[Rats/Mice] Weaned rats or rat pups?

[acephantom903]

Currently I've been feeding Butter adult (large) mice weighing between 22-26g. I'm wanting to switch her to rats but I'm not sure if I should go with rat pups or weanling rats. According to several difference sources a rat pup is 20-29g and a weanling rat is 30-39g. Would the potential to have a 39g rat be too risky? I could weigh them out to get the smaller ones first to get her adjusted. Feeding a 39g rat would be an approximately 60% increase in mass of food and I'm not sure if that is too much too quick.

Butter is 161.2g when I weighed her a couple hours ago. She is also 26 inches long. (Yeah, I used both imperial and metric. I'm a rebel.)

[ldydrgn]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I would say pups...

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I would say pups...

I second that opinion. Always better not to rush sizing up their food.

[acephantom903]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

That is what I was thinking. The websites say adult (large) mice are between 20-29g which is the same as rat pups but they have always been on the slightly smaller side and she is out growing their diameter but with the weanling rats they are over an inch longer. Problem being if I order online that is all bulk. Unless I'm ordering layne labs it is 20-25 rats per pack. That's 6 months of food alone which she will outgrow. Maybe I'll have to stick with the questionable quality pet store small boxes at jacked up prices until she is ready for larger.

I guess another solution is get more snakes. >.> Not gonna happen for a while.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I wouldn't worry so much: I'd stick with the quality food source & feed slightly under-sized for a while rather than slightly over-sized. You can always "adjust" for that by feeding at a slightly shorter interval if it
becomes an issue (-if she seems overly ravenous) but try not acquire a "guilt-trip" over this, lol. Nature doesn't dispense perfectly-sized prey either, & you are the only one who's thinking about this.

Of course, getting more snakes is an even better option (wink-wink)...and then, chances are, you won't have to wait to handle when your only snake is in shed cycle too, hahahahahahaha!

[acephantom903]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

Of course, getting more snakes is an even better option (wink-wink)...and then, chances are, you won't have to wait to handle when your only snake is in shed cycle too, hahahahahahaha!

You say that but I know many people who's snakes decide to have synchronized shedding cycles. lol

I've been thinking about buying 10 pups and 10 weanlings from Layne labs because I know she is going to need to upsize soonish. I'm just concerned about Layne labs because I've been reading more and more reviews of people on the east coast having issues with the dry ice cracking the plastic bags the rats are in exposing them to the dry ice and causing pieces to fall off which I'm a bit squeamish about that. Those reviews are few and far between but I'm still cautious compared to the place that is literally 15-30 minutes away -- Perfect Prey-- because then I could just pick it up from their business place with no dry ice needed, just a freezer bag with normal ice.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

You say that but I know many people who's snakes decide to have synchronized shedding cycles. lol .....

How do you think so many of us end up with so many snakes? ROFL!

Totally your call about your food source...I have a feeling that Layne Labs knows what they're doing (regarding proper packing) & you've not had a problem with them before, right? Whereas the reason I breed my
own feeders is because I don't trust the quality of food given by many who are out to make money on the sales. A good quality lab diet isn't cheap...but dogfood (with red dye & other harmful chemicals) is...and
unfortunately that's what some get away with feeding their rodents. As the old saying goes, "you are what you eat" and that's true for our pets as well. I'd at least be asking questions at 'Perfect Prey', and you
might try to find out what they're customer feedback is like. (you yourself just said it was "questionable quality") Better yet, see if you can tour their facility? I used to supply some pet stores with rodents...and
one of them said that when they happened to check on their previous supplier, they found their rodents were raised in a filthy shed (that stunk!) and with obvious access by wild rodents. Do you suppose that such
sellers provide quality food or clean water for their animals? or that the animals they raise are healthy? Since it's close enough to actually check them out, I sure would.

[acephantom903]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I'd at least be asking questions at 'Perfect Prey', and you
might try to find out what they're customer feedback is like. (you yourself just said it was "questionable quality")

I haven't actually ordered from Layne labs before but I know they have great reviews but reviews from people in Florida and New York have mixed reviews because some have had issues with the dry ice causing problems because of how much longer it needs to be shipped and greater chance of being jostled around. Perfect Prey is actually a source I only found out about recently. The questionable one is in over an hour away. I was going through old forums looking for providers who have had good reviews for the long term and I kept reading good reviews for Loxahatchee Rodents and that grabbed my attention. Turns out Loxahatchee Rodents changed their name to Perfect Prey a couple years ago. I've talked to them a bit and they seem very nice. They started out breeding rodents for their reptiles making sure they did it right then other people were asking to buy from them. Eventually they ended up starting a business for it because of the demand of quality that the questionable source wasn't providing. They might have only a piece of fecal matter in a package one in every few packages which is better than reviews from places like Big Cheese and Rodent Pro which are plagued by reviews of food having fecal matter and urine smell in every order.

I can post someone's unboxing review of them if you'd like. The reason I'm not going to be ordering from them yet is because they sell in packs too large for me right now. Don't want to buy a pack of 25 and Butter to only be needing this side for another month or 2 but having 6 months of food in that size.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I recall seeing great reviews of Loxahatchee as well, didn't know they changed their name. FYI, the occasional mouse dropping in an order isn't an issue IMO...when rodents die, they let loose some droppings
which may fall out later.

Thanks anyway, I don't need the reviews, but every so often I think how nice it would be to no longer raise rodents (LOL) and both "Perfect Prey" & Layne Labs are sources I'd consider, for sure.

[acephantom903]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

The reason Loxahatchee rodents got my attention is because Loxahatchee is just north of Royal Palm which is where I go for everything which isn't groceries and work. The other place is down in Hollywood Florida which there isn't a lot of nice things there other than a casino... Too close to North Miami for my taste. I avoid Miami at all costs.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I hear ya...I avoid big cities too. You're lucky to be so close to Loxahatchee & Perfect Prey.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

In fact, now that you brought up the subject, I've been looking at their site (Perfect Prey) & thinking more & more how nice it would be to just BUY my feeders, LOL! I've been raising rodents for what feels
like AGES! I wonder if I can be un-trained? hahahaha! thanx!

[acephantom903]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

I made a purchase at Layne Labs because I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to up size before finishing 1 full tray of 25 from Perfect Prey. So I have 10 pups and 10 weanlings on the way. Hopefully I'm not the one in 1000 bad shipments to Florida. Then I'll see how things are going before my next order which I'd like to do locally.

[weird_science04]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

Perfect Prey is awesome and if you are local, they might be willing to sell smaller packages. Not only do they breed rats to sell but they use the same rats for their snakes as well. I have been buying from them for years and Jim and Bill are top notch people to work with. Layne charges a lot for shipping and honestly, it will be cheaper to get 1 order through Perfect Prey and toss half the rats (hypothetically) in order to reorder than to do 1 purchase through Layne. I have only heard good things about Layne and I was going to use them once but they wanted almost $150 for shopping alone and the same order through Perfect Prey costed me $40 for shipping.

Star

[Noelle7206]

Re: Weaned rats or rat pups?

Great info, weird_science04...I remember looking up Layne Labs a while back (having heard great reviews) & being shocked at the shipping cost too. And I just looked at Perfect Prey again, & noticed hey, their
shipping is quite reasonable. So yes, one of these days I think I'll quit breeding my own rodents too...I'm ready for more free time & their prices and quality are most appealing.