rat or mice

[wetbar]

I went to a pet supply to get rats for my little girl. I am trying to get them on rats as soon as possible. What the gave me looks like a normal mice that I have been feeding them. I thought all rats were gray from birth, mine is white(40 grams). Did they give me the wrong feeder? Once again thanks for the help!

[Seven-Thirty]

Rats come in a variety of coat colours and as such aren't all grey from birth. Pictures would help in determining whether or not you have mice or rats.

[pixiepup]

As someone who keeps rats as pets, let me tell you this - rats have larger ears, larger eyes, etc. and a much more scaley, long tail even if they're tiny. They come in a variety of colors, as Seven-Thirty said, and generally they are less skittish than mice - HOWEVER if you bought specifically branded feeder rats, they might be just as if not more skittish.

http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsMice.htm

This page has pretty good pictures if you scroll down some to compare the differences of a juvenile rat and a fully grown mouse.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Picture?

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[wetbar]

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[wetbar]

I think it's a mouse but then my next question is what do I do with it, do I go ahead and feed it to her along with another rat or do I just throw it away and move her to rats?

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[cletus]

Why waste it? Feed it.

[wetbar]

i was worried if I feed it, she would get enough nutrients. I was told to get her off mice and on rats.

[PitOnTheProwl]

You feed what they eat.
There is not enough of a gram to gram difference to worry about.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

i was worried if I feed it, she would get enough nutrients. I was told to get her off mice and on rats.

Gram per gram of prey it all THE SAME, the reason why people encourage others to feed rat as soon as possible is simple because when the snake get larger it will require multiple prey which make it inconvenient for many and some times cost prohibitive as well versus feeding a simple prey like rat.

Snakes do just fine on mice again it's mainly a matter of convenience in the future.