Rats vs Mice

[TurboChris]

I talked with one of the feeder breeders when buying rat pups this last weekend about feeding large mice vs rat pups which were approximately the same overall size and he mentioned it would be easier to digest the rat pup with less fur, may be benefitial to larger baby snakes that start feeding on larger mice meals when they are starting out and already can be finicky to begin with.
This was for switching a corn over to rats anyways as far as what I was talking to him about.
Also I noticed comparing them is the rat pup looks easier for them to get down. The hips on the large mouse seem wider overall than the rat pups, where the rat pup is more the same size from head to butt just a larger head holding more weight.

[jarich]

Originally Posted by TurboChris

I talked with one of the feeder breeders when buying rat pups this last weekend about feeding large mice vs rat pups which were approximately the same overall size and he mentioned it would be easier to digest the rat pup with less fur, may be benefitial to larger baby snakes that start feeding on larger mice meals when they are starting out and already can be finicky to begin with.
This was for switching a corn over to rats anyways as far as what I was talking to him about.
Also I noticed comparing them is the rat pup looks easier for them to get down. The hips on the large mouse seem wider overall than the rat pups, where the rat pup is more the same size from head to butt just a larger head holding more weight.

Fur isnt digested either way, so its no easier or harder on them either way. However, rat pups have only slightly ossified skeletons, they are mostly cartilage. You want those bones as much as possible, especially for a growing snake, because that is where you get the majority of the minerals they need. So its always better to get a fuzzy over a pinky, an adult over a fuzzy, etc as they will have more developed, and therefore more mineralized, skeletons.