Chris Steele
New member
I am just curious as to what is easiest, most efficient, most economical, etc. to raise for food.
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Best feeders to raise?
- Thread starter Chris Steele
- Start date
Bobo's Mama
proud corn mommy!
I voted for rats, since they don't stink near as much as mice and you get great pets too. If you want to socialize them, you can. Although for hatchlings, it would have to be mice, because rat pinkies are way to big for new hatchlings. They have to be eating mouse fuzzies before they can handle rat pinkies. I also chose rats becasue mine have been more prolific (produce more babies), than my mice. The most pinkies I've gotten out of a rat litter, was 17, the most out of mice, 11.
Traci1
New member
I almost voted for "not worth it"...If I didn't have some ball pythons who haven't switched to f/t yet I would not try to breed feeder rodents. Sometimes I feel like I spend more time on them than I do the snakes! But if I had to choose one I'd go with mice. Mainly because rats need so much more space, food, and water. Hamsters...well they just end up being too darn cute to feed to the snakes! haha. Seriously though I'd only use hamsters to entice stubborn feeders...not as a main feeder rodent.
vanderkm
New member
Definitely not worth it - have done it before (a lot to save costs) and it is less expensive (a lot!!) but I would rather spend the time on the snakes.
Rats are without a doubt the most productive (pounds of meat for cost of feed), easiest to raise and so if I was going to raise anything it would be rats - they are just hard to kill because they are such smart, sweet little critters - always made me feel guilty.
mary v.
Rats are without a doubt the most productive (pounds of meat for cost of feed), easiest to raise and so if I was going to raise anything it would be rats - they are just hard to kill because they are such smart, sweet little critters - always made me feel guilty.
mary v.
Traci1
New member
vanderkm said:
ya know I was going to add that to my first post. Part of the reason I said mice is because I too feel guilty keeping rats just to breed for snake food. They seem to be so much more intelligent and sociable...sometimes I feel quite bad. I don't have the time to play with them and treat them as pets.
For me, I'll still say mice just because they don't eat and drink as much, don't need as much room, and I know I won't get attached to them as easily. (especiially if I stick with white ones!)
serpentalley
Mirage, motley snow corn.
Traci1 said:
Well that is why I voted for hamsters! Sure they are very cute... until they rip the flesh off your bloody finger. :grin01: Oh, I'v raised some friendly hammies in my time but they require so much tamming down that I just rather keep rats as pets since they are born friendly! I would never have the heart to kill a baby rat to feed to my corn. I guess having being bitten by hamsters so many times makes me a bit less sad in feeding them to Mirage. But all in all, they are quite helpless little creatures... but then the snake does have to eat.
serpentalley
Mirage, motley snow corn.
Bobo's Mama said:
The most I've got out of hamsters was 18 with an average of 10 per litter. I've also had one rat litter of 19 (pets of course!) but I can feed newborn hamsters to hatchling corns instead of using stinky mice! HOrray for hamsers! :crazy02:
Traci1
New member
serpentalley said:
I have seen many people post similar comments about hamsters, and I am wondering where are you all getting these viscous hamsters? haha. I have an adult black bear male (black Syrian) who has been a total sweetie from the beginning. And I have 1.1 Siberian dwarf hammies, (aka winter whites) who too are very nice. The female did start to nibble on me awhile back but nothing painful. They had two babies around Christmas who I didn't touch for about the first 3 weeks and they are just as tame as can be. They sometimes lick me when I hold them. haha.
Now mice on the other hand, I don't trust them one bit, or BITE that is. haha.
kimbyra
cornsnake addict
My vote - not worth it! Rodents, though sweeties, SMELL, (and I'm not just saying that because I have asthma). And cleaning their cages is just not fun. I have cleaned cages of: mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Also it's too easy to get attached to them, the babies are so cute!
I want my food, for me and my snakes, to be dead when I get it.
BTW, I agree with the hamster dis. They are mean little buggers. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the only rodents I've ever been bitten by were hamsters.
I want my food, for me and my snakes, to be dead when I get it.
