# follow up



## blackula19 (Jun 13, 2006)

what if i'm more looking for large litters, quick recovery time from nursing, as many litters as possible and making the babies get as big as possible as quickly as possible? so if them getting fat or something is a side effect, that's cool, i just want to streamline the whole production process and maybe make them more nutritious if possible. basically now, mine get some high protein dog food, lab blocks, calcium supplements, bananas, apples, whatever vegetables are th cheapest on any given day, and table scraps....the lab blocks and dog food are the primary staples, is there naything you could recommend to get the results i am looking for?


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## blackula19 (Jun 13, 2006)

sorry, that was supposed to be a reply to my last post


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## SugarLovesRats (Jul 27, 2006)

wow! I am extremely concerned about your questions! If you are planning to breed you should definately not be trying to breed as many litters as possible. A mother rat should have several months to recover between litters. You should be more concerned about health and genetics. Why is it that you want to breed so many rats so quickly?? There are countless numbers of rats in the world needing a home. I seriously think you need to do LOTS of research and rethink this decision. I don't think at this point it is a good idea for you to be breeding. Overbreeding is not only careless but cruel. Please heed my words I think you are biting off more than you can chew. ahh I just reread the post I figure you plan to breed to feed another animal. I think maybe this may be the wrong forum for thast type of advice. Although I am new to this forum it seems to be a place for rat lovers. Don't get me wrong I love snakes and reptiles but I am against live feeding. It's dangerous for the snake and cruel tio the rats. What you are proposing here seems to be blatant cruelty. I understand you need to feed your pet, but I think you need to read up on the dangers and adverse effects of live feeding. There is a company called mice on ice where you can order frozen rats. Contrary to popular belief it is not hard to switch a snake from live food. If you want to know how I'd be more than happy to give you some good advice.


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## alexhuff (Aug 16, 2006)

I totaly agree with SugarLovesRats


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## blackula19 (Jun 13, 2006)

trust me, there is absolutely no danger to the snakes at all, i haven't ever even seen a rat last for a minute, literally, and i feed them all at once, often a few rats at a time, so they are all very carefully monitored i am a very responsible pet owner and would never do anything to harm my snakes, so thetraditional problem with live feeding has no bearing here. as far as frozen, the are a few issues, first off they slowly lose their nutritional value while in the freezer, and i have no control over what they eat (although they are usually fed a healthy diet, i want to strictly monitor what the feeder eat, just for my own piece of mind). also, i breed ball pythons and most babies will not imprint on frozen food no matter what you do to it. and finally, the whole process of thawing and warming that many rats that often (not to mention the freezer space) actually makes the process of breeding rats seem like nothing in comparison, trust me, i used to be all on the frozen bandwagon myself, but then i spoke to several of the larger snake breeders and it just becomes infeasibale at some level. as far as cruelty, there is nothing cruel about it and my snakes are given nothing but the best of care anyone who says otherwise doesn't have any idea what they are talking about.


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## Squishy (Aug 3, 2006)

wait wait wait wait wait..... let me get this straight, you came on a rat forum to ask about breeding so you can feed them to SNAKES???!?!?! 8O :evil:

I thought live feeding was illigal, let alone cruel or is that just in the UK?


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## ratwings (Sep 3, 2006)

Wow. I agree with Squishy. I think live feeding is very inhumane...you should probably go to a reptile forum and talk about that elswere...us rat lovers, we...think that is cruel. Its nice to know you care about your snakes though.


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## Tails (Sep 20, 2006)

The feeding of live prey is illegal in most countries.  Its in the Animal Protection Act


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## ameliaflame (Nov 28, 2006)

I think that live feeding should be illegial in the U.S. too, but sadly it is not. Blackula, please DO NOT come on a rat lover's forum asking about what to feed baby feeder rats, it makes me want to hit you, sorry.


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## Tails (Sep 20, 2006)

Amelia, it is illegal in most countries (and I know it is in parts of the USA). Ask around at your local animal shelters for the Animal Protections Act - it should be in there


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