Should I step up to rats?

[tesslyn]

I just got my first ball python a little bit ago and she's about 4 feet long and approximately 3 years old. The guy I got her from said she's only ever eaten mice. I just fed her today and the mouse just didn't seem like enough for her. The guy did say I could feed her more then one but it seems it would be easier to just feed her a small rat. Apparently he fed her only once every 3 weeks as well. So would it be better to continue feeding her mice, and feed her multiple ones, or would it be ok to start feeding her rats?

[JaGv]

what's her weight? i started my female on small rats at 700g

[DooLittle]

If she will switch, I would definately get her on rats. Some are just mousers for life. Rats would be ideal, you could then feed an appropriate sized meal, with one item. If you stay mice, you need to feed multiple. Typically the rule of thumb is either a rodent the same size as your snakes widest part, or a rodent that is 10-15% of your snakes weight. But if she is that old and only eating a mouse every 2-3 weeks, that's not enough. My grown bps get offered a small rat every week.

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[tesslyn]

I'm not sure how heavy she is because I dont have a scale but I'd say she's about 5 lbs (however many grams that is lol). At her thickest point she's about as large as a full size rat. Since I fed her a mouse today when would be the best time to offer her a rat?

[JaGv]

then a small/medium rat every week would be good for her.

[tesslyn]

then a small/medium rat every week would be good for her.

How long should I wait to offer her a rat? a week?

[DooLittle]

I would wait a week, then she should be hungry, and offer a small rat. It won't hurt her to wait. Does she eat live, pre killed or frozen thawed? Sometime live or pre killed makes the switch easier. But if you do live, be prepared to stand by with tongs or something to intercept bitey rat teeth in case your snake doesn't get a good hold. Don't ever leave your snake unattended with a live rodent. Also, sometimes mousers can be difficult to convert. You may have to try scenting the rat with mouse bedding, or she may switch easy.

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[tesslyn]

I would wait a week, then she should be hungry, and offer a small rat. It won't hurt her to wait. Does she eat live, pre killed or frozen thawed? Sometime live or pre killed makes the switch easier. But if you do live, be prepared to stand by with tongs or something to intercept bitey rat teeth in case your snake doesn't get a good hold. Don't ever leave your snake unattended with a live rodent. Also, sometimes mousers can be difficult to convert. You may have to try scenting the rat with mouse bedding, or she may switch easy.

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She eats live only. The man I got her from said he's tried multiple times to feed her frozen/thawed and she just didn't take. He said he tried every trick in the book so I dont know if it's even worth it to try converting her.

[DooLittle]

Big difference between trying to convert from live to f/t, and from mouse to rat. Live to f/t can be harder. I would try getting her on rats. There is nothing wrong with feeding live, IMO. If your husbandry is spot on, she is likely to eat better too. If she wouldn't eat/switch for him, how was his set up? Tank, tub? Temps? How were temps controlled? A thermostat to control uth is a must.

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[tesslyn]

Big difference between trying to convert from live to f/t, and from mouse to rat. Live to f/t can be harder. I would try getting her on rats. There is nothing wrong with feeding live, IMO. If your husbandry is spot on, she is likely to eat better too. If she wouldn't eat/switch for him, how was his set up? Tank, tub? Temps? How were temps controlled? A thermostat to control uth is a must.

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That makes sense. He had her in a horrible setup, which is the main reason I got her. She was in a glass tank that was only about two feet long with no light and no UTH and definitely no thermostat. All she had was a stick and a cat litter pan with dirty water in it. It looks like she was on mulch or something. Here's a pic actually:



I now have her in a 41 quart rubbermaid on aspen with an uth controlled by a dimmer atm until I can get a thermostat. She has a clean water dish and a hide as well.