BTW, I agree with the hamster dis. They are mean little buggers. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the only rodents I've ever been bitten by were hamsters.
cornmorphs
New member
i dont know what the prices are like in the US, but in the UK its worth doing it if you can.
i breed mice, but i know a heck of a lot of people that breed various for their reptiles.
its well hard work though.
i breed mice, but i know a heck of a lot of people that breed various for their reptiles.
its well hard work though.
SnakeAround
Formerly Blutengel
I breed mice in some shed like place so I only smell them whem I'm going there and I can handle it. They breed easily with me and I don't get attached to the ones I destined to feed to the snakes... only to the ones I decide to keep. Those are the nicest looking ones of course... If I breeding stock I aks for the nicest looking, if I have to buy some mice to be eaten 'cause of a little shortage I ask for the less attractive, white ones if they haev... but I won't vote cause I don't have any experience with breeding other rodents. I did own pet rats in the past so I think it will be hareder to breed feederrats. But if my blue beauty doesn't switch too f/t I guess I'll have to within half a year or so...
Chris Steele
New member
I have 1.3 mice and 1.1 hamsters... my hamsters seem really mean, they'll turn over and act like they're going to attack you but once you grab them they won't do a thing, but i have been bitten by other hamsters in the past. Mice though, they stink a lot worse.. i haven't had any success breeding either so far.
What do you all feed your full grown adult corns?
What do you all feed your full grown adult corns?
LUBU
New member
Rats are the most nutritious for snakes and in my opinion the best to breed. If you freeze them you will never run out of food. Also the thing I like is that you can grow them to the appropriate size for your specific snake. If you price it right it can be alot cheaper to breed than to buy. Rat food is 5 bucks a bag and it lasts 2 weeks. Use the same thing you use for your snakes for substrate. Rats at a pet store can be pretty costly depending on the size. The only catch is caring for the rats everyday.
Russell
New member
my vote...
I voted for mice. With a collection the size I have, I prefer to breed and raise mice and rats. Otherwise getting an order shipped waaay out here in ND is expensive! I end up paying as much for shipping as I do the frozen animals I buy! Yes mice stink, and YES they are a lot of work! I spend about the same amount of time working with my rodents as I do my snakes. So what are the pros? My mice don't have freezer burn, how can you beat fresh killed versus, you have no idea how long they've been frozen... Last time I looked, there is no date placed on the bags of frozen rodents! I've always got every size I need at any given time. And my personal choice, is I hate waiting to thaw out rodents. Heck I've even forgotten about a bag of fuzzies...TWICE... My wife discovered them after I had already left for work, and thankfully was kind enough to feed the young snakes waiting for their meals. With my own rodents on hand, pinks and fuzzies are fed live. Unless of course I've got a snake that prefers them dead. I LOVE my white mice. To me they are beautiful in their own right. I've tried to get colored strains, but haven't found any that prove out to be any good over the long run. I've hand brindles, but they get obese over time. I've had a friend's blue and white strain, but they throw runts, small litters, and have a cannibalistic streak. And others who just didn't produce. My white mice come from Petco. I was told they got mice in from Gourmet Rodent. They had the cheaper white mice, and what they called fancy mice. Well those fancy mice were mostly males and of larger size. My feeling is they were simply retired breeders! The white mice were small thus obviously young. I bought 1.3 and at the same time a group of brindles from another pet store, and a group of blue and whites from a friend. The White mice started slow, but when they started having babies, oh my did they ever! It's fairly common now to have 15 in a litter! They never get obese as they age. And I very rarely see cannibalism happen. So yes, it can be tough to find a good producing strain. But another point to make, is when breeding rodents. You should try to raise a couple generations before settling on a strain. My brindle line were great starting producers and did very well in the beginning. They were the majority for a while. I still have one female brindle in my colony. I keep crossing the brindle color to the white line. My hope is to breed out the obesity gene, but the obesity gene could be linked to the brindle gene. We'll see in time. I actually enjoy my rodent chores. So that's where I've got it better off than those who say, want to save money, but if you don't love rodents, it's NOT going to be worth it to you! I do it because to me it's more convenient, and I enjoy breeding and raising mice and rats as a part of my hobby. Why I didn't vote for rats, is because they do take up more space. In my opinion, don't rebreed immediately without trouble like my mice do. Plus since I only keep corns and similar sized snakes, I have to find an outlet for my retired breeder rats. Which I do, I sell to fellow snake keepers who have boas and pythons. Plus I've never had a problem with my mice biting. I think that's another aspect of my white line. The brindle line mice were nervous and jumpy. I called them popcorn mice when they got to the weaning stage! I can go in there now to