# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry >  rat too big?

## krood

So Darth is 6 months old, he weighs about 250 grams and eats a mouse every 5 days. The pet store was out of mice the other day. Usually I'll just get a couple hoppers but they were out of hoppers too so I got him a rat. The rat was quite a bit bigger than the usual mice he eats but it seemed sort of small for a rat so I got it. I brought the rat home, put it in Darth's tub, put the lid back on and it immediately crawled up the thermostat wire I have taped to the side of the tub and clung to it up near the lid of the tub. Darth isn't used to searching for his food since normally he pounds the mice the second they hit the floor of the tub. But he saw the rat and stared at it for a minute as if he were sizing it up then struck at it. The rat put up much more of a struggle than the mice do but it did not injure Darth and he eventually killed it. It took him quite a while to swallow the rat but he did and he seems to be doing fine. Should I start him on rats now or is it too early still?

----------


## Peter Williams

the girth of the rat should be no bigger that the widest part of your snake

----------


## Sausage

If the rat's as big around as your snake's midsection, it should be fine.   :Smile:

----------


## bigballs

ya keep him on rats they are more nutritious than mice.  rats the size of your bps thickest section or a little smaller are perfect.

live rats roaming the tub may find the thermostat wire and chew it up.  just thought i should tell you before you find out by experience and have to buy a new themostat.

one rat chewed up a thermometer wire in one of my tubs so thats how i know...

----------


## SatanicIntention

Oh really now..? So 1500g of growth from May/June to December on 2-3 mice a week for a female Ball Python isn't good growth? Well, I guess I should tell her that, since she's already 2200g+. Just because rats may contain more fat/protein than mice, that doesn't mean we know the nutritional requirements for Ball Pythons. It has been proven that they do equally well on either rats or mice. Just so they are getting healthy, well-fed, robust prey items, they should be good to go!  :Smile: 

A male Ball Python really only needs 1-2 mice per week for the rest of his life. If you want to, try feeding him two mice every 7 days just to stretch it out. He will grow just fine and be very healthy. 

Just feed what the snake will eat and what is easiest for you to obtain. Also, two 20-25g mice are exactly the same as one 40-45g rat.

----------


## bigballs

im not hating on mice or on how and what people feed their ball pythons. i also never stated the nutritional requirements for ball pythons. 


im simply stating, like you did in your post, that a single rat can be more nutritious than a single mouse.

feed and do what you want to do with your animals as long as they grow up healthy!

----------


## smasharama13

Rats, mice what's really the difference?  To me it's that mice smell bad so I won't raise them.  If I were to buy them live, mice are 1.99 each and small rats are 4.99 each so If I'm feeding a snake that will eat either I go for 1 60g rat over 3 20g mice or 2 20g mice over 1 40g rat.  My snake wasn't big enough for rats the size the pet store sells until after I got a rat colony going so it's rats for my balls from here on out.  Or until I get one that I have trouble feeding.

As for the size it just depends on your snake.  Some won't eat a rat that's just smaller than their midsection, they prefer something smaller.  Some will eat what ever you put in front of them (within reason).

I say feed what you want or what's convenient for you as long as your snake is eating it.

----------


## bonez

That happend to me once, i had to feed bonez a small rat, he got it down, but he looked so stuffed so that was the last time i did that.  If he looks as though u just stuffed him like a turkey the food is to big lol.  bad part was after a couple days i could smell the rat decomposing in his belly.

----------

