cavies

[Frithrah82]

Although its not of major concern at the moment it will be eventually...
I have a boa that is very young now but will eventually need to eat something bigger than mice and I refuse to feed rats to anything. I'm hoping that it never comes to me having to feed rabbits so I'm looking for something in between. I worked for a bird rescue that got in lab animals (they were part of a digestion study, i guess to see what foods traveled fastest? and they all had their stomachs cut open) but they got everything, really cheap too, but the main thing is that we got guinea pigs. Would these be an option and do people ship them besides used lab animals that weren't involved in drug tests? I dont have issues keeping them to breed myself (eventually) except that I'm well aware of how painfully long it takes for them to produce 2-4 babies so it doesnt seem like the worlds best idea, and I'd rather not spend $15 on a feeder. Any suggestions would be appreciated, i'm just trying to decide what to do down the line....
~fuzzy

[joshm]

Why not rats?
Josh

[Linds]

Guinea pigs can be used, but they have much higher fat content I believe. Rodentpro.com sells frozen guinea pigs for a fair price. Don't mean to come across harsh, but just curious why you aquired an animal knowing you didn't want to feed it the standard diet? Maybe a smaller snake that can be sustained on mice would be a better option...

[dbud]

Think next time you should do some research on what pet you would like to keep! Rats are alot cheaper than guinea pigs

[Frithrah82]

I'm sorry but I dont think that I deserve to be jumped on for looking for alternate diets. i was just searching for a supplier and to know if anyone else did what I plan to do. dbud, its nice of you to assume that I don't know what I'm doing, just because I don't want to feed rats doesnt mean that I'm not educated about the care of my reptiles. I will not personally feed rats because of an attatchment that I formed with them early in life. It is a personal choice and I think that I have every right to make it considering that I am totally willing to find a suitable alternative. I know for a fact how fatty hamsters are and yet people here seem to think that they're fine to feed, but I dont have any issue with looking into the fat content of guinea pigs. I had only said that I would RATHER NOT spend $15 on a feeder animal, but if it comes to that I have no real issue putting it out to support a beloved pet. I'm just looking for alternatives. Thankyou Linds for directing me to Rodentpro.com, to answer your question my basic theory is that in the wild these animals eat a bunch of things that aren't rats, there has to be something else that will work, while I'm at it I might as well ask if anyone has used snake sausages (not sure if thats what they're called) and would those be a possible option?

[reptile boi]

IF you look hard enough you WILL find cheap rabbits and rats. Try calling your local pet stores, theres one here in ottawa that sells rabbits for $5.00ea and rats $3.00ea!




Thanks,
Ben

[ranmasatome]

Woa! Dbud! chill out man!!

[Hamster of Borg]

The largest 'snake sausage' isn' t even the size of an adult mouse. That isn't a viable option - and you'd have to take out a bank loan to keep up with their price when compared to quality frozen rodents. I have fed guinea pigs to some of my larger boas without too much issue; they tend to take a little longer to digest than rats and sometimes give the snake gas. If rats are totally out of the question, I think rabbits would be a better option - they breed faster, grow faster, and generally have larger litters. Rodentpro also offers those frozen, which would certainly be an easier route than breeding them. :)

Ham

[Frithrah82]

Ok so sausages are out, especially because I keep and breed mice anyway for the purpose of feeding so might as well stick with that... Rats are not altogether out, if there were no other options I would basically just have to settle for them, however the point of this thread is that i would rather not. Rabbits however are not an issue to me, although I have kept and enjoyed them, they're still not as dear to me as rats are, and the fact that they're offered frozen only sweetens the deal...
another question i guess is for the in betweens (I'm overly aware of the size difference between a full grown mouse and even the tiniest of rabbit kits) I've used gerbils in a pinch iin the past to feed my big corn and never found any problems with it since they were frozen anyway (I know that live could be a bit of an issue due to their nervousness and longish sharp claws...) and no adverse affects to the snake that I was ever aware of... Would gerbils be an ok in between?
~Fuzzy

[Auskan]

I am curious about why you don't want to feed rats. Is that because you have a particular fondness for them? (If that is the case, I wouldn't blame you - the only one I've ever had as a pet was a real sweetie). So far I don't have a snake big enough to eat a rat so I haven't had to face that yet.

[Linds]

True they eat a variety of animals in the wild, however those same animals aren't commonly available as food for our captive friends, so we need to improvise and go with the best possible alternatives. There isn't a great variety of animals that can be used to feed boas, and rats have been determined over time, from very experienced people over decades to be the best source for small to mid-sized boas. If you can convince your snake to take gerbils, then you may be able to use them as a stepping stone.
I have pet rats as well, you just need to seperate feeders from pets in your mind. Have you ever dealt with frozen rats before? You may find they do not seem like the cute little buggers you've come to love over the years once they've been offed and frozen. They lose all cute factor once they hit the freezer, IMOE.

[aaron]

have you considered using chicks? :w

aaron

[jason h]

chicks arent really a good alternative as many places offer day old chicks,the problem lies in the fact that a chick hasnt really eatin or grow enough to become a healthy food sorce during that one day of its life,plus feeding birds makes for very foul smelling feces.

[672]

Reptile boi,

Just curious, what pet store in ottawa sells feeders for that price?

[northernsnake]

I like some of my rats to specially my harles and dumbows. but I breed feeder rats for my self and for profit. You have to be like a farmer and put your feelings aside and just do what needs to done. I agree that baby chicks are not an alternative but two week old chick work well.you relly should swtich to frozen rats not to be an A$$ it's time to get over it just feed your snake and play with your rat and then every one well be happy.