Can't decide what to feed . . .

[TheSnakeGuy]

I've got 2 BPs that were born in late July. Bought a box of Petsmart frozen fuzzies and after one meal I knew they were too small. Tomorrow I will see if they will each eat 2 of them. I had a couple BPs around 3 feet long a couple years ago and fed them live hopper rats. I don't know if I want to feed F/T, live, or pre-killed. I'm not even sure what pre-killed means. How do you kill your own? Or if I want to feed normal rats or ASFs. I could find a breeder in the Fort Worth, TX area and probably get live. I'm just not thrilled about it this buy, store, thaw, try to feed method. In my past I just read care guides. I want to take advantage of this forum and get some opinions. I'm loving having people in the know to talk to. Thx

[martin82531]

I've got 2 BPs that were born in late July. Bought a box of Petsmart frozen fuzzies and after one meal I knew they were too small. Tomorrow I will see if they will each eat 2 of them. I had a couple BPs around 3 feet long a couple years ago and fed them live hopper rats. I don't know if I want to feed F/T, live, or pre-killed. I'm not even sure what pre-killed means. How do you kill your own? Or if I want to feed normal rats or ASFs. I could find a breeder in the Fort Worth, TX area and probably get live. I'm just not thrilled about it this buy, store, thaw, try to feed method. In my past I just read care guides. I want to take advantage of this forum and get some opinions. I'm loving having people in the know to talk to. Thx

General rule of thumb is 10-15 percent of your balls weight; some also judge what they are going to feed by the largest part of the balls body. In terms of what to want to feed, wither it be live or F/T, I think it is personal preference. Some prefer F/T as it is potentially safer for the balls as the prey gets bigger. Bigger prey equals bigger teeth; you don't want a decent size rat trying to naw on your ball if the first strike is not optimal. If you do feed live, I would just suggest having something around to shove in the rat’s mouth if it goes to bite your snake, e.g. pencil. F/T definitely has its convenient factor too, as you can stock up on food without having to make a trip to your local breeder every week.

[martin82531]

I've got 2 BPs that were born in late July. Bought a box of Petsmart frozen fuzzies and after one meal I knew they were too small. Tomorrow I will see if they will each eat 2 of them. I had a couple BPs around 3 feet long a couple years ago and fed them live hopper rats. I don't know if I want to feed F/T, live, or pre-killed. I'm not even sure what pre-killed means. How do you kill your own? Or if I want to feed normal rats or ASFs. I could find a breeder in the Fort Worth, TX area and probably get live. I'm just not thrilled about it this buy, store, thaw, try to feed method. In my past I just read care guides. I want to take advantage of this forum and get some opinions. I'm loving having people in the know to talk to. Thx

Also....

Pre-killed, simply means when you take possession of the balls prey or before it is feed to the ball, it is already killed, e.g. frozen.

I have never feed a ball an ASF rat but I have heard that some balls once have eaten a ASF may only prefer an ASF, me personally, I wouldn’t feed ASF unless you are sure you are always going to have a consistent supply or don’t have any other choice available to you. But then again I have also heard some balls easly switch from normal rats to ASF's and vice versa with out a problem.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Pre-killed (aka fresh killed) means you buy live rodents, then kill them right before you feed the rodent to the snake. This works better with some BP's as the rodent still has its natural body heat.

There a few ways to Pre-kill, i'd suggest makeing a CO2 gas chamber. It is fairly easy/inexpensive (there are plans in the DIY section of this site)

[satomi325]

There are pros and cons to both F/T and live.
But you should pick which ever method works best for you.

Some responsible live feeding tips:

1) Feed the appropriate size food. I like smaller and more frequent meals than larger and less often. Weanlings and small rats are safe and harmless(to some extent). They're also not as conscious to danger as an adult would be. Adult rats can pack a nasty bite and are much stronger at fighting back, which is why "smaller and more frequent" is the way to go. I feed all of my adults weaned/small rats once a week. And multiple smalls for the big girls. A medium size would be the max appropriate size for a ball python.

2) Keep the feeder well fed and hydrated. They're less likely to see your snake as food. Hungry rats are dangerous rats. They will eat your snake if left unattended for extended periods of time. This is the reason for most snake killing incidences.

3) Don't dangle the live feeder. This puts them in panic mode. A freaked out feeder is a dangerous feeder. Gently place the feeder into your enclosure. Calm feeders are good.

4) Monitor your feedings and keep a tool, such as tongs, on hand to assist your snake in case the feeder tries to bite down. I use a chop stick to stick in the feeder's mouth if its in a bad position.

5) Don't keep the feeder in with your snake longer than 30 mins max or so. Some people have a shorter time frame. If he doesn't eat within that time frame, take out the feeder and save it for next week.


As for Norway Rats vs ASFs. Well, I suggest trying to feed your snakes strictly rats. ASFs can be difficult to find depending on your location. And like Martin said, balls can get hooked onto ASFs and refuse all other types of food afterwards. ASFs are like crack to Balls. And if you were to ever rehome your snakes, it might prove difficult to sell them due to an "ASF only" feeding status.

[DooLittle]

P/k is not a frozen rat as stated above. It is a freshly killed live rat. A good way to make sure there isn't any harm done to your snake (bites from a live rat), but also avoid the whole store, thaw, heat business of f/t.

As for the whole Asf thing, none of my snakes are hooked on them. As a matter of fact, most of mine won't eat them. We breed asf's and rats, so ours get offered both. Right now my boa is the one consuming the most asf's, because him and my one male bp, are the only one's who will eat them.

Also, as others have said, if you do live feeding make sure your feeders are well fed and watered. And never leave your snake alone with a live rodent. Have tongs or something handy in case your snake doesn't get a good hit. You will need something to stick in the rodents mouth to prevent it chomping your snake.

Ultimately, what you wind up feeding, will be what works for you and your snakes.

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