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Rats have it over mice ?

D

Droptines

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Is a general rule that rats,say small rats and rat pups, are more nutritious,,higher in protein and calcium,,than mice ?
So it would be better to feed a small rat than to feed 2 medium mice, yes ?.
 
when I get home I have a veterinary book that breaks down the nutritional value of pinks and fuzzys of mice and rats as well as adult mice and rats, and day old chicks. From what I remember rats of all ages have higher protien, calcium and fat content verses mice. Therefore rats contain more nutrition per gram as compared to mice of the same approximate age.
I will scan the table later this evening when I get home.
 
Benefit of one type of feeder over another depends on a variety of factors, one of the more obvious being the type and size of animal being fed. Even within the thread mentioned above, there is some conflicting information....and there is a world of difference between GTPs and NA colubrids. What works well for one species may not be as good for another.
Here's a chart that was linked in the above thread (and may be similar to what Kelly planned to post: http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp). The same chart, along with others, is included in the more thorough article posted by Mokele.
 
Harold brings up a good point. I think rats rule and I prefer them to mice for my BP's but that does not mean that rats are best for all herps since different species may have different nutritional requirements.

Unfortunatley I am in the middle of a move and I am unable to find the chart I was looking for. I have looked for the last 30 min :(. Oh well
 
Going by the charts,,it would seem that rats DO edge out mice, as far as protein and calcium.Yes a bit more fat,but that should'nt be a problem as long as you don't over feed with them,no??
 
Dave,
Increased fat content may be an issue with some snakes - and GTPs may well be one of them (I won't claim more than a cursory knowledge of them) - but I doubt it would be an issue with the fast metabolism of corns/kings...as long as they aren't overfed, as you mentioned.
 
:eek: I think this new king snake I have has a fast metabolism.I fed her a small rat,which left a good size bulge,but not huge.
Three days later shes out cruising the tank,,no lump at all, and looking like she was on the hunt.
It was 5 days later yesterday, so I offered a small rat.She put a mad attacked on it.In less than a minute it was down.
Man I love this new snake :D
 
having an obsession with carpets, and scrubs:), i feed rats almost exclusively. the idea of an abult coastal that needs 6-8 mice per meal is just disturbing.

getting my first gtp in a week so we will see how my feeding habits change.
 
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