Rabbits vs Guinea Pigs?

[DanaM1218]

I have a 5 year old male Retic and he’s been 1 or 2 1-1.75 lb rabbits a month for a few years now, but I was about to do my yearly order of frozen food and saw that they have guinea pigs that are bigger for half the price. What I’d like to know is if one is better than the other or if it matters.

Dana

[infernalis]

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

both are rodents, rabbit is probably leaner meat, but I doubt there would be any problem feeding the Guinea pigs.

[shaunyboy]

hello and welcome

if you google it you will find there are prey item comparision charts out there

they give you the nutrishional values of each type of food source also the fat content

cheers shaun

[DanaM1218]

Ok I found one of the charts and it looks like you're right about rabbits being leaner. I'm thinking some variety in his diet is a good thing. Thanks you guys :)

[Jenn_06]

rabbits are better but it will not hurt your snake if you feed a few times it a GP.its nice to change up things once in a while.

[Marica]

Rodent Pro's Nutrient Composition (http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp) table is what I usually refer to, not sure if this is the chart you found. It does look like rabbits are higher in protein and lower in fat than gp's, so I would assume that rabbits are the healthier choice. As I know there are quite a few discerning eaters out there, I'd be interested to hear how he likes his 'treats' since he's been on a steady diet of rabbit.

[percey39]

If you want to mix up your prey items try a chicken or a duck as they are both extremely good for snakes and they will love you for it. I dont know about you guy's over there but we get a wide variety of food types and sizes here. I know my scrubs will all be eating lambs once they are full size as this will mean 1-2 feeds a year at $5 a feed at farmers auctions or free if my mate has enough there. Lamb is also a great leaner meat than big chooks and plenty of calcium as well. Im sure your retic would be able to handle lambs at his age.

[bighog85]

Guinea pigs should only be a treat because they are so high in fat. You will get better growth rates with rabbits as well as keeping your retic lean like it should be. You also run the chance of it getting picky and getting stuck on guinea pigs which you really don't want. You will also have to switch to rabbits again at some point because guinea pigs do not get big enough to feed to an adult. They are cheaper but you shouldn't have the snake if you can't give it the best food possible. I know people who have gotten their snakes stuck on a certain food other than rabbits and they have a hell of a time getting them to switch. Chicken is another thing you don't want to feed exclusively because you will have the nastiest snake poop you can imagine and again you run the chance of the snake getting stuck on them. You really can't go wrong with rabbits.