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Ellie
Hatchling
United Kingdom
53 Posts |
 Posted - 20/12/2011 : 04:32:51
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So, I've always thought that rats were better to feed to royals, and most places that I have looked argue the same, mainly for their bigger size and higher fat content. Bambi has been feeding fantastically on mice and I've been keen to get her onto rats for a while so I went to pick some up today and got conflicting advice from my expert rep man - who definitely knows his stuff - and now I'm not sure what would be best to feed her...
He basically said that it would be better to keep her on med/large mice as opposed to a rat weaner of an equivalent size as an adult mouse is fully formed, has been eating solid food so has strong bones, more muscle etc and is very nutritious. A rat weaner, however, is still only drinking milk, isn't properly developed and therefore is not as good for a snakey dinner. He also said that the higher fat content in rats is not beneficial as other nutrients are better than fat...and after thinking about it, this makes more sense to me. Given the option of a mouse and a rat of the same weight, the mouse will have a higher percentage of calcium, protein etc than fatty mr rat, and so will be healthier for Bambi...surely??
I obviously brought up the size issue and he said that he feeds his adult royal 3 jumbo mice per feed as it won't eat rats, and that there's nothing wrong with multiple rodents per feed.
I was just wondering what you guys make of this as it goes against what most keepers would believe to be right? |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2011 : 11:29:35
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http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp
Here is a bit of info.
It's true that the fat content of a juvenile rat is slightly lower than an adult mouse - but, given that the longer they stay on mice the harder they can sometimes be to shift to RATS - owww spot the deliberate mistake as I went and typed 'mice' sorry for any confusion lol! - Surahi was 4 when she came to me and I was told that she would NOT eat anything but mice - I'd personally start a young royal on rats sooner rather than later. By a miracle Surahi deigned to eat her ratty dinner eventually, but 2 large mice a week for a royal of 1300g+ were not an ideal arrangement.
Hope this helps. |
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Edited by - n/a on 21/12/2011 18:00:34 |
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markmifsud
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
534 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2011 : 17:57:57
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| Its not just the fat content, its the protein also. The way I have seen it, rats have at least 30% more protein than mice |
1.1.0 Pastal Ball
1.0.0 Normal Ball aged 7(ish)
0.1.0 Normal Ball aged 7(ish)
Bromley. SE London |
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nat8908
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
11 Posts |
Posted - 16/01/2012 : 22:38:32
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| some snakes wont eat multiple prey items. so rats are better in that respect as they get a lot bigger. if its started on mice and it get to the largest mouse and then realise it wont eat 2 then it can be hard work to change them over to rats.??? my boy wont eat multiple. for me so it baffled me when his previous owners told me he ate a chick and a mouse in a sitting???? bonkers lol. i was lucky that he just went straight for the rat, and made me jump!!!as he strike feeds!. good luck :) |
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Aussie Bear
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2012 : 15:31:50
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Hi, I'm new to this forum but my female royal (18 months old) moved from mice to rats easily and currently has a full size rat once a week and every 5th or 6th week I change it for a baby chick. The baby chick was introduced when she went off rats for awhile but this seemed to fix the problem and has been eating like this for last 7 months.
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2012 : 19:46:16
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Chicks = STINKY POO!
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hodgie
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1197 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2012 : 15:23:33
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interesting debate, just curious as to the price of 3 of his mice to 1 rat  |
Royals owned "lots"
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Now I'm a bit confused..
