Frozen Thawed 1st Order - Size Question

[ckuhn003]

I'm looking to make my 1st order of F/T mice for my BP. From what I've been reading, it sounds like you can't go wrong w/ Perfect Prey or Big Cheese. I was looking at feeder weights and there seems to be quite the range in sizes. For instance, adult mice are listed as 18-32 grams so using the 10% rule, they would satisfy a snake anywhere from 180 - 320 grams. Would I need to feed more then one of these to make up for the difference or am I makeing this too complicated. Meaning should I just sort them from smallest to largest and feed the smallest ones 1st?

As info, my BP is 260 grams and has rejected rats so I'm either going to stay on mice or try the switch again once he puts on some weight.

[SDA]

Well since you are stuck on mice for the near future I would just say weigh out those adults and feed as needed to size. The great thing about perfect prey is you cna order small quantities of a larger sie with your larger quantity order. The shipping is more than big cheese but that makes it great to test out a larger size or swapping to say rats.

Too bad ex breeders are so much bigger or you could just try those once or twice but it seems like you are at that awkward weight with your snake where you are between prey size.

[ckuhn003]

Well since you are stuck on mice for the near future I would just say weigh out those adults and feed as needed to size. The great thing about perfect prey is you cna order small quantities of a larger sie with your larger quantity order. The shipping is more than big cheese but that makes it great to test out a larger size or swapping to say rats.

Too bad ex breeders are so much bigger or you could just try those once or twice but it seems like you are at that awkward weight with your snake where you are between prey size.

Stuck on mice?? I hope it's not that bad for a snake to be stuck on mice

So if I understand what you're saying, I should buy both small and large and pair the combo together to get to that ideal weight? And offer one after another on the same night.

[SDA]

Oh LOL I did not mean it like that OOPS!

Nah just get adult mice. Weigh them and if two make up the weight you want to hit feeding, feed two. If one has packed on the pounds when alive and close to 10% of they weight then you cna just feed one.

What I meant is if and when you are ready to upsize perfect prey has small quantities so you can try larger prey.

[BR8080]

Don't rule out Reptilinks for frozen feeders - very clean and awesome customer service.

[ckuhn003]

Don't rule out Reptilinks for frozen feeders - very clean and awesome customer service.

Thanks, I'll take a look at Reptilinks. They were not in my original search.

So back to the feeding size, and maybe I'm over analyzing, but if my feeder is 26 grams and my BP is 300 grams, do I need to figure out out how to make up those extra grams or should that prey be sufficient for that week? I've never fed my BP more then one prey at a time so I'm curious if he'll come back out of his hide for another.

[Craiga 01453]

I ran into the same issue with Tyson with the Lg adult mice before switching him to rats. I would shoot for the 10-15% rule, but if it's a little under 10% I just rolled with it and he was fine.

I would weigh and sort the mice when they came in. I would put 3 or 4 in a zip lock bag and label them. Then put all the ziplocks into a zip lock gallon size freezer bag and then into some grocery or Wal-Mart bags. This helps to keep them fresh and easy to find the size I needed.

When it came time to double up I would start using the 18-24gram mice and it worked out fine.

I found with perfect prey I got a LOT of mice in the 18-24 range and VERY few bigger than 27 grams. In two orders with them I only received one mouse bigger than 29 grams. I wasn't too happy with that, but they do deliver a great product, beautifully packaged for a great price.

[Momokahn]

Thanks, I'll take a look at Reptilinks. They were not in my original search.

So back to the feeding size, and maybe I'm over analyzing, but if my feeder is 26 grams and my BP is 300 grams, do I need to figure out out how to make up those extra grams or should that prey be sufficient for that week? I've never fed my BP more then one prey at a time so I'm curious if he'll come back out of his hide for another.

Maybe over analyzing a bit but that is good, you are wanting the best for your BP.

In the wild, snakes are rarely given the prefect choice and if the opportunity is there, they will eat two prey items to fulfill their needs. Just give your BP the choice if the first prey item you feed is on the small side. If the prey item is close to being of the appropriate size I would just feed the one. Your snake will be just fine and a lot healthier if fed a bit on the smaller side. You can see what super size meals at McDonald's has done to our society.

[Godzilla78]

Maybe over analyzing a bit but that is good, you are wanting the best for your BP.

In the wild, snakes are rarely given the prefect choice and if the opportunity is there, they will eat two prey items to fulfill their needs. Just give your BP the choice if the first prey item you feed is on the small side. If the prey item is close to being of the appropriate size I would just feed the one. Your snake will be just fine and a lot healthier if fed a bit on the smaller side. You can see what super size meals at McDonald's has done to our society.

YES!
Snakes will eat whatever they can to survive in the wild. We over-obsess as owners, and though when it comes to climate-control, it is good, since the large majority of us must replicate a foreign climate, which requires precision. When it comes to feeding however, the size and numbers of prey can be much varied and doesn't really matter.

One winter I stumbled into a little field mouse and her litter of tiny pinks, bedded in insulation, under a well-cover deep in the Appalachian forest on a remote property. I was repairing broken water pipes, and I went to the van to get some tools and grab my camera. When I got back within minutes, the mouse and her babies were gone! I looked all around thinking they must have moved, since I uncovered them. They could not have gone far, considering the pinks were helpless and the tiny mom would have to drag them. As I looked around, I heard a subtle noise in the brush, and upon investigation, spied the dark brown scales of a juvenile Timber Rattler slithering away. He must have been nearby, and when I uncovered the mice, the Timber Rattler caught the scent immediately.

The point of the story is prey size and number. The rattler ate the little mouse mother and all the babies, all in one or two gulps. Perfectly HEALTHY and normal for the snake to eat a whole pile of smaller prey. I am sure it would have been just as healthy and fine for the rattler to eat a much bigger rodent, had the opportunity presented itself. And don't give me some nonsense about, "well, in the wild, they are not as healthy, blah, blah, blah." Snakes can eat all kinds of prey and flourish.

[ckuhn003]

YES!
Snakes will eat whatever they can to survive in the wild. We over-obsess as owners, and though when it comes to climate-control, it is good, since the large majority of us must replicate a foreign climate, which requires precision. When it comes to feeding however, the size and numbers of prey can be much varied and doesn't really matter.

One winter I stumbled into a little field mouse and her litter of tiny pinks, bedded in insulation, under a well-cover deep in the Appalachian forest on a remote property. I was repairing broken water pipes, and I went to the van to get some tools and grab my camera. When I got back within minutes, the mouse and her babies were gone! I looked all around thinking they must have moved, since I uncovered them. They could not have gone far, considering the pinks were helpless and the tiny mom would have to drag them. As I looked around, I heard a subtle noise in the brush, and upon investigation, spied the dark brown scales of a juvenile Timber Rattler slithering away. He must have been nearby, and when I uncovered the mice, the Timber Rattler caught the scent immediately.

The point of the story is prey size and number. The rattler ate the little mouse mother and all the babies, all in one or two gulps. Perfectly HEALTHY and normal for the snake to eat a whole pile of smaller prey. I am sure it would have been just as healthy and fine for the rattler to eat a much bigger rodent, had the opportunity presented itself. And don't give me some nonsense about, "well, in the wild, they are not as healthy, blah, blah, blah." Snakes can eat all kinds of prey and flourish.

Great story Godzilla! These are stories that beginners like myself like to hear to understand what areas are important in the care of our animals and others that we may just be overthinking.