Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris72
From a food item perspective: they don't eat rabbit in the wild so that's why I said there is no reason. It "feels" like it makes sense for a large, older, snake as the macro nutrient makeup seems to be a better fit for an older animal with (perhaps) a slowing metabolism. Just like with people I suppose.
But if they needed rabbit as established adults they would change their diet to include a large amount if rabbit. Lots of animals modify their diet with age....ball pythons on the wild don't really. They keep eating mostly rats.
That's why I thought there is no reason to feed rabbit to a large female. If they needed what rabbit has to offer they would hunt lots of rabbit.
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Can you tell me where you are getting your data on their wild diet? It seems like you've been led to believe ball pythons are some sort of specialized hunter in the wild, when all evidence shows that this is not the case. Their
main food source in
some parts of their habitat (which is wide and varied) is rat, some other areas it is birds, and in still others it is gerbils, shrews, mice or other rodents. This seems as much based on prey availability as anything else however, given that this is merely the majority of their diet in those various areas and not restrictive to the species. Their wild hunting habits show that they will eat just about any small mammal or bird they can get their mouths around, and that it is both sexual and size based. In the wild, they are a very successful species, able to adapt well to different prey and environments.
Terranaut, dont worry I have looked up the nutritional content of rabbit and the other food sources too.
(Incidentally, I wonder if you have looked at the nutritional content of whole rabbit as compared to the more common results wherein eviscerated carcasses or just the meat are used. If you are talking about human consumption, that is a perfect comparison to use against chicken or beef. However, within the context of python nutrition, the whole rabbit, with its skin, organs, head etc, is the better comparison when trying to discuss differences with rats and other whole prey items) My questioning of him saying it was a better nutritional food source was meant to look at the line of thinking involved in that assessment however. To say that rat is better than mouse because it has more fat, but then say rabbit is better than rat because it has less fat, and that either is better because it has more protein, shows a limited understanding of nutrition requirements. Your ball python is never lacking for protein with any of these food sources, so the difference between 55% and 60% protein is inconsequential. While higher fat may be a good thing with some snakes (say a cycling female) it may also be something to limit with others (say an older snake, as mentioned). So saying that food item A is better than food item B is a little too simplistic and rigid in my opinion.
Again, my questioning in this thread is not meant to be discouraging, but rather to try to expand the process and understanding of what's being discussed. There is nothing lacking in any of those food sources for a python, be it rabbit, rat or mouse. So discouraging one or saying that new keepers who feed mice are not doing as good a job is propagating a misunderstanding. I have a GTP who I have never been able to get to switch over to rats. I assure you it gets all the nutrients it needs from the mice, though its slightly less convenient for me as a keeper. The same is true for balls. Though it might be a little more of a pain in the butt for the keeper to feed mice, there is absolutely no shortcoming nutritionally to doing so.
Hybrid Mode
