# Why are rabbits for reptiles so expensive?



## Vivaria (Sep 13, 2011)

just wondering why rabbits for reptiles are so verry expensive and a rabbit from your local butcher gamekeeper or rabbit breeder is much cheaper?

i know that wild rabbit is probably not the best thing to feed to a snake but rabbit that is farmed for human consumption then is there any difference between them?

i don't keep anything large enough to be feeding rabbits (yet) but i just felt it was better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later.
:lol2:


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

I would guess that wild rabbits, much like wild mice or rats have more chance of carrying worms or other parasites- cleaning and cooking for the table would deal with that for human consumption, but since we feed them raw to our animals...


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## thetong6969 (Apr 20, 2009)

really depends where you shop for your rabbits i know a shop that sells rabbits 20-30p more than large rats:2thumb:it's in rochdale


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

the rabbit in the butchers by us are wild shot ones rather than farmed.

farmed ones will be exopensive due to the cost of feed and the time they take to grow.

wouldnt freezing them kill the majority of the parasites they have?


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

_Everything_ frozen for reptiles is expensive! It's crazy. We buy in rats, quail, mice, rabbits, chicks, and guinea pigs for our birds and they're cheap as chips, we'd be bankrupt if we had to pay "reptile food" prices. 




Ron Magpie said:


> I would guess that wild rabbits, much like wild mice or rats have more chance of carrying worms or other parasites- cleaning and cooking for the table would deal with that for human consumption, but since we feed them raw to our animals...


IME, the chances of an animal picking something up from a prey item just because it's wild, are slim. Makes me chuckle when I see people saying rabbit should frozen for 50 thousand years before being fed to dogs and ferrets etc. You're probably much more likely to have issues with the rotten eggs that can be found inside ex-layer hens, but nobody seems to have an issue with feeding whole quail. :whistling2:


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## naja-naja (Aug 26, 2009)

i dont think its that expensive, £7.00 for a 4kilo rabbit,£5.00 for a 2.5 kilo rabbit, £4.50 for a 1.5kilo rabbit, £3.50 for a 500g rabbit. although the difference in price is a bit much, from £1.75 a kilo for the large ones to £7.00 a kilo for the smaller ones!!


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

depends where you get them from

wild rabbits that are killed and frozen then fed to snakes will be fine, parasites will die almost definatly, and if they dont, most of the parasites are species specific anyway so would most likely be at no harm to your snake anyway


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## thetong6969 (Apr 20, 2009)

2.50-4.00 or 4.50 as seen today they are not dear rabbits if your paying more good luck to you:lol2:


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

pigglywiggly said:


> the rabbit in the butchers by us are wild shot ones rather than farmed.
> 
> farmed ones will be exopensive due to the cost of feed and the time they take to grow.
> 
> wouldnt freezing them kill the majority of the parasites they have?


One of the main reasons :2thumb:

wild shot rabbits are usually cheap due to their being shot still in the rabbit that would need to be removed before being fed to your snakes. 
You would need to freeze them first. Lead MUST be removed!
TIP:

If you look on preloved there are lots of people asking for farm land for shooting. Why not get in contact with some from your area and see if they would supply you. They usually use air rifle, one shot one kill. Pellet usually goes right through, They could remove the head for you im sure. or gut and skin. Your large boids would still take them. You could also advertise on some of the airgun forums. 

hope that helps.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

LoveForLizards said:


> _Everything_ frozen for reptiles is expensive! It's crazy. We buy in rats, quail, mice, rabbits, chicks, and guinea pigs for our birds and they're cheap as chips, we'd be bankrupt if we had to pay "reptile food" prices.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You obviously haven't had to worm your cats recently...:whistling2:


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Ron Magpie said:


> You obviously haven't had to worm your cats recently...:whistling2:


Now that you mention it, no, we haven't. What's your point?

We've also never wormed our current pet ferrets despite the fact they eat all sorts of wild animals (including the deadly insects, oh my gosh!), they have yet to die from a worm infestation so I think I'll pass on the anxiety.


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