Nutritional differences...

[Questa]

Allo,

alrighty, you peoples are smart :D
So now I ask, what are the benifets and non-benifets of mice, rats, hampsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, and rabbits?
As well, which one would be the overall best regarding nutritional value?

[reverendsterlin]

basic differences are muscle density, muscle/fat ratios, calcium. Most (high quality fed) adults of each species mentioned provide all the nutrients necessary for your animal. Generally the larger/older animal provides the most complete meal in the smallest(single animal) package which is why many of us avoid the 1.5X feeder hang-up.

[Christina]

Depends on what you are feeding. I think as far as nutritional value goes the difference between animals is minimal.
If i have a ball python which will be eating large rats someday then i start feeding it rats from birth, instead of having to switch from mice later.
Other then that for me availability would be the deciding factor.
I breed my own rats so all my snakes are fed rats.
Before I raised rats, my snakes were fed any rodents i could get my hands on.
AS for my opinion (rats) are the best because they are available in large #'s and can be used to feed many species simply because rats can be 5grams to 1.5 pounds in weight
Jason

[Linds]

Guinea Pigs and Hamsters are much higher in fat than the other mentioned rodents. Guinea Pigs and Bunnies have the more bone mass. Hamsters and Gerbils are also addictive to many species of snake (such as ball pythons) as well as they are crappy breeders and much pricier... if your snake becomes addicted availability may cause issues as well. As Rev mentioned, none of these items are particularily lacking in nutrients, but do have their differences.