What to feed.

[cweimer4]

How do you know when to switch from mice to rats? Im feeding my new ball pythong baby feeder mice, but how do i know when to switch?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

You can switch any time you want the problem is mainly to find a source of appropriately sized feeders, if you have the source you can switch now by feeding a rat the same size than the mice you are currently offering and bump size as needed.

Many of my BP never saw a mouse in their life and were started directly on rats.

[SNIKTTIME]

You can switch any time you want the problem is mainly to find a source of appropriately sized feeders, if you have the source you can switch now by feeding a rat the same size than the mice you are currently offering and bump size as needed.

Many of my BP never saw a mouse in their life and were started directly on rats.

I start directly from rats also... it gives them one less reason to fast, but there are so many more =/

[Neal]

Ball pythons are larger in girth then a lot of snakes, so most people start them off on like rat pups or something. You should be able to feed your bp rats instead of mice, just make sure you get something that's the right size. You take a rat & a mouse that looks the same in size and weigh them, rat weighs more also.

[cweimer4]

Is a rat better nutritiously or something? whats the pros and cons of both?

[Neal]

As far as nutritional value, I honestly don't know. Rats have more meat, so your snake will grow a bit faster then it would being on mice.

As far as the pros and cons, hmm...
Cons: Rats cost more? They bite a crapload harder then a mouse, so I recommend feeding F/T.

Pros: Rats have more meat, they get a lot bigger then mice, so if you will have a larger constrictor, best to get them started on rats ASAP.

I'm sure they are other pros/cons, but those are what come to mind off the top of my head.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Is a rat better nutritiously or something? whats the pros and cons of both?

While nutritionally different no study has been done on BP nutritional requirement therefore it is fair to say that gram per gram of prey it's all the same.

The advantage is that when feeding rats to an adult BP you do not have to feed multiple preys, when feeding mice you will have to feed 3 to 5 mice so it can be time consuming and more costly.

[seeya205]

Once you get to adult mice then go with a rat pup but you can switch anytime! Rats come in larger sizes so your bp with never get bigger than the biggest rat, with mice you mayl have to get up to 6 mice per feeding with an adult bp. Bps can grow and be very healthy on both but feeding one item instead of multiples are easier on you and most importantly less stressful for the snake!

[pvdgod]

I personally feel a rat fuzzy or pinkie is too big for a baby ball python. I start my babies off with mouse hoppers for the first month or two, then move up to small adult mice for another month or so, then start them on rat fuzzies and move up as they grow. At about 150-200g they should be ready for rat fuzzies or pups. Most of the literature i've read says rats are better nutritionally than mice.