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Hamsters as feeders
- Thread starter Lt0915
- Start date
lilmike227
New member
Well I have now clue what to say about hamsters as feeders becuase ive never tried but breeding wise hamsters make small liters and they make bad moms lol. Hamsters are more prone to eat their babies. The most common reason is that they have a lack of protien in their diet. Stress can also be a factor. Hamsters are aslo created by the devil him self as far as im concerned:dgrin: Those things are mean and vicious:devil01: if you feed live i would really think twice...sratch that I would think 3 times before feeding to your snake.
BloodyBaroness
Captain Titsworth
Hamsters are generally too fatty and less nutritional to be good feeders. Think of it as raising a baby on a diet of candy bars only. Yes they taste great, but they are not good for long term good health.
A colony of normal mice is all you need.
A colony of normal mice is all you need.
VampMN
New member
Why not just go with mice? They are well established as being excellent food for corns, and there is loads of info out there on how to set up breeding colonies, for the express purpose of making feeders for snakes. I guess I just don't really understand where you are coming from with your question.
i bread mice for just under a year. it took a few females before i found 2 that wouldnt eat all the babies. i kept the same male the whole time. they did produce quite a few babies as i have quite alot in my freezer. towards the end i just got sick of keeping up with the stinky things. right before i decided to stop doing it they ate one entire litter. that was all the motovation i needed. i killed off the adults and that was it.
it was a little experiment for me when i was laid off. imo rats would be better jiust cuse they dont stink. but i love rats so i wouldnt do that. mice are pretty bad they stink and eat each other just because sometimes. i even had one that would eat the tails off the other mice. that was an interesting batch.......
after this im more than happy to go to petco and buy a frozen mouse for like 2 bucks. you definatly can have success but theres alot of work to keep up with them.
it was a little experiment for me when i was laid off. imo rats would be better jiust cuse they dont stink. but i love rats so i wouldnt do that. mice are pretty bad they stink and eat each other just because sometimes. i even had one that would eat the tails off the other mice. that was an interesting batch.......
after this im more than happy to go to petco and buy a frozen mouse for like 2 bucks. you definatly can have success but theres alot of work to keep up with them.
I use to raise hamsters and we had multiple litters but in general if there was any disturbing until the babies had fur on them the mother would immediately start to eat them. Also I'd agree with other posters, Hamsters are a lot fattier than a mouse and would be far less nutritional than feeder mice. If you had a snake that wasn't putting on weight well for whatever the reason I might try a couple hamsters but overall I think it would be a poor supplement to mice in the long term.
This is a rather strange notion considering EVERYONE who breeds rodents for feeding in the pet industry uses mice or rats. I think I'd need more than one random, nameless poster to dissuade me from believing that. After all... industries generally don't establish themselves around the commodities that aren't profitable (at least in this country!)...
AliCat37
Michelle's Candied Corns!
My starting mice only ate babies for their first litter which is normal. If they continued eating babies, I would cull the ones doing it. Now, I never have losses, even with first time moms, since all the females seem to lactate at the same time and raise the babies at once.
BloodyBaroness
Captain Titsworth
Hamsters are a terrible choice as a primary feeder rodent. Snakes do not have a need for that much fat in their diets. Mice are so easy to keep. You might have one or two issues with eaten babies here and there, but if you provide them a good diet, like Mazuri, then you should have no problems.
Nutrition break down:
Hamster:
Crude Protein: 49.8
Crude Fat: 34.7
Ash: 7.5
Gross Energy: 5.98
Vitamin A: 26,666
Vitamin E: 12.4
Calcium: 2.51
Mouse:
Crude Protein: 55.8
Crude Fat: 23.6
Ash: 11.8
Gross Energy: 5.2
Vitamin A: 578,272
Vitamin E: 100.4
Calcium: 2.98
Source: Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertebrate Prey
Nutrition break down:
Hamster:
Crude Protein: 49.8
Crude Fat: 34.7
Ash: 7.5
Gross Energy: 5.98
Vitamin A: 26,666
Vitamin E: 12.4
Calcium: 2.51
Mouse:
Crude Protein: 55.8
Crude Fat: 23.6
Ash: 11.8
Gross Energy: 5.2
Vitamin A: 578,272
Vitamin E: 100.4
Calcium: 2.98
Source: Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertebrate Prey
lilmike227
New member
I know some people wont agree but I think the feeder that best fits your wants are gerbils. They dont smell, dont eat so much, are normaly good parents, and have virtualy the same nutrients as mice. The downside is that they dont produce as well(I think its like3-7 a liter) If your only feeding once snake the you should only need two females.
BloodyBaroness
Captain Titsworth
Gerbils are great feeders. They have a good protein content, but you are right about the small litters and slower production. I keep some on hand to feed ball pythons.
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
If you are looking to breed your corns though, starting off hatchlings on anything other than pinky mice could severely limit your selling potential. Not many people will knowingly buy a corn that won't eat mice.........
I'd be worried about feeding gerbils at least if it's live I feel they're more agressive than the average mouse or hamster. I'm still a fan of mice though, I know you're looking for alternatives but when the majority of a community does it one way It speaks volumes for what the best option is.
VickyChaiTea
Snake enthusiast
Yeah, if safety is your concern you pretty much CANNOT feed live gerbils OR hamsters.
Hamsters generally have ~6 babies at a time, were as mice will have an average of 10. They are actually very likely to NOT kill their babies, and are learner (lower in fat) han hamsters. Therefore mice>hamsters.
Still, as a bit of variety there is no problem feeding a humanely raised/killed hamster to your corn.
Hamsters generally have ~6 babies at a time, were as mice will have an average of 10. They are actually very likely to NOT kill their babies, and are learner (lower in fat) han hamsters. Therefore mice>hamsters.
Still, as a bit of variety there is no problem feeding a humanely raised/killed hamster to your corn.