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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 22:17:30 GMT -5
Sooo, I wonder if a diet consisting of mostly rodents is balanced. I might be able to get mice, rats, gerbils, and hamsters. Possibly guinea pigs. That's four proteins, maybe 5. But are they diverse enough to provide adequate variety and balanced-ness?
I would also be supplementing with other meats, mostly chicken, turkey, beef and pork.
I love the idea of whole prey, and I would prefer to feed mostly whole prey. But I'm not too sure if feeding larger prey is feasible at the moment. I think my girls will do great with the small prey, but most smaller prey are rodents.
I'd appreciate any input on the topic, and also suggestions for other non-rodent small whole prey. Quail is one option, but I don't have a supply for them yet.
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Post by Heather on Mar 18, 2011 22:24:18 GMT -5
I don't see a problem with your idea, except you would have to try and feed more adult prey than younger. The problem that I've seen with the whole prey dept. is trying to cover your calcium needs. I know that they say that eating a whole animal is balanced but it appears to short the carnivore of calcium. The only thing I can think is that there isn't enough bone in mice or rodents. I would think if you supplement with adult rats and guinea pigs you should be closer. I would be tempted to add some boned frankenprey with denser bones. As you suggested quail but how about rabbit. Is it easier for you to get?
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 22:31:44 GMT -5
On non-whole prey days, I could feed wings, necks, drumsticks, etc. Unfortunately I dont have an affordable way ATM to feed rabbit and quail. I would definitely feed mostly adult prey.
If the diet was supplemented with boned meats, would they be okay on the calcium? Are the proteins different enough for variety?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 22:39:16 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Mar 18, 2011 22:39:59 GMT -5
I think your variety would be sufficient, especially if you add the guinea pig. If you feed prey say 4 or 5 days and frankenprey for the rest (which is also a different type of protein too). Don't forget you should also feed an organ meal once in a while as well as the brats have a tendency to dump their organ meats (though liver seems to be a delicacy) all over the floor. I think you've covered it but I would continue to try and find a source for other types of prey or even frankenprey. I often look through sales for things like lamb, pork ribs or riblets.. all these provide you with different types of proteins. You then have your staples of prey.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 22:46:56 GMT -5
Thank you for your input. I would love to feed whole prey 4-5 days out of the week, and then add the more expensive stuff every now and then when it's available. One reason why the larger prey won't work right now is that I have picky fuzzies that will not eat certain things if they have the option for other stuff. I think I can avoid this probably with small prey because it's harder to pick and choose the yummy stuff from the bad. I'm not sure if guinea pig will work, because they're large enough to dissect and pick out the good stuff. So I'd have to section it up and feed it like frankenprey, and guinea pigs are expensive in comparison to chicken and grocery store stuff. The same applies to the rabbit, quail, etc. Plus, they're expensive and I don't have an affordable way to get them yet.  |
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Post by Heather on Mar 18, 2011 22:51:22 GMT -5
I can't even find guinea pigs here, at least not yet. Good luck. I've heard that guinea pigs are a ferret delicacy. I've had a couple of students who have fed it and their fuzzes love it to the point of doing hunger strikes to get more
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2011 4:30:14 GMT -5
Maybe once I start small whole prey they will be more willing to eat a variety of meats/organs when given a variety.
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Post by goingpostal on Mar 19, 2011 9:22:31 GMT -5
I feed mice one whole day, rats, quail and GP are usually slightly less than a day and I top off with something else. I would like to get some asf, either to breed myself or frozen for another smaller prey but I think as stated the larger bones are good but adding chicken, cornish game hen, duck, those are usually available at grocery stores. Mine love guinea pigs but I wouldn't buy them anywhere but rodent pro, pet stores and most places have them for very expensive but it's not cheap ordering online with shipping either.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2011 9:35:34 GMT -5
Hare Today has GP's too, but I still can't figure out if you get multiple GP's (since it's plural) or if it's just for one.  If it's just for one, then it's pretty expensive ($6.99 for a small or medium, and $7.99 for a large)  Although, I think hare today has better shipping prices than rodent pro (at least for me). |
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Although, I think hare today has better shipping prices than rodent pro (at least for me).