Trying something new

MDT · 05-02-15, 07:50 PM

So, after I chatted with Nick Helble about his ReptiLinks...I was intrigued. This is NOT a commercial or ad (i promise)...you can research on your own...but the calorie density of the links is something that may be promising. Anyway, I wanted to try them.....I was concerned about the snakes not hitting the links, but I thawed with a rat to scent them and the snakes killed the links.

So, I want to compare weight gain/size gain with feeding every 14 days with the links vs previous feeding every 14 days with rats.

We shall see...If you have never talked w Nick, he's a good guy and very helpful!

**lady_bug87** · 05-02-15, 07:56 PM

What are they made with?

**Minkness** · 05-02-15, 07:56 PM

Could you give us a run down of what makes a link more beneficial than a rodent? Calories, minerals, nutrients, cost, ect. Also, could you provide a pic of a link next to a rodent?

Funny thing is, I mentioned 'snake kibble' in the feeding ethics thread, so this is seriously interesting to me!

MDT · 05-02-15, 08:12 PM

Moderators...if you guys feel this is becoming a commercial.... please delete, notify me, berate me or whatever...I have zero vested interest in Reptilinks...

with that being said, there is a pretty good chart of nutritional comparisons on the website giving a rundown of minerals, protein, etc...as well as kcal/kg available. Reptilinks will give you all of the deets...(as in details)

Based on a equivalent sized rat..the venison link the calories available are essentially double (with the venison)..

**Minkness** · 05-02-15, 08:38 PM

Cool. Thanks for the link to the links =)

reptiledude987 · 05-02-15, 09:02 PM

Very interesting product. Id definitely give them a try just need to see if they will ship to Canada. Keep us posted on how they work for you. Id also be curious to see if the snakes take them without scenting them with mi e or rats.

Eggplant · 05-02-15, 09:24 PM

Wow that sounds pretty awesome. I'm down if they're better for snakie. Just not sure what kind of sausage I should opt for. I've always wondered if snakes would benefit from fruits and veggies, but wasn't sure if they're able to digest those things. I'll contact the company and find out

prairiepanda · 05-02-15, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reptiledude987

Very interesting product. Id definitely give them a try just need to see if they will ship to Canada. Keep us posted on how they work for you. Id also be curious to see if the snakes take them without scenting them with mi e or rats.

They are pretty much just raw frozen meat, so unfortunately there's no chance of shipping across the border

Even preserved meat is not allowed(though much easier to sneak through)...a package that must be kept frozen at all times would definitely raise red flags at the border. You could pretty easily make your own, though. Especially the rabbit ones. Just throw a (dead) rabbit through a meat grinder, case it up, and you've got "reptilinks"!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eggplant

Wow that sounds pretty awesome. I'm down if they're better for snakie. Just not sure what kind of sausage I should opt for. I've always wondered if snakes would benefit from fruits and veggies, but wasn't sure if they're able to digest those things. I'll contact the company and find out

The ones with fruits and veggies are for other reptiles such as tegus which would benefit from those. For snakes you want the all-meat ones.

**lady_bug87** · 05-02-15, 09:42 PM

I'm guessing they add some kind of calcium supplement as well Right?

MDT · 05-02-15, 09:53 PM

from my conversations w Nick, and from the info on the website, this is a "whole animal" product (minus stomach contents, etc...and with sig less water weight than a rodent)..so the deer, chicken, rabbit..whatever is essentially ground up and put into casings... so the calcuim, phosphorus, zinc, iron, etc is what the prey animal was "made of"....there are options to add in vegetables/fruits for lizard/tortise type diets...but i don't know what all they can do there....

**lady_bug87** · 05-02-15, 09:55 PM

Ah Gotcha.

**Aaron_S** · 05-03-15, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairiepanda

They are pretty much just raw frozen meat, so unfortunately there's no chance of shipping across the border

Even preserved meat is not allowed(though much easier to sneak through)...a package that must be kept frozen at all times would definitely raise red flags at the border. You could pretty easily make your own, though. Especially the rabbit ones. Just throw a (dead) rabbit through a meat grinder, case it up, and you've got "reptilinks"!

The ones with fruits and veggies are for other reptiles such as tegus which would benefit from those. For snakes you want the all-meat ones.

People ship frozen meat all the time across the border. How do you think some people get their frozen rats?

prairiepanda · 05-03-15, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

People ship frozen meat all the time across the border. How do you think some people get their frozen rats?

Oh? Whenever I've asked I've been told it's illegal. If there's a permit or something that's easy to set up I'd be very interested! I always want to bring back meat products from other places but they never allowed me to, whether it's been by car or plane

But rats? There are several frozen rat breeders within Canada; why would people spend the extra on shipping and exchange rates to get ones from the US? Just curious.

**lady_bug87** · 05-03-15, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairiepanda

Oh? Whenever I've asked I've been told it's illegal. If there's a permit or something that's easy to set up I'd be very interested! I always want to bring back meat products from other places but they never allowed me to, whether it's been by car or plane

But rats? There are several frozen rat breeders within Canada; why would people spend the extra on shipping and exchange rates to get ones from the US? Just curious.

Bulk.

Some people buy way more than than the average keeper. There's also wholesalers who divvy up and resell shipments

RAD House · 05-03-15, 10:15 AM

The thing I wonder about is if most snakes have evolved to eat whole rodents if feeding another food source may have negative consequences. Also the cost of these seem to be on par for my local mice supply, and more if I buy online. From the nutritional side of things they seem to have more fats than rats or mice. It doesn't say what types of fats these are but with most captive snakes being overweight I would be concerned about this. I am not sure that I could be convinced to try these as their natural prey is so readily available. Maybe as a snack to vary their diet.