my weaning box, pull out a white mouse, and it isn't going to be constantly trying to get away. They usually calm down with gentle handling, and will stay on your hand sniffing around. I always when setting up breeders, check for temperment problems. I also make sure they come from a large litter. Am now in the process of only taking breeders from litters of 15 or larger. And it's working! I can probably reduce the number of colonies in my bunch, I'm producing too many mice! My rats on the other hand, I have two lines currently. I got in some pretty blue, and blue and white rats. The trouble? the females are super aggressive! Will do anything they can to bite you, including through the wire tops! I HATE being bitten by them! Mice any day, but I usually never get nailed by a mouse! So am currently trying to weed out the super aggressive blues and hold back the not so ready to bite blues. Hopefully will breed out the aggression when I cross them into my Grizzly bloodline. Grizzly's as I call them, for the males, get HUGE. But all are laid back, even with new born litters. Never had a Grizzly line rat bite me.
Russell
I voted for mice. With a collection the size I have, I prefer to breed and raise mice and rats. Otherwise getting an order shipped waaay out here in ND is expensive! I end up paying as much for shipping as I do the frozen animals I buy! Yes mice stink, and YES they are a lot of work! I spend about the same amount of time working with my rodents as I do my snakes. So what are the pros? My mice don't have freezer burn, how can you beat fresh killed versus, you have no idea how long they've been frozen... Last time I looked, there is no date placed on the bags of frozen rodents! I've always got every size I need at any given time. And my personal choice, is I hate waiting to thaw out rodents. Heck I've even forgotten about a bag of fuzzies...TWICE... My wife discovered them after I had already left for work, and thankfully was kind enough to feed the young snakes waiting for their meals. With my own rodents on hand, pinks and fuzzies are fed live. Unless of course I've got a snake that prefers them dead. I LOVE my white mice. To me they are beautiful in their own right. I've tried to get colored strains, but haven't found any that prove out to be any good over the long run. I've hand brindles, but they get obese over time. I've had a friend's blue and white strain, but they throw runts, small litters, and have a cannibalistic streak. And others who just didn't produce. My white mice come from Petco. I was told they got mice in from Gourmet Rodent. They had the cheaper white mice, and what they called fancy mice. Well those fancy mice were mostly males and of larger size. My feeling is they were simply retired breeders! The white mice were small thus obviously young. I bought 1.3 and at the same time a group of brindles from another pet store, and a group of blue and whites from a friend. The White mice started slow, but when they started having babies, oh my did they ever! It's fairly common now to have 15 in a litter! They never get obese as they age. And I very rarely see cannibalism happen. So yes, it can be tough to find a good producing strain. But another point to make, is when breeding rodents. You should try to raise a couple generations before settling on a strain. My brindle line were great starting producers and did very well in the beginning. They were the majority for a while. I still have one female brindle in my colony. I keep crossing the brindle color to the white line. My hope is to breed out the obesity gene, but the obesity gene could be linked to the brindle gene. We'll see in time. I actually enjoy my rodent chores. So that's where I've got it better off than those who say, want to save money, but if you don't love rodents, it's NOT going to be worth it to you! I do it because to me it's more convenient, and I enjoy breeding and raising mice and rats as a part of my hobby. Why I didn't vote for rats, is because they do take up more space. In my opinion, don't rebreed immediately without trouble like my mice do. Plus since I only keep corns and similar sized snakes, I have to find an outlet for my retired breeder rats. Which I do, I sell to fellow snake keepers who have boas and pythons. Plus I've never had a problem with my mice biting. I think that's another aspect of my white line. The brindle line mice were nervous and jumpy. I called them popcorn mice when they got to the weaning stage! I can go in there now to my weaning box, pull out a white mouse, and it isn't going to be constantly trying to get away. They usually calm down with gentle handling, and will stay on your hand sniffing around. I always when setting up breeders, check for temperment problems. I also make sure they come from a large litter. Am now in the process of only taking breeders from litters of 15 or larger. And it's working! I can probably reduce the number of colonies in my bunch, I'm producing too many mice! My rats on the other hand, I have two lines currently. I got in some pretty blue, and blue and white rats. The trouble? the females are super aggressive! Will do anything they can to bite you, including through the wire tops! I HATE being bitten by them! Mice any day, but I usually never get nailed by a mouse! So am currently trying to weed out the super aggressive blues and hold back the not so ready to bite blues. Hopefully will breed out the aggression when I cross them into my Grizzly bloodline. Grizzly's as I call them, for the males, get HUGE. But all are laid back, even with new born litters. Never had a Grizzly line rat bite me.
