Rats Vs Mice

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Madmick149

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Just looking to see if anyone has seen anything info/reports/studies on the difference between feeding rats Vs mice.
I know that common opinion is that rats are better then mice but what is the difference in nutritional value and is there any evidence that feeding a rat or a mouse of the same size changes the growth rate or health of a snake.
Would a adult mouse have more calcium then a hopper or weaner rat of the same size?
I know at some point most will have to feed rats just because of size. But in the time working up to the point where a large mouse is not big enough is there any reason to feed rats over mice.
 
There was a thread a while back which stated the nutritional values of each feed item however I can't seem to find it. From memory rats did rate better than mice in most categories. I do find however the switch is easier made when the snake is still young. An adult snake feeding happily on mice is generally much harder to switch than a younger snake. I generally start on rats as soon as the snake can get a fuzzy rat down.
 
I personally prefer rats for any snake that can handle them. They have bigger bones, more guts more fur more everything, which more nutrition.

Mice are good to start babies on, but I think that as soon as they CAN get onto rats they should :)
 
Gram for gram there really isn't a great deal of difference. Rats grow a lot bigger which makes them more convenient to feed to our reptiles than mice (especially as they grow). I've yet to see any evidence of the nutritional requirements of snakes that gives us definitive evidence of which rodent is a better source of nutrition based on a snakes needs. I have adult snakes of a few different species and I think generally speaking you would struggle to pick the adults who eat rats only, mice only, or a combination of both. They grow, breed, and seem to be in good health regardless of what they eat (based on adult mice and small/medium sized rats), so long as the overall total weight of the feeds are comparable. I see no real evidence other than convenience that makes one better than the other.

Wing_Nut
 
Before you can make the call about which has the best nutritional value for snakes you need to know what is the optimal nutrtional requirement for snakes. I doubt that there would be a significant difference, except perhaps to the hip pocket. Mice are generally dearer on a weight basis.
 
You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a mouse-fed snake and a rat-fed snake under any circumstances, disregarding the size issues. Any debate about the merits of each is purely academic.

Jamie
 
I have recently acquired an adult Stimson's around 80-90cm long. Should I just stick with the XL mice I've been feeding him (for the rest of his life let's say) or make the switch to rats? Happy to stay with mice forever if required.

Marty
 
Mice are fine for Stimmies, I certainly wouldn't change to rats unless mice were obviously too small for the snake to manoeuvre and swallow.

J
 
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