I'm seriously considering starting a small trio of mice to satisfy the needs of my baby house snakes that refuse f/t.

What does everyone use for rodent food? I'm wanting to be as economical as possible.

I'm seriously considering starting a small trio of mice to satisfy the needs of my baby house snakes that refuse f/t.

What does everyone use for rodent food? I'm wanting to be as economical as possible.

Cheap dog food with a high percentage of protein in it and whatever table scarps you've got left over from dinner

Lol....thats what I was thinking, as I'm looking at my meager budget!

Unfortunately, thanks to the great push on ethanol, nothing is particularly economical anymore.
I agree though, high protein dog food is still the cheapest route. I've found that 18% seems to do fine, but I prefer 21%. Any less than 18% though and you risk having the babies eaten. Oddly enough the cheaper dog food is actually much better suited to be fed to rodents than it is dogs.
The brand I use increased in price by 50% in less than a year, and now I'm paying $18 for 50 lbs. It's still the cheapest that is readily available to me.
I also supplement the mice with rabbit pellets once or twice a week just because they seem to love them and the weanlings can eat them very easily.

If you're just feeding a trip of mice though, the cost of the food will be negligible. You could feed lab diet and still not have hardly anything in feed by the time you went through a bag.
I use about 80 lbs a week so I'm always on the look out for the most economical food supply that provides adequate nutrition.

One other thing, be sure to read the label on the food you plan to use and avoid anything with red dye in it. I used to use the Wal Mart brand 'Ol Roy until they switched formulations and added red dye. There's a lot of debate about whether it is a carcinogen, and it's not worth the risk to feed it to the rodents or in turn the snakes.

One other thing, be sure to read the label on the food you plan to use and avoid anything with red dye in it. I used to use the Wal Mart brand 'Ol Roy until they switched formulations and added red dye. There's a lot of debate about whether it is a carcinogen, and it's not worth the risk to feed it to the rodents or in turn the snakes.

That was actually my next question...Someone today mentioned the red-dye thing to me, something I had never heard about before.

So basically, any dog food that does not contain red-dye in it is fine?

I am using a mix of horse feed and cat food.... it works for me and my colonies.

That was actually my next question...Someone today mentioned the red-dye thing to me, something I had never heard about before.

So basically, any dog food that does not contain red-dye in it is fine?

Pretty much. I'd also stay away from any of the semi soft foods. Basically and hard kibble that contains no dyes, the red in particular.
What I do when looking for a brand to use is look at all the cheapest brands they carry, then check the labels for protein content and whether it contains red dye. The cheaper the feed usually means the higher the grain content. Bad for dogs, but even better for rodents.
The red dye is a marketing tactic aimed at the humans really. It has no effect on the taste and the dogs can't tell the difference, but people see the red kibbles and without realizing it equate that to red meat.

Unfortunately, thanks to the great push on ethanol, nothing is particularly economical anymore.
I agree though, high protein dog food is still the cheapest route. I've found that 18% seems to do fine, but I prefer 21%. Any less than 18% though and you risk having the babies eaten. Oddly enough the cheaper dog food is actually much better suited to be fed to rodents than it is dogs.
The brand I use increased in price by 50% in less than a year, and now I'm paying $18 for 50 lbs. It's still the cheapest that is readily available to me.
I also supplement the mice with rabbit pellets once or twice a week just because they seem to love them and the weanlings can eat them very easily.

If you're just feeding a trip of mice though, the cost of the food will be negligible. You could feed lab diet and still not have hardly anything in feed by the time you went through a bag.
I use about 80 lbs a week so I'm always on the look out for the most economical food supply that provides adequate nutrition.

One other thing, be sure to read the label on the food you plan to use and avoid anything with red dye in it. I used to use the Wal Mart brand 'Ol Roy until they switched formulations and added red dye. There's a lot of debate about whether it is a carcinogen, and it's not worth the risk to feed it to the rodents or in turn the snakes.

Good info Clay...:cheers: