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what rodent to feed ??

J

jetsmama

New member
hey i feed F/T mouse pinkies right now :) but i was just curious on what you all feed, does anyone feedd, rats, mouse, gerbils even? hampsters :) and also i feed mine 2 pinkies a week. hes about 3 mths old, when should i swich to fuzzies? and when people say 1 times bigger, do you mean double the size of its biggest part?? that confuses me,, oh and another queation :) does anyones snake love vines? im thinking of buying a vine to climb on ,, thanks!!
 
ok lots of questions. lets see if i can get them all... i feed mice but ive heard small rats are more nutritious. not sure if thats tru. i would suggest buying a fuzzy mouse and keep it in the freezer. you can occassionally compare it to the widest part of your snake. im pretty sure feeder size should be 1 1/2 times the size of the widest part of your snake. this would b a lil less than double. (roughly). 1x bigger would be the exact size of your snake. hope that helps visualize. i think lines would b a good idea concidering corns like to climb around. branches work good too. =)
 
thank you!! :) im scared that the fuzzie would be to big and it was hurt the snake, thats why im kind of hesitant, i herd snakes can eat such bug things, but i dont want to hurt him :) im planning on getting a bigger cage so i can get more things :) i cant wait!! haha thank you :)
 
I observed my male snow before switching him up to fuzzies. He was such a big boy when I got him the two pinks didn't even make a bump. I cut slits in his fuzzie so he could digest better (when I remembered) and fed him about every six or seven days unless he was shedding. His growth rate has slowed and he acts hungrier a few days after eating, so I've now starte giving him two fuzzies.

Some people give their snakes more variety, lizards, chicks, and other small rodents. They usually breed their own feeders. The difficult part with this is that some snakes will be put off of a strict mouse diet and only take lizards or chicks and you may not always be able to get that for them.

My corns love vines. They climb all over them and use them for shedding surfaces. If your snake is little than keep him in a smaller tank since a lot of space can make him stressed.
 
Dreamsnake said:
I observed my male snow before switching him up to fuzzies. He was such a big boy when I got him the two pinks didn't even make a bump. I cut slits in his fuzzie so he could digest better (when I remembered) and fed him about every six or seven days unless he was shedding. His growth rate has slowed and he acts hungrier a few days after eating, so I've now starte giving him two fuzzies.

Some people give their snakes more variety, lizards, chicks, and other small rodents. They usually breed their own feeders. The difficult part with this is that some snakes will be put off of a strict mouse diet and only take lizards or chicks and you may not always be able to get that for them.

My corns love vines. They climb all over them and use them for shedding surfaces. If your snake is little than keep him in a smaller tank since a lot of space can make him stressed.
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oh okay how many mths do you estimate it took till you swiched to fuzies? and when you say slit, do you mean like cut him in half?

thanks!:D
 
Hi, i feed F/T mice and rats to my snake. He takes both without a problem. Also he loves his vines so if you can afford them i should buy them, they make your viv nicer too. Food should be 1.5 times the width of the biggest part of the snakes body.
Also to make slits i make 4 small cuts in he back of the mouse/rat. It helps to digest and apparently also helps the snake to get all nutrients of the food.
 
ph okay thanks :) my snake is 6 mths now!! i just asked the breeder, so should i stick with the ten gallon tank? all i can fit in there is a water bowl and a big log haha
 
i was told for corn snakes the length and width of the viv should be the same or more as the snakes length.
 
As soon as they're big enough, I feed rats. I've seen nothing but good. I also feed some mice, since I have some left over. A mix of mice and rats (moreso rats) seems best for my snakes.
Actually, I'm certain that a corn that's shed 2-3 times would be able to eat half a rat pink.

I am going to start looking into hamsters though, for some more variety, perhaps.
 
ShenziSixaxis said:
As soon as they're big enough, I feed rats. I've seen nothing but good. I also feed some mice, since I have some left over. A mix of mice and rats (moreso rats) seems best for my snakes.
Actually, I'm certain that a corn that's shed 2-3 times would be able to eat half a rat pink.

I am going to start looking into hamsters though, for some more variety, perhaps.
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thanks :) just half of a rat pink? so cut the pink in half??
 
oh and another question, when you breed mice, do you keep the male and female in the same cage all the time? even when she has the pups? can thet just all be together? im thinking of breeding and then freezing the pinks when i like their size.. how many litters do they have also? i dont want a thousand mice pinks in one week... haha thanks!!
 
Yes, just cut the pink in half. Even if it looks too big, you'd be surprised how they'll take it down.

When breeding mice, keep the male and does together (1.2-1.3 ratio seems to work for people). The male, so I'm told, will help keep the pups warm. Mice only produce 6-10 pups every 3 weeks, so you shouldn't have any issues with over runage. I think a 1.2 ratio would work for you. How many corns do you have again? Just one?

And breeding is THE best way to go if you want to get the perfect sizes, especially if you go with rats. If I was buying f/t rats, I'd have to feed my corns 2-3 items before even being able to offer the next size up.
 
ShenziSixaxis said:
Yes, just cut the pink in half. Even if it looks too big, you'd be surprised how they'll take it down.

When breeding mice, keep the male and does together (1.2-1.3 ratio seems to work for people). The male, so I'm told, will help keep the pups warm. Mice only produce 6-10 pups every 3 weeks, so you shouldn't have any issues with over runage. I think a 1.2 ratio would work for you. How many corns do you have again? Just one?

