Kyle, you should search for the other thread where we discussed this before. I have the original research done on nutrition of prey animals, and it is not at all clear that rats are "more" nutritious than mice. We have provided a link to the research on this website multiple times.
The fact is that
no one has done or published any actual
research on what different
snake species need for optimal growth, development, and health. THAT would be important information that would enable us to determine which prey animals would promote that level of growth/development/health. But neither I--with access to my university electronic search engines and libraries and publications all over the world--nor anyone else on this forum or others I have been on has been able to find THAT information yet, and several of us did
extensive literature research trying to find that information.
Some people claim that "rats are better because the snakes grow faster and bigger on them." Hmmm . . . by that claim, eating hamburgers every day would be better for humans because we grow faster and bigger on them! That is a fallacious argument.
The fact is that faster is not necessarily better; it actually could be
worse in terms of longevity and long-term health.
In addition, my area of research includes mammalian and artificial milks and their different nutritional values. Rat milk is
NOT "better" than mouse milk; it is simply
different. Rat milk is best for baby rats. Mouse milk is best for baby mice.
Neither rat milk nor mouse milk is of
any special nutritional value to snakes. Snakes did not evolve on mammalian milk.
Snakes
might get some calcium from the milk---
IF they actually ingested it! But they don't, and even if they did, it's very possible that it could be chemically bound with other components in milk in a way that the snake is unable to digest it and utilize the calcium or other nutritional components.
In reality, ingesting a rat pup or mouse pup does NOT give the snake any milk at all, as the rat & mice babies convert their mother's milk--as do nearly ALL mammalian babies (except for rabbits & a few others)--
very quickly to bone, muscle, energy, etc. That's all the snake gets, not any milk. Hence, rat pups that aren't yet weaned are NOT necessarily any better than mice that are weaned.
When you find the charts we posted, read them carefully. Notice that in some cases, mice have more of some element, rats have more of another. The measurements include energy values, protein, trace elements . . .
Without knowing
what levels of protein, fat, calcium, copper, iron, zinc, etc. a particular snake actually
NEEDS, we
cannot KNOW for sure which levels of copper or iron or protein etc. are appropriate.
We merely guess, and many of those guesses are built solely on what various breeders and keepers have seen based on their own perceptions of how they want their snakes to grow. If someone believes forcing the snake to grow really fast so it reaches maturity more quickly (often so they can breed it sooner even if that is bad for the snake in the long run), then they will want to feed their snakes rats.
Those personal opinions and beliefs are what get into the claims you see that "rats are better than mice," but so far they have
not been backed up by any solid evidence from actual research. (At least not that I was able to find when I searched for it end of 2008--if you find some, I would LOVE a copy!)
IMHO, we really need the research on the snakes. Hopefully someday someone will do it.
Edit: Now I'm going to get flamed . . .
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