Rat food question
Rat food question2007-11-24 22:14:46
hello. i have 2 ball pythons and instead of buying rats from the petstore i have decited to breed them. i need a cheap food and lots of it. i have been reserching around and i think that if i mix a quality puppy food, unsalted sunflower seeds, dried pasta, rolled oats, cheerios, and total cereal that should be a good diet. and of course fresh frits and veggies. if their are any rat owners or breeders who can coment on my diet please do. thanks.
Answers:Just buy the big bags or rat food and mix it with puppy food...
If you breed your rats, I think you'll have a hard time feeding them to your pythons still. Also, if you're just breeding them for food why would you care if they're eating a healthy diet?
Try a dog food low in fat and protein and high in fiber.
You want 8% protien or less. I would try purina one, purina one naturals, wellness brand, nutro, or euankinuba.
Good luck.
When I worked in pest control, the biggest rats we killed were the ones that lived in the hurricane dike and ate fish guts and leftover bait. Gross, I know, but they were HUGE!
lol.. you will have more rats than what your snakes will eat and once the rats become too large then the snake won't eat them either. Do you plan on freezing the rats to feed the pythons? I had a neighbor who did that and he had rats all over the place.
been breeding rats and mice for years. high protein dog food works for me (as far as them eating it that is). now ive been told that horse feed works best but i cant find any in my area. so far the food they like the best is the Sam's choice Crunchy Bites And Bones (yellow bag). Additions that rats love are :Fruit Loops (the Quaker Tootie Frooties are just as good if not cheaper), Cap'n Crunch peanut butter cereal, sunflower seeds, peanuts (in the shell), chicken bones (no sauce if wings), and believe it or not moist cat food and chicken skin (as an occasional treat). As a routine diet i just use a 12oz cup of dog food with a small amount of fruit loops or other listed food item to the mix for every 2 rodents in the enclosure (add more if any rats are nursing or the mother will eat the babies due to lack of food required to nurse). best ratio for the rats is 2 females 1 male. I average about 18 babies per female with this diet. And as far as size, once the offspring reaches the right size, freeze them. I usually freeze off my breeders after about 4 or 5 litters. Freeze the breeders then let the babies grow up to become my new breeders and repeat the cycle.