Thinking about buying online. Please help with sizing.

[ceca2015]

If i buy online, I have to buy in bulk, but my ball python is young and growing and I don't know what sizes to get her. Also, petsmart only has mice, so that is what she is on, and if i order online, I want to get rats. What if she doesn't take to the rats and I waste my money? How should I go about ordering? My ball python is currently 109 g empty. As of now, she would need fuzzie rats, but soon, she will need rat pups. A site i looked at sells them in packs of 25, but won't she grow out of that size before she finishes the pack? I just need some help. She eats every 5 days (1 appropriate sized meal). I've had her for a month and a half. She was 96 g when i got her. She lives in a 32 quart tub. Great eater. If I did not provide enough info, just tell me.

[meowmeowkazoo]

If I were you I would try to find a local mouse/rat breeder since you just have one snake to feed. Many will euthanize and freeze upon request. Another great way to stock up is to hit your local reptile expo. There's always at least one or two vendors selling feeders for cheap.

[Mike41793]

If I were you I would try to find a local mouse/rat breeder since you just have one snake to feed. Many will euthanize and freeze upon request. Another great way to stock up is to hit your local reptile expo. There's always at least one or two vendors selling feeders for cheap.

x2 Buying in bulk online would probably not benefit you much. Shipping can be unbenefitably costly for small orders.

[ceca2015]

I've looked. There is only one place where I live that sells live mice and they're all one size and pretty pricey. And they don't prekill. I'd have to do it. And I buy frozen at Petsmart for $12 for 4 of them. And eventually, as the size moves up, it will cost even more. And they only provide mice.

http://loxahatcheerodents.com/estore...ikibg5mqsi0290

This is the site I thought about buying from. It estimated my shipping to be $33. In the long run, it would be cheaper, wouldn't it?

[ceca2015]

Also, are there any reptile expos near West Virginia and when are they?

[Kodieh]

Don't be afraid of your python out growing the size of feeder you bulk buy. I'm feeding my 300g girls rat weanlings right now, and they both get two prey items per feeding. Which equals out to the right amount of grams they should be chowing on.

I also won a great deal on some hopper mice, so they'll be snacking on those soon two probably have to feed three to them each to equal out. But, that that's not a bad thing in my book.

As for reptile expos, I'm sure there is one near you just take some googling around to find it. Check facebook too! I'm in a bunch of reptile related groups and get some good scoops on great deals.

[ewaldrep]

layne labs sells in smaller size packages

[BlueMoonExotics]

Have you tried posting an add in your local craigslist looking for f/t mice or rats? That's what I did to find my supplier but several others replied to me as well. My supplier also worked with me well as I told him I was new to ball pythons so he set me up with just a few of different sizes to start and once I figured out what she needed I could go back and buy more of the appropriate size (guessing her girth without having her with me proved to be more difficult than I thought lol). Since you're asking though, I have ordered rats (fuzzies and pups) from Loxahatchee Rodents since they're pretty close to my location (shipping for f/t is crazy high) and the rats were fine. Nothing wrong with them that I could see. I just prefer my local supplier's rats and his prices.

[Raven01]

Don't be afraid of your python out growing the size of feeder you bulk buy. I'm feeding my 300g girls rat weanlings right now, and they both get two prey items per feeding. Which equals out to the right amount of grams they should be chowing on.

I also won a great deal on some hopper mice, so they'll be snacking on those soon two probably have to feed three to them each to equal out. But, that that's not a bad thing in my book.

As for reptile expos, I'm sure there is one near you just take some googling around to find it. Check facebook too! I'm in a bunch of reptile related groups and get some good scoops on great deals.

X2

I keep my smaller F/T's to add to meals as my snakes grow so they continually get about 15% of their current empty body weight.
I would definitely look into reptile expos and even herp clubs for more cost effective feeder sources. 5 people going in on 100 or 200 lots will save money.

[bcr229]

Also, are there any reptile expos near West Virginia and when are they?

There's one coming up in June in the central part of the state. There's info about it on the "West Virginia Reptiles" facebook forum.