Russell
Taceas
USW = UB313
Russell, have you ever heard of paragraph breaks? LOL I couldn't even read all of that. I pity your former English teachers. 
I chose mice as well. If you're willing to put up with another chore, its a rewarding and cheaper alternative to f/t. I get just as much joy from raising the mice as I do the snakes that eat them.
Mice tend to produce well for what it takes to keep them healthy. They have a high feed to pink ratio, something commonly used to describe chickens who lay eggs.
Rats are good for feeding rat pinks which are great for growth in younger corns, but to me, rats are too damned aggressive for what you get out of them. Their litters aren't as plentiful or as consecutive as mice. Unless you've got a large snake that can make use of the adults as they get older or ones you cull for meanness, it also seems to be a waste of meat to me. They also eat a ton compared to mice.
I've never had a nice hamster, I must be one of the many unlucky ones. And for me, the dwarf ones were meaner than the bigger ones. They also don't produce as many offspring per litter, so you're going to need more to compensate for that.
Gerbils are nice, but I've had such bad luck with them lately. I can't seem to get any where the females actually take care of the babies. And again, not many offspring from them either. Most I've had was 6 per litter or so.
Or you can just try them all and see which ones YOU like better. Experimentation is the only way to see if you're cut out for it. It works for some, others can't handle it for one reason or another.
I chose mice as well. If you're willing to put up with another chore, its a rewarding and cheaper alternative to f/t. I get just as much joy from raising the mice as I do the snakes that eat them.
Mice tend to produce well for what it takes to keep them healthy. They have a high feed to pink ratio, something commonly used to describe chickens who lay eggs.
Rats are good for feeding rat pinks which are great for growth in younger corns, but to me, rats are too damned aggressive for what you get out of them. Their litters aren't as plentiful or as consecutive as mice. Unless you've got a large snake that can make use of the adults as they get older or ones you cull for meanness, it also seems to be a waste of meat to me. They also eat a ton compared to mice.
I've never had a nice hamster, I must be one of the many unlucky ones. And for me, the dwarf ones were meaner than the bigger ones. They also don't produce as many offspring per litter, so you're going to need more to compensate for that.
Gerbils are nice, but I've had such bad luck with them lately. I can't seem to get any where the females actually take care of the babies. And again, not many offspring from them either. Most I've had was 6 per litter or so.
Or you can just try them all and see which ones YOU like better. Experimentation is the only way to see if you're cut out for it. It works for some, others can't handle it for one reason or another.
Chris Steele
New member
I just switched to a different cage that is 30" x 12" and I have six mice in there.. one of the two new ones is almost definately pregnant.
Shep151
Too busy to hang out.
I second that! lmao!mbdorfer said:
I voted rats.
My rats are awesome, and for the most part, they reproduce like clockwork. I don't have any "cuddly" females, though. Each and every one of them will remove your finger -or die trying
- if they catch you stealing a baby. I solve this by pulling babies with tongs. Once the babies are out of the tub, no more aggression! (Weird, it's almost like a light switch!)The big reason, however, is because over the last year I've saved over 75% on the rats I've raised instead of buying live locally, and over 50% over having f/t shipped in bulk.
My rats and mice combined don't take up more than an hour or so each week, so that savings is well worth it to me!