And breeding is THE best way to go if you want to get the perfect sizes, especially if you go with rats. If I was buying f/t rats, I'd have to feed my corns 2-3 items before even being able to offer the next size up.
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i just have one, thats a lot of pups!! how long does it take from when the mouse gets preggers? :)
 
28 days is average for mice gestation. I have 7 snakes, I keep 1 male to 6 female mice in a 10 gallon tank. Hoping to get rats very soon. Will start with 1.1 in a 29 gal tank. In March I plan on building a rodent rack to make keeping them easier on me. Tanks take too much room. How long a certain snake will be eating a certain size feeder depends on the individual snake. For example I have 2 snakes hatched in 2009 around june-july. One is on adults and has NOT been power fed. The other is on Hoppers. Both fed one feeder once a week. I also have 2 snakes hatched in 2010. One is on peach fuzzies the other on double pinks. The one on Peachies eats once a week, the one on doubles every 6 days. Then I have two rescues that are trying to lose weight, the male gets a hopper each week, the female gets a weanling each week but she will be pushed out to eating every 10 days soon. She is doing way better than the male. Lastly I have a male on his way to being 3 who eats one adult mouse every 2 weeks. So as you can see, it depends on the snake.

As to variety, I currently raise and feed mice. I want to raise and feed dwarf hamsters and rats. Tried gerbils but you can not harvest pinks from them or at least I couldn't. I took 3 from a litter of 6 and the mom killed the rest then never rebred. I think she did not feel safe. There is a small animal swap in April I think, when I see when it is I plan to go and get some feeder rodents from a guy there. He had mice for $2 each, gerbils for $3 each, and dwarf hammies for $3 each. Might have had rats, not sure. Would have ASFs but they are illegal to keep in Missouri.
 
i show this plan to a lot of people because its a very good guide....hope it helps. it was developed by a very knowledgable herpeculturist. remember that all weights are approximate, although they are very good approximations.

-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 5-6 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 6-7 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (20-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+)
 
jetsmama said:
oh okay how many mths do you estimate it took till you swiched to fuzies? and when you say slit, do you mean like cut him in half?

thanks!:D
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All snake grow at different rates, the best bet is to just spend $20 on a digital scale and follow the Munson Plan on here...
 
jetsmama said:
ph okay thanks :) my snake is 6 mths now!! i just asked the breeder, so should i stick with the ten gallon tank? all i can fit in there is a water bowl and a big log haha
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Tang is my female classic...I believe she is around 6-8months. When I brought her home I had her in a 10 gallon for probably 2weeks? Then I put her in a 20L..

jetsmama said:
oh and another question, when you breed mice, do you keep the male and female in the same cage all the time? even when she has the pups? can thet just all be together? im thinking of breeding and then freezing the pinks when i like their size.. how many litters do they have also? i dont want a thousand mice pinks in one week... haha thanks!!
Click to expand...
I wouldn't suggest breeding unless you have a larger collection. Seeing that you ask all these questions I wouldn't suggest that you get into any kind of breeding right now. Besides that it will take time and money to mess with. Mice need to be kept clean...watched out for because little hungry ones will eat each other. Not fun or worth your time.

jetsmama said:
hey i feed F/T mouse pinkies right now :) but i was just curious on what you all feed, does anyone feedd, rats, mouse, gerbils even? hampsters :) and also i feed mine 2 pinkies a week. hes about 3 mths old, when should i swich to fuzzies? and when people say 1 times bigger, do you mean double the size of its biggest part?? that confuses me,, oh and another queation :) does anyones snake love vines? im thinking of buying a vine to climb on ,, thanks!!
Click to expand...

From what I have read on this thread...I don't think you are getting the right message about feeding or what to feed.
I heard that rats cause corns to be a little more fatter. They are also bigger so you would have to definately be careful with sizing. I say you should stay on mice because they are cheaper.
Tang was only fed 3 weeks on 2 pinkies...then I quickly switched over. It all depends on your snake. I am doing it by "eye" and not "scale".
When you feed two pinkies you need to be asking yourself these questions each week. Does the snake's lump look smaller? Is the snake out sooner?..etc
If the lump is the size of one pinky feeding then it is time for fuzzies. There are different sizes of fuzzies. Peach fuzzies and fuzzies. Peach fuzzies are a few days older than a pinky. They look like pinkies but with tiny fur and a little bigger. A fuzzy is like two pinkies and is covered in white fur.

A picture of your snake might help for some who do it by "eye". I'd like to see :) Questions for you...How long has he been on 2 pinkies? You providing correct set up?

Here is Tang about a month ago.
picture.php
 
Rats have a higher fat content than do mice. While an occasional rat isn't a problem, and can be helpful when trying to build up a snake recovering from egg-laying or illness, or with a rescue from bad husbandry, I wouldn't use them as the normal diet for my snakes. I've read that necropsies on corns who'd been kept on rats show a different and heavier internal fat distribution than those who were kept on mice. Corns in nature wouldn't normally have a diet of mainly rats, and I think it's best for the animals' body to keep its diet similar to what it would find for itself given the chance. We change enough keeping them in captivity - not to say those changes are necessarily bad, but they're different.
 
If I had the time, money and room I would breed and feed a variety of rodents with a base diet of mice, but I don't so I stick to mice. Now if I had say a ball python I would raise rats but I don't. mostly because everyone I have found only eats live and I refuse to raise live. Corns do just fine on nothing but mice, though it can be fun to offer something else now and then.
 
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