Feeding query

[Vipera Berus]

I have a question for you guys it takes a little time to explain but would appreciate any advice.

I am a little concerned because the only place within a reasonable distance for me only stocks rats at 1/3 the needed size for my bp - next size up is too large. When I weighed her she was 212 grams - I can get rats at about 10-12 grams or 31-32grams as those are the ones they stock. My question is since I cant get her to eat the 31-32 gram rats at all and she wont eat more than once 10 -12 gram rat at a time how often should I be feeding her the smaller ones. I have mostly stuck to tortoises with the exception of a corn snake (sadly deceased of age and obesity). Since I last had to get rats or mice on a regular basis I have moved from the area that originally I was able to source the correct prey size.

[EL-Ziggy]

I'd probably feed the snake every 5-7 days.

[dmt_jovi]

As Ziggy said 5-7 days between feedings should work

[Vipera Berus]

I think I may have failed to explain properly. I cannot persuader her to eat a 31 gram rat at all. I have only managed to get her to eat a 10-12 gram rat. Since she refuses to eat more than one 10-12 gram rat at a time how often should I be feeding her?

[EL-Ziggy]

If the snake won't eat the larger prey item, won't eat two of the small prey items, and you can't get the in between size then I think your best option is to feed the smaller meals until her hunger convinces her to eat more. I wouldn't feed more often than every 5 days. They're small meals for a snake that size but they'll sustain her until her appetite increases. If you feed f/t you could order your feeders online and get the prey sizes you want.

[Vipera Berus]

Ah many thanks. I looked online but hesitated as I'm worried about the condition of the f/t when I get them. I'm actually also investigating a further away source of larger rats as well.

[EL-Ziggy]

If you're looking for quality f/t feeders online you should check out Perfect Prey or Big Cheese. I've used both for years without any issues. I tend to use Perfect Prey more often because Big Cheese is sometimes sold out of the medium or large rats that I need. I do like Big Cheese's packaging a tad more though. Here's my last order from Perfect Prey which I received this past Wednesday.

http://www.perfectprey.com

http://bigcheeserodents.com

[Vipera Berus]

I realised earlier today that I had only weighed one of the larger rats I have so I tried weighing them all and the weight variation was 26 - 50 grams. I offered her the 26 gram one as that's within the 10 -15 % bodyweight range (226grams a few days ago). she has struck and strangled - I left her alone to eat and it appears that she ate it, I obviously haven't searched the tank but going by the behaviour and location of where the rat was its most likely consumed.