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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 12:57:53 GMT -5
So, after Gwin's first checkup, his vet definitely thought switching to whole prey would be the best course for him nutritionally, vs just the raw balanced meat (which he also is a fan of, yay!). So, I'm going to start, but I almost have no idea where to start!
Is it possible to completely feed him whole prey all the time or do I need to supplement with raw to balance it? I'm definitely going to stick to the 3+ animals for variety, but what's out there? I know there are chicks and mice, but what else can I find that I can order online? The pet stores here only carry expensive pinkies, so I'd prefer to order non-hairless mice in bulk from sites and freeze them in portions. Also, where are the best places to buy online?
Is there a recommended kind of plan like there was for raw to keep them balanced? I apologize if this is a lot of questions, I tried to find posts that might help but there weren't any real guides I could find on whole prey stuff.
If there's anything else I need to know please tell me! I want to switch him over the best way possible.
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 14, 2013 13:36:23 GMT -5
Whole prey is fully balanced. That is what Frankenprey is trying to emulate with it's ratios of muscle meat to bone in meat to organs. I order from rodentpro but keep in mind that even with their sales, a diet of solely whole prey is very expensive.
My two girls are not large females and they'll easily go through about 6 adult mice a day or 4 juvenile rats. 1 medium guinea pig is enough for them for one day but need to be gutted due to the size. Those numbers are for both of them together (so 3 adult mice, or 4 juvenile rats or 1/2 medium guinea pig for one of them).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 13:58:41 GMT -5
I just looked over rodentpro and their prices and it actually seems cheaper to buy a few bags of various prey and freeze them and portion per day than it is to feed him raw right now, between buying new various meats and organs every two weeks when he runs out. But that really helps! I figured whole prey would be balanced on its own. Or I was hoping!
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 14, 2013 15:31:10 GMT -5
Really?? You must buy expensive meat!! Keep in mind there will be hefty shipping costs involved.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 15:34:30 GMT -5
Eh, sort of. I get the cheapest I can find, like chicken wings and steaks are cheap but the duck and lamb can be pricey and I've shopped around. I actually factored in the shipping - I did the math and it would feed him longer for cheaper to go with rodentpro. It came out to .62 cents a day compared to 1.23 a day the way I factored it all up.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 20:17:48 GMT -5
It's been a while so I thought I'd post progress somewhere--in here made the most sense.
So I've started him small with mice and chicks and rats to let him get used to eating prey, and it's been pretty easy going after the first day or so. After two days he started eating mice and rats without them needing to be cut up or had a few drops of olive oil to trick him into touching it. His poopies have been a lot smaller but they look nice and healthy, which makes me happy.
Right now I offered him his first chick by cutting it up into smaller pieces and with a few drops of oil and so far he likes it! So far so good!
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Post by Sherry on Oct 1, 2013 8:24:47 GMT -5
Chicks were the one thing I had NO trouble getting everyone to eat!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2013 21:45:45 GMT -5
Does everyone start by chopping the prey or attempting to feed a smaller whole prey item? Also, it's only the larger whole prey that needs gutted correct??
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Post by Sherry on Nov 10, 2013 0:05:17 GMT -5
With mice I had to start with chopped pinkies mixed in with their meat-> cut in half mixed-> whole mixed-> whole plain, and up through the sizes.
Once we got to fur I had to cut open the bellies and fill them with oil.
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Post by RedSky on Nov 11, 2013 16:43:48 GMT -5
Sounds like such fun!
I hope to be able to give mine a mouse each most nights as a bed time snack (once I actually get them and get them onto raw!) and this is very helpful.
What sort of oil do you use?
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Post by Sherry on Nov 11, 2013 19:34:36 GMT -5
Whichever they happen to prefer. My guys love fish oil, or grizzly salmon oil.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2013 7:54:23 GMT -5
Dont forget too you can add invertebrates and fish to your whole prey menu. Cri kets, superworms, nightcrawlers, butterworms, minnows, creek chubs.
Some pocket fuzz from my SG II
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2013 16:07:47 GMT -5
Is there a benefit to hair (on mice and rats) vs no hair?
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Post by Sherry on Nov 29, 2013 1:52:37 GMT -5
Think of the fur as behaving like a miniature roto router for their insides  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2013 12:19:46 GMT -5
I had a feeling it works like fiber is supposed to work in our diet. I noted Pippin's poopies got pretty pasty, except for bone bits, when we went to raw. I'll go out today and buy him some mice. I'm anxious to start ordering bulk to get the lower unit price, but thinking I need to get a deep freeze first. Also feeling a little tremulous about ordering 50 or 100 of something he has yet to try, but realize I need to look at this as a long-haul kind of thing--sooner or later he will be eating this food. I can't thank you and the rest of the gang enough for what you are doing here. I feel like the new parent of an ADHD kid that has found a support group.  |
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