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Post by rocketdogb on Apr 27, 2012 23:23:49 GMT -5
I am going to start breeding some type of feeder rodent for my 2 ferrets. I know that mice are what most people use but from what i have read, they are really smelly and if they are going to live in my room, that obviously wouldn't work out, lol. I have also heard that they sometimes don't breed very well. Has anyone had trouble with the number of mice they produce? Well anyway, what other rodents can i feed them other then mice? I was really interested in the African soft fur (Natal) rats. I have heard they are EXTREMELY prolific, even better than mice,but with that comes a cost, they can be very aggressive and if I'm feeding them live, i don't want my ferrets to get hurt. Regular norwegian rats are WAY to big for the amount of space that i have. Another thing that i wanted to ask was that can i feed them syrian hamsters? I had them as pets before and they bred like crazy. I know that they get pretty big so i would feed them off pretty young. Any other suggestions and/ortips. I would appreciate it. Thank You
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Post by Sherry on Apr 28, 2012 0:47:44 GMT -5
Please don't live feed anything larger than a mouse. The odds of either your ferret being injured, or not being able to make a clean kill are high.
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Post by Heather on Apr 28, 2012 1:57:57 GMT -5
Please, please do not feed anything larger than a mouse to a ferret live. The rat doesn't deserve to die that way and the ferret doesn't deserve to be injured. If you're going to raise rats, please create yourself a chamber and do both the prey and the ferret a favour. Any of those rodents that you mentioned can be fed to a ferret, just not live. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 14:07:10 GMT -5
The only trouble I've had breeding mice is that they don't breed fast enough! I've restablished my colony back in October of 2011 and sill don't have a sustainable supply to feed. THe rodents are simply treats usually offered as one or two meals on the weekend and usually every other weekend.
keep in mind I now have 10 ferrets that are raw feeders, and at least 8 will happily eat whole prey, especially yummy mouses!
I alternate between live feeding and prekilled feeding - depending on the ferret.
Ferrets with full faculties and deaf, but sighted and with high prey drive and developed skills get the larger, older mice live.
Blind ferrets get prekilled ( via hands on cervical displacement which I find is quicker than aspirating in a CO2 chamber) mice of all age ranges.
Neophyte predators get to start out with pinkies, live or dead, then fuzzies then hoppers then juveniles, then adults.
I have purchased African Soft furred mice testablish part of the colony and do not find them any more or less aggressive than regular mice. I think the propensity for aggression stems from environment - overcrowding and or lack of stimulation or chance to exercise.
Syrian hamsters if they breed well for you and offer a large body type, may be the way to go. Personally in my area hamsters are quite expensive and rarely can you locate a male AND a female from the pet shops. Guess they want to keep the breeding to themselves. But mice on the other hand are plentiful, as are rats ( but rats cost more).
While I HAVE fed live rats in the past to Josie and Fizzle prior to her blindness, I did NOT feed adult full sized rats - only juvenile medium sized and under. Rats and ferrets probably have similar intelligence levels as well as both are tenacious - the ferret a determined predator, and the rat a determined survivor. So unless you are willing to risk possible severe damage to your ferret by the intended rat dinner, prekill the rat.
Any rodentchoice makes a meal for a ferret as far as they are concerned - its just a matter of the space you have to devot to the breeding stock and the time for their care.
Guinea pigs can be quite odiferous as well as needing fresh veggies, nail trimmings and specific housing needs. too they scream horribly if offered live and if prekilled their herbivorous innards are so full of greens ( pretty much like a cow) that the ferrets will scatter the contents by vigorous shaking before they eat the entire animal - IF they even do.
All in all, I think mice are the easiest to breed and raise as well as being easy to devour and quite nutritious.
Other whole prey items that can be raised in house are super worms - a simple divided container, some wheat bran or oatmeal, a dark place and some super worms to start the conversion from larvae to pupae to beetle to egg to larvae and back again.
Crickets make good ferret snacks too and are easily container raised. But their constant chirping can get as annoying as a squeaky mouse wheel - so house them accordingly. Plus they are practically impossible to contain 100% and loose crickets in the house will most certainly draw in spiders. I don't do crickets, but will buy them occasionally.
You could raise minnows I suppose to round things out, but I just get mine from the bait shop when the whim hits me.
Nightcrawlers can be done if your family is large enough to set up a countertop compost bin. Or if you raise rabbits as whole prey.
