snake feeding

[alexr]

so usually when i drop a small mouse into the tub with my 60g girl, about 20 mins will ellapse before she has killed and fully swallowed the mouse. With the mouse being slightly bigger than the biggest part of her body, i dropped it in to her tonight at 9:30. i came back in at 9:35 to check on her to see if she was interested since i believe she is entering her first shed since ive had her, and the mouse is already more than halfway down her body... is this just a sign that she was hungry(6 days since her last feeding) or should i bump her up to a bigger sized mouse. I usually ask for a smaller sized mouse from the tank at the pet store(about 10g). Shes never taken them this fast! Hopefully shes ready to upgrade and start beefin up!

[JUSTINxCREEZ]

If you really want her to beef up get her on rats ASAP!! You will see a significant weight gain! Plus they are more nutrition for your snake

[alexr]

i mean im not looking to boost her fast. shes my only snake. Im a student at LSU so id rather just enjoy her while shes a little small. im not trying to rush her or breed her or anything. haha

[JUSTINxCREEZ]

ahhh I got iit but still they are healthier for the snake. The growth rate is just a bonus.

[DooLittle]

Switching to rats helps when for when they are bigger. Otherwise you will be feeding multiples, which is a pain. And the longer you wait, the harder it can be to switch. She may be eating faster because she was hungry, or perhaps she is settling in nicely. Bps are have some of the strangest eating habits, like when ever and how ever and if they want. My bee got one by the foot tonight (good thing it was p/k).

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[el8ch]

OP: I would keep feeding your snake an appropriate sized meal (15% body weight or slightly larger then the thickest part of their body) on a 5 to 7 day schedule. This will keep your snake healthy and growing at a good pace. Don't feed your little one too big of a prey item too quickly, too large of a meal can cause dmamage to your snake.

Switching ball pythons from mice to rats at a young is a good idea for a couple of reasons. Ball Pythons will outgrow mice pretty quickly and feeding rats will elimnate you having to feed your snake multiple mice prey items in one feeding, rats get much larger then mice do. Second, many have found it easier to switch young pythons over to rats from mice. If you feed mice for too long your snake may end up preffering mice to rats.

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Switching to rats helps when for when they are bigger. Otherwise you will be feeding multiples, which is a pain. And the longer you wait, the harder it can be to switch.

Ya beat me! I must type too slow. =)

[PitOnTheProwl]

I have yet to see anything that proves rats are better than mice health wise.
I stick with feeding them whatever they want to eat as long as they keep eating.
I have a 1200g male pastel that eats 3 to 5 large mice every week, once in a while I can sneak in a pinky rat.

I also have my two albino hatchlings, the male is a mouser and the female started on rats from day one. The male is about 20g larger

[satomi325]

Rats are not more nutritious than mice. Their fat content is a few percentages higher, but that is all. Their protein and calorie count is about the same.
Its just more convenient to feed a single rat rather than multiple mice.



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