quick questions on feeding rats vs. mice

[chrispaine]

I have been told that mice offer more for monitors then rats and the same thing for snakes only backwards... any truth in that? also is any normal thawed raw ground turkey good for an argus? and how much should he get a week? thanks.

[Slithers]

well for snakes, one properly sized food item is usually better than 2 smaller ones, based on the stomach dynamic.

but i dont know anything about monitors.

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[chrispaine]

ya, I am not really worried about the snake, she always gets a good sized rat... I was just wondering if anyone knew if it was true that mice are more beneficial for monitors, as opposed to rats are better for snakes (which I know already) and also if the store bought ground turkey is ok... thanks.

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[Dachande]

they digest smaller multiple meals faster than one big solid meal. mice are fully developed while rats of equal size are usually weanling or just off wean. bones and organs aren't as developed as adults.
stick with whole foods. if anything offer eggs as an occassinal treat. i tried the ground turkey once, it's bad. gets messy before and after they eat it. and stinks very much badly!

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[Razaiel]

That's interesting to know - mine is still at the mouse stage anyway but I reallize now from reading Dachende's posts on feeding that I've probably been giving mine larger mice and not so many and less often, now I shall be feeding small mice but more of them and more often. (I assume to just cut down the number of feeds if he gets fat)

There seems to be little to no information "out there on the web" in any of the caresheets about feeding monitors apart from what types of prey they should or should not eat. Like, as has been said, rats are best for snakes and one rat is better than two smaller ones (the reverse seeming to be the case for monitors). In the bearded dragon world they say not to feed anything larger than the space between the lizards eyes and to feed only as much as they can consume in10 minutes (livefood). I've seen nothing anywhere (until now) about what size prey monitor lizards should have and have heard varying things about how often to feed rodents.

[chrispaine]

Originally Posted by Dachande

they digest smaller multiple meals faster than one big solid meal. mice are fully developed while rats of equal size are usually weanling or just off wean. bones and organs aren't as developed as adults.
stick with whole foods. if anything offer eggs as an occassinal treat. i tried the ground turkey once, it's bad. gets messy before and after they eat it. and stinks very much badly!

didnt know about the mess/stink of the turkey.... why do I hear so much about the zoo's useing it?

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[HavocovaH]

Originally Posted by chrispaine

didnt know about the mess/stink of the turkey.... why do I hear so much about the zoo's useing it?

probably because it's cheap and easy.

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

A lot of people use ground turkey ocasionally but it usually should have some added multi vitamins added in.

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[Razaiel]

I give mine a little bit of chicken occasionally (as a treat) - but the general consensus is that whole foods are a complete meal in themselves and contain everything a monitor needs. It's what they would eat in the wild.

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[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Originally Posted by Razaiel

I give mine a little bit of chicken occasionally (as a treat) - but the general consensus is that whole foods are a complete meal in themselves and contain everything a monitor needs. It's what they would eat in the wild.

Some people also grind whole chicken and rabbits through a meat grinder to make a complete and covenient meal

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[chrispaine]

Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Some people also grind whole chicken and rabbits through a meat grinder to make a complete and covenient meal

wow, thats a little nasty for me.. ha... and ya I know mice/bugs/rats are best... just checking to see who uses it and how much... thanks.

[Dachande]

the san diego zoo began using it first and it is now known as the san diego diet. it would get wild caught imports to feed easier, especially as they mixed in eggs with it. many zoos folowed their lead due to their success with the imports. however not all zoos can say they have bred certain reptiles that many breeders produce yearly. they have many reasons why their success has been limited, mainly they have many others to maintain and cannot focus on one species.

[amercnwmn]

Ok so heres a feeding question...I posted pics of my Savvie on the POST YOUR PICS thread..
Should I be feeding him mice?
If I want to feed eggs what size? What kind? and do I cook the egg? Ive heard to boil it.

Then, the ground turkey..raw? What bout hamburger? Sorry these may be retarded questions, but I couldnt find a good caresheet that I felt was reliable and consistent with what I had read here.

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[bleeding_sarcasm]

i feed whatever i have available. if i have a bunch of hopper mice, they go, if i have a few extra rat pups they go. i dont stick to one specific thing all the time, i throw it up, mice put on a bit more of a show. im like the friend you wish you had. i bring by 3 boxes, of food ranging from pink mice, to 3$ rats and adult mice, and everything in between. then my friend divides it up, and feeds everything thats hungry. and depending on how big the snake is, i either feed multiple small items, or one large item, but that also depends on what i have available at that exact moment in time. the only thing i feed like clock work is crickets and fruit, and im trying to get all my cricket-eating geckos onto meal worms.

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[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Originally Posted by bleeding_sarcasm

i feed whatever i have available. if i have a bunch of hopper mice, they go, if i have a few extra rat pups they go. i dont stick to one specific thing all the time, i throw it up, mice put on a bit more of a show. im like the friend you wish you had. i bring by 3 boxes, of food ranging from pink mice, to 3$ rats and adult mice, and everything in between. then my friend divides it up, and feeds everything thats hungry. and depending on how big the snake is, i either feed multiple small items, or one large item, but that also depends on what i have available at that exact moment in time. the only thing i feed like clock work is crickets and fruit, and im trying to get all my cricket-eating geckos onto meal worms.

Not to be off topic but have you ever thought about roaches to replace crickets?

[bleeding_sarcasm]

i feed roaches also. all sorts, lobster, hissing, you name it. i feed roaches mainly to my rhacodactylus, and crickets to them rarely, i feed meal worms to my leos, and im going to try to get my fat tails, helmeted geckos and gonis on them too

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Originally Posted by bleeding_sarcasm

i feed roaches also. all sorts, lobster, hissing, you name it. i feed roaches mainly to my rhacodactylus, and crickets to them rarely, i feed meal worms to my leos, and im going to try to get my fat tails, helmeted geckos and gonis on them too

Oh ok, I was just wondering because my leos really like the blatta lateralis and they only get mealies and crickets if I have them available.

[bleeding_sarcasm]

i offered them to our leos, but many didnt go after them, and i find leos grow considerably faster when offered a diet of mealworms, and they are considerably cheaper.

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Originally Posted by bleeding_sarcasm

i offered them to our leos, but many didnt go after them, and i find leos grow considerably faster when offered a diet of mealworms, and they are considerably cheaper.

The blatta lateralis are so fast moving that its hard for them to ignore the little bug running around. I offer waxies sometimes too. Again its just an occasional thing. Mealies are cheap for sure.

[Dachande]

from pink mice, to 3$ rats
-bleeding sarcasm

that's a little too much. the biggest rats run $2.50 @ rodentpro.com.
check it out. especially if your dumeril's boa is and adult.