Feeder Pigs?

[TryntK]

I've been wanting to try them out ever since I heard of Matt, from Monstercages.com selling them. I called around to see what the locals stores had and I intended to buy some rabbits from golizards(golizards.com) in Blue Springs, Kansas but he didn't have frozen and wouldn't kill the rabbits for me.

Anyways, I fed two of my retics the pigs; my male super tiger didn't know what to think at first but my normal female didn't think twice. It takes a lot to satisfy her appetite but she seemed pretty content after the five pound pig.

Has anyone else tried them? It was said to me that they have a higher meat content, which means the snakes do not require as frequent of meals.

 

[Utta]

id avoid feeding the pigs to your males. Ive read and heard from people that pigs will make your males sperm plugs infertile.

also with pigs cuz there is no fur, there stool becomes lose and messy (if your using paper towels, might wanna change your bedding from now on so its easier to clean)

and yes, with pigs you generally only have to feed once every 2 weeks or so. any more questions feel free to PM me

 

[reticguy76]

i think that whole plug thing is way overrated. its not a proven fact (yet anyway) that pigs are directly related to males throwing infertile plugs.
that being said, i wouldnt feed a steady diet of any one prey for its whole life. a variety of prey is a good thing

 

[sallen87]

that being said, i wouldnt feed a steady diet of any one prey for its whole life. a variety of prey is a good thing

Especially with those piggies. Their fat content is much higher than rabbits, etc. (possibly why people say the plugs become infertile?)

 

[Utta]

Especially with those piggies. Their fat content is much higher than rabbits, etc. (possibly why people say the plugs become infertile?)

I don't know first hand if they do make the plugs infertile, but its been tossed around so I thought it should be stated.

 

[reticguy76]

another thing to consider, certain meat rabbits actually have real close to the fat content per ounce as most feeder pigs. basically, there are all kinds of variables when feeding. it is optimal to feed a variety of as healthy foods as possible. of course, that being said, its tough to get such a wide variety of foods. i dont think there is anything wrong with (as long as your snake is a food machine) to feed rabbits (probably higher majority), pigs, guinea pigs and foul (much less than the others), and eventually up to goats and such

 

[dturner100]

I've heard many "rumors" that this food will give a retic a brain tumor, and that food will give a burm fertility problems but the fact is everybody has their feeder preferences, and everybody will know the good points of their preferences as well as put down the others mostly because of rumor.

I know a burm breeder in Las Vegas who's fed nothing but pigs for 30+ years. I know a burm and retic breeder in Colorado Springs that feeds guinea pigs, and rabbits. I personally feed my tics and burms a good mix of rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. I also wouldn't at all fear feeding of a pig.

If there is a chance that pork causes sterility I'd guess it would be the high nitrate content, but Utta mentioned it's something that was just "thrown around". So like mentioned above it is a good idea to keep a varied diet. For a few reasons actually. If you run low on one feed item it's always a good thing that your burm/tic will be accepting of another more readily available item.

Anyway that's my 2 cents.

 

[Utta]

I've heard many "rumors" that this food will give a retic a brain tumor, and that food will give a burm fertility problems but the fact is everybody has their feeder preferences, and everybody will know the good points of their preferences as well as put down the others mostly because of rumor.

I know a burm breeder in Las Vegas who's fed nothing but pigs for 30+ years. I know a burm and retic breeder in Colorado Springs that feeds guinea pigs, and rabbits. I personally feed my tics and burms a good mix of rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. I also wouldn't at all fear feeding of a pig.

If there is a chance that pork causes sterility I'd guess it would be the high nitrate content, but Utta mentioned it's something that was just "thrown around". So like mentioned above it is a good idea to keep a varied diet. For a few reasons actually. If you run low on one feed item it's always a good thing that your burm/tic will be accepting of another more readily available item.

Anyway that's my 2 cents.

Thanks. That's all I was saying, its just a romor and I wouldn't let me stop feeding them pigs. I mean, it could have just been the snakes for all I know. I just figured id share some of the rumors.

 

[TryntK]

I tried to see if there was anything online that supported the rumors but really couldn't find anything. But, as with most reptilian issues, it could also be because it isn't researched.

I was thrilled to be using the feeder pigs because it offered a change from the rats and rabbits I have been feeding - offered a variety as everyone spoke about.

Rumors as they may be, I still appreciate the heads up from Utta and dturner. Thanks to everyone that responded.

 

[dturner100]

I tried to see if there was anything online that supported the rumors but really couldn't find anything. But, as with most reptilian issues, it could also be because it isn't researched.

I was thrilled to be using the feeder pigs because it offered a change from the rats and rabbits I have been feeding - offered a variety as everyone spoke about.

Rumors as they may be, I still appreciate the heads up from Utta and dturner. Thanks to everyone that responded.

Now this may not at all relate to snakes at all, but as an amature body builder my first coach/trainer/diet specialist told me to stay away from pork because of the negative effects of the extremely high nitrates. I was told that this could mess with my test/est levels. In theory dropping a snakes test levels may or may not make him exactly sterile, but could definitely lower his fertility.

So I definitely see where Utta is going with this.

 

[Abby]

I personally do not recommend feeding pigs solely - they are very fatty and it isn't the best source of protein. Yes, it is meat and it is protein, but the quality of the protein isn't as great. I've heard that retics fed pigs only tend to run into lower fertility down the line, more females slugging out, etc. Also heard a lot about the stinky runny stool :ack:

I think feeding them occasionally, or right after a female lays is perfectly fine - I just wouldn't recommend feeding pigs every meal. Of course I have no double blind scientific studies to link ya to, sorry

 

[ratkingrodents]

When your snakes get big enough you really have no choice, but to move up to pigs.

Big female retics can certainly surpass 20 feet on a fairly regular basis. I have seen my share of legitimate 20 footers.

Do you have any idea how many rabbits a 20 foot retic could eat in one meal? LOL.

Also, I am a firm believer that feeding larger prey items to a snake is one of the main determining factors in the snakes growth and ultimate size. If you are trying to grow a true monstrosity of a python you are going to have push the envelope on the size of the prey. I have found that pythons that are fed multiple smaller prey items don't grow nearly as large as those that are fed prey items that require a great deal of effort to swallow.