Rabbits aren't rodents per se, but are delicious! Of course they are better bred outdoors than in, but their droppings make for great worm beds!
Then too another outdoor whole prey item would be quail and chicks - these require a bit more investment and time than mice, but are seen as yummy prizes by ferrets.
Me. I stick with mice and superworms for inhouse whole prey.
Cheers, Kim
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 16:26:57 GMT -5
I just want to throw this out there- I am an owner of both a ferret and rats. Rats can get downright NASTY when they want to and you do NOT want to be on the receiving end of those teeth- they cut through flesh like it's butter and could probably easily slice through a ferret's skull. Your ferret could get very badly injured or even killed by a fight with a rat, and mine are easily as smart as Bode. In fact, one of my boys charged a DOG, hissing and fluffing and snapping, and the dog RAN.
My males are huge and I even had one who weighed two pounds at one point. Don't risk your ferret by feeding live rats, they are predators as well, and they know how to kill and do so very efficiently with powerful jaws.
Others mentioned good alternatives.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 16:55:47 GMT -5
OMG a 2 lb rat!? My Pixie is 1 lb 8 oz
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Post by Heather on Apr 28, 2012 18:17:42 GMT -5
Now, you can understand why I mentioned never to allow a ferret to fight a rat in a pitched battle. The rat my guys took on was too large for my biggest jib, Attila (just under 5 lbs) to get his jaws around to make a clean kill. Attila was an awesome hunter and often led the hunt. Up until that point they had been handling the rats without issue. He could not get his jaws around the rats neck to do a choke hold. The battle that ensued was horrible and desperate. My business worked together (all 8 of them) and the rat fought valiantly. He didn't deserve to die that way. I will never allow my ferrets to hunt rats again. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 19:57:46 GMT -5
Yes, he weighed two pounds. This guy- That is not something a ferret could fight and win. Two pounds of muscle and intelligence, backed by teeth... no. Bode is a 2.8 pound fert and he still could not hope to challenge even my littlest rat and win (he will never get a chance to, either, I love my babies). They are clever, determined little beasts and the ferret and the rat will end up hurt. Neither of them deserve that.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:33:16 GMT -5
Omg that is a giant rat
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:46:05 GMT -5
That rat looks so angry. You could not have picked a better picture to show that ferrets shouldn't even try to mess with rats. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:49:13 GMT -5
Yes he was! He passed away last summer, but the two boys I got to keep his cagemate company are at least 1.5 pounds and maybe more. Louis could be approaching 2 pounds for sure. They are BIG and strong. [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .gif" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/.gif"].gif[/IMG] Not very edible, IMO. One of mine tried to kill my bird and nearly succeeded. (the bird got out, and I was trying to catch her, she landed on the rat cage and almost got yanked inside by her leg.) Rachel, he was just VERY focused on that cat food.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:52:34 GMT -5
I hope they're friendlier to you than they are to your other animals.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:56:37 GMT -5
They are absolute lovers! Louis and Mendel (the black and white hooded rats in the photo, brothers) both love to lick and groom, and are both very squishy and cuddly. Romeo, the old boy in the front, is now 3, and has trouble walking, but he has been a cuddler since day one. Marlena, my female, is a ball of energy, but even she gives kisses sometimes and she acts like a monkey when she sees me. If I let the boys onto my bed they will all eventually end up in a big rat pile in my lap, bruxing and grooming me.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 28, 2012 21:36:45 GMT -5
They are all adorable! And yeah- they are a very good image as to why ferrets shouldn't hunt these guys!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2013 18:47:49 GMT -5
Lol, had to have a giggle when I read the rat stories about what they are willing to take on. My first rat hated any other animals - he was very smart and, as a kid, I would weekly devise a new way to keep the door of his cage shut, yet we often came home to find him roaming the house and the cat hiding out on top of the washing machine where he could not get her.
I took my rat everywhere and put him on the ground often so he was pretty streetwise. I used to play outside my house on the footpath and my rat would follow me around. One day this man was walking his german shepherd down the street and he very meanly told me to pick up my rat if I didn't want his dog to eat it. I have always had an indignant streak in me and a good sense of justice, so I decided to be a smart alec back and told him my rat would attack his dog if he didn't go around. The man just laughed at me and decided to keep walking only to find his dog hiding behind his legs because this little furry thing was charging him. I refused to intervene so the man scuttled up the street with my rat hopping after them - it was truly one of the most absurd things I've ever seen and a memory I will treasure forever!
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