Enriching rodents?

[simplechamp]

First of all, I am NOT or have NOT done this, I am only asking out of curiosity.

What if you supplemented/enriched a F/T rodent by adding a vitamin supplement? Like if you took a reptile vitamin supplement and made a very dilute vitamin solution, then inject it into the mouse with an oral syringe? Or dust the wet F/T with the powder

Would this do any good? Or would it be harmful? No effect at all?

I assume that if it was worthwhile then people would already have discovered it, but I figured I'd ask. It came across my mind when I was dusting crickets today for my chameleons

[blackcrystal22]

As far as I know, vitamin supplements are not needed to balls and have no benefits.

If anyone has any other data saying otherwise please do share.

[rabernet]

Since no one has done a study on the nutritional requirements of ball pythons, any supplement would be just guessing. They get all the nutrients that they were designed for from their prey.

[kc261]

I believe, based on a few posts I have seen, that dusting rodents with some sort of vitamin powder is something that has been done by at least some keepers in the past.

As Robin (rabernet) pointed out, no one has studied the nutritional requirements of BPs, so no one knows for sure what they need. However, they appear to do quite well on rodents without any additional supplements. That is what they eat in the wild afterall. It is possible, even probable, that the rodents they eat in the wild have a different nutritional makeup than the captive mice & rats that we feed them. However, if you added more calcium, for example, you wouldn't know if you were making it better, or overdosing them on something they are already getting more than they need.

I think the reason supplements are more widely used for various lizards is because lizards, as a general rule, have a move varied diet in the wild than snakes do.

[PythonWallace]

I know of colubrid breeders who suppliment calcium on rodents to help with egg production and double clutching. I dusted my rodents from time to time for my corns, a macklott's pyton and ball pythons for years in the past with no ill effects, but I'm not sure if it had any real benefits either.

[simplechamp]

In the same vein as the vitamin enrichment I wonder if powdered whey protein (like weightlifters and bodybuilders use) dusted on F/T rodents could help bulk up an underweight snake? We don't know if extra vitamins and minerals would do any good, but I would guess the extra protein would help (as long as it's pure whey protein and no other supplements or chemicals).

[littleindiangirl]

Feeding whole prey like we do so closely mimics the wild feeding behavior, I'd have to assume it's the correct balance for them. The only way I would consider "enriching" my snakes food would be to offer them a wide range of food items exactly as they have in the wild, instead of a just mouse or rat every week.

I wouldn't dust my rats or mice for the snakes.

[rishnack]

i feed my feeder rats enriched rodent food and 10% dog/cat food (fatten em up) i would think if they got a belly full of that when they get eatin by the snakes it would be the same as injecting it into em,before feeding

[Mochelem]

The only thing I have heard on this subject is that freezing rodents kill Thiamin a B vitamin, and that some people do supplement this to thier BP's. I dont know how valid this is because there is a lack of data on this subject... I know people that have been feeding frozen for 10+ years and seems to have no ill effect....

[rishnack]

k i just fed my snake a F/T, i used a turkey baster and injected
flintstones childrens vitamins into the rats mouth before feeding it to the subject a royal python approxamitly 56"in length (didnt wanna use my snake as the test subject so i grabbed pandora
she eats anything cheeseburgers ,corndogs ,you name she hits it)
and 5 1/2lbs at 6:30 the subject showed no signs of posative or negative effects this concludes my study
cheers now i,ll get my government approved "feeding supplemental rats to snakes" grant check!!
j/k i been playin myspace mobsters to long today and bored sorry