What prey should you choose for your carnivorous reptiles? Nutritional comparison on 30 g

🐍 What prey should you choose for your carnivorous reptiles?

Nutritional comparison on 30 g: mouse, rat, mastomys and day-old chick

In carnivorous reptiles — snakes, monitor lizards, insecto-carnivorous or opportunistic lizards — the choice of prey is a direct lever on health, growth, eating behavior, and longevity.

But at the same weight, not all prey is created equal.
Mouse, rat, mastomys, chick: What do they really contain?
This guide offers you a clear nutritional analysis on a basis of 30 g of prey, in order to better choose according to the specific needs of your animals.

📊 Nutritional comparison table (per 30 g of prey)

‍

🟢 Base = Can be used regularly
🟡 Complement = To be used alternately or occasionally
🔁 Base or complement = very good balance, depending on the species

🐁 Detail of meat prey

Adult mouse

Widely used in terrariums: easy to find, good energy compromise.
Moderate to high lipid levels depending on the animal, but well tolerated.
Soft prey, well accepted by snakes as well as by medium-sized monitor lizards.

✅ Good basis for standard diets.

10—12 day old rat

Lower in fat than an adult mouse, with a very good protein intake.
Perfect for juveniles or reptiles with a rapid metabolism.
Very digestible, ideal for sensitive animals or animals in recovery.

🟢 Great basic alternative or to vary.

Mastomys subadult

Very rich and very appetizing. Excellent for restarting food or for breeding animals.
But be careful: Too often proposed, it creates addiction, especially in some snakes.
For active monitor lizards or breeding animals, it is a powerful prey to manage with strategy.

⚠️ To be reserved for targeted phases or in controlled alternation.

Chick for a day

Too often underestimated, the chick is Very popular among monitor lizards, especially young Varanus sp., and some carnivorous lizards.
Very low in fat, but high in calcium and well balanced.
Can be used as a partial base or as a complement depending on the species.
Perfect for rebalance a diet that is too rich in lipids or alternately.

🔁 Versatile prey that is very useful in routine for monitor lizards and carnivorous lizards.

✅ Practical recommendations

• ⚖️ Alternate the prey : it is the only way to ensure a good nutritional balance over time.
• 🔁 The One-day-old chick is an excellent base or strategic complement, especially for monitor lizards.
• ❗ The mastomys must remain an exceptional prey to avoid being denied food to other prey.
• 💡 One rotation mouse/raccoon/chick works very well for the majority of carnivorous reptiles.