed live or F/T? I'd imagine with those toe nails it could be rather sketchy doing live. Whats the process of euthanasia if you do F/T? How many breeding females are needed per retic on average? How much does the maintanence cost you after the initial setup per breeding pair?

Unlike rats, the VAST MAJORITY of rabbit breeder use blunt force trauma to euthanize the rabbits. Basically you grab their hind quarters at the pelvis and strike their neck on a 90° solid object. It is very fast and very humane. With rats I use cervical dislocation, but the rabbits just aren't built as strong and robust so this method works quickly and effectively. So in short, no I don't feed live, for the sake of the snake and the rabbit.

As for feeding retics, those on rabbits will take one appropriately sized rabbit per week. About 5lbs for the smaller adults and 10lbs for the bigger girls. General rule is about one breeder per snake. I like to have more obviously because you can always sell off the extras(pretty dry on rabbits around here) or eat them if you please.

Start up cost is about $1000 roughly and maintenance is basically the cost of food. They are actually a very economical source of meat and snake food. With a good setup cleaning is almost nill and food is about a tuna can sized portion a day per adult. They actually eat less than rats.

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