Feeding baby rabbits

[bighog85]

Hey guys and gals,

I was wondering if anyone has ever fed baby/newborn rabbits to their snakes? I have a lady that will sell them to me for really cheap but if they aren't good for my animal then I am not going to do that. It will be for my younger snakes and maybe my ball python if they are the right size. Thanks all!

[infernalis]

Rabbits are rodents, I think if I recall, very lean like rat.

I just found this on a boa site...

From our own experience, we can confirm that rabbits are the best suitable prey for adult Boa constrictor. We would like to stress that we don't mean adult rabbits, but only juvenile specimens that are not bigger than an adult rat of appropriate size.

[bighog85]

That is pretty much what I have seen as well. Some people say that they are more fatty than rats and that you just space out your feedings more if you are feeding rabbits, especially babies. I could feed my ball python the babies and my RTB will be taking 3-4 pounders here pretty quick. I just want to make sure that the babies will not be TO fatty to be healthy. Thanks Wayne!

[marvelfreak]

On rabbit make sure their prekilled. Never give a snake a live rabbit. My daughter had one that was just weined and it got spooked while she was holding her. It started kicking and she ended up with 23 stitches. Even the babies have some wickly powerful claws.

[infernalis]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c391/CaptainBrain/wabbit01.jpg

[bighog85]

On rabbit make sure their prekilled. Never give a snake a live rabbit. My daughter had one that was just weined and it got spooked while she was holding her. It started kicking and she ended up with 23 stitches. Even the babies have some wickly powerful claws.

Oh no worries there, I only feed f/t. Ok, so I am assuming since I have not heard anything to the contrary that feeding baby rabbits is comparable to feeding adult rats nutritionally. If anybody else feels differently please chime in.

[never25]

haha, wayne thats awesome

[Aaron_S]

Check the rodentpro website. I do believe they have nutritional information for the different prey items.

EDIT: Be sure that this supplier is reliable if you aren't producing the rabbits on your own. Some snakes, especially ball pythons, are known to prefer a prey type over another. It would really suck to have to find appropriately sized rabbits for a ball python that only wants to eat rabbit.

[shaunyboy]

having never personally ate a rat i cannot comment on fat content.but i do however eat rabbits on a regular basis.i would say rabbits are quite lean and reletively fat free.we have an old victorian type estate near my house.it has been in their family since the boar war (bad spelling).the game keeper of the estate drops in any surplus game to me from time to time.i personally think rabbits one of the leanest tastiest meats ive ever tasted.although i dont think your snake would appreciate a rabbit casserole or pie,haha
cheers shaun

p.s. the only reason i dont feed them to my snakes is their wild caught.so i am unsure if they could pass anything on to my snakes.i dont buy rabbits from my snake food supplier as they are too expensive.

[Freebody]

i was watching survivor man on tv the other day, he was saying that if a person were to eat nothing but rabit the meat is so lean they will die anyways, they need to eat the bones and marrow n guts n stuff just to get enouph callories out of it or they get somthing i cant remeber the name of. cool stuff eh.
have not tasted rabbit but at my old job a few of the guys there were raised on pythons, they come from burma and veitnam. im like "Noooo dont tell me anymore". i love those 2 speciece the most,its like your telling me about eating children lol

[Chu'Wuti]

There are significant differences in nutrient values of baby rabbits and adult rats. Check the info here: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/zoo/WholePreyFinal02May29.pdf

To highlight just a couple of things from that article:

Baby rabbit protein--72.1% vs Adult rat protein--61.8%
Baby rabbit fat-- 13.0% vs adult rat protein--32.6%

Baby rabbits appear to be much higher in calcium and potassium content but much lower in copper, iron, and zinc content than adult rats. There are also differences in other minerals that could be a concern.

Any of these differences could pose a problem for snakes whose primary prey species in the wild is not rabbit. Further, keep in mind that leaner is NOT necessarily better--the amount of fat and protein a species needs depend upon its nutritional needs, not human nutritional needs. Finally, domesticated rabbits will be different in nutrient value than wild rabbits, so even if you have a species of snake whose primary diet in the wild would be rabbit, the nutrient differences may be significant.

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to find much info about the dietary needs for the snakes; we've been down this road before, as you can find by searching for other threads on this topic (maybe search "nutrient" or even the above http)! ;)

I also agree with Aaron--I would be particularly concerned about making baby rabbits the sole diet for a BP. If your supplier quits raising rabbits in a couple of years, you could have great difficulty switching the BP back to rats. Remember, snakes can live for many years. You'll be training your snakes to eat this particular prey item and they'll become accustomed to it. Some snakes definitely develop preferences, the BP being one very prone to doing so.

Good luck!

[bighog85]

Awesome, thanks for the help everyone. I think I will avoid the rabbits for my BP. I found out that through our herp society here in Boise I can go in on large orders with other people and save a bunch of money on the shipping, which is what gets you unless you are ordering a huge amount of prey. My RTB is needing to eat rabbits but I am not so worried about her becoming hooked on one type of prey. I really appreciate all of the advice!

[rexrabbit]

Hi friends,
Wanted to confirm that young rabbits are quite lean, up to around 6 pounds. (Sometimes rabbits give birth to more kits than they can possibly raise - the smart breeder simply thins the litter to give the others a good chance at life, and like as not would be glad to put the poor bunny to a good cause.)

Rabbits over 6 pounds may still be nutritious for a snake, however they do start building up fat in the nooks and crannies.

For those who are still interested in feeding rabbits, and want to find rabbit breeders in your area, you could check out one or both of these websites: ARBA Home (http://www.arba.net) (national rabbit club with breeders listed by state - look under the tab 'breeder'), or Raising Rabbits. A Complete Raising Rabbits Guide - made easy with pictures (http://www.raising-rabbits.com) (Raising-Rabbits.com - a site that also includes tips on finding rabbits in your area).

By finding a few reputable local breeders (or even raising a few rabbits yourself), you might be able to get rabbits a lot more cheaply than by going through a snake supply company.

Just a thought. Hope it helps...

Rex