Little blind "pinkie" mice vs frozen

[Bw331]

Hi everyone!

I need some help!

I bought a ball python from a pet store. He is super tiny like 14 inches id say give or take.

Do I feed him live little baby blind mice called pinkies (which id prefer because i want him to get used to live) or is that a bad idea? if so do i give him frozen??

Thanks so much!

-Bw331

[Bogertophis]

Pinky mice are too small for him...and feeding live is a VERY bad idea. Why would you want him to "get used to that"? It's a recipe for him to get injured,
sooner or later, plus an infection that results from a mouse or rat bite can even kill him. You should be feeding him frozen-thawed fuzzy mice for now, thaw
completely & then warm before offering. Use feeding tongs to offer at night (when they normally eat), slight wiggle (not too much or he may refuse). And
please, do NOT get him on dead prey & then give him live, ever...as he won't be expecting it & is much more likely to get injured. OK?

[Bw331]

okay so not to argue or fight but I am going to feed my buddy live rather than frozen. If pinky's are too small do you suggest a small mouse?

[BluuWolf]

okay so not to argue or fight but I am going to feed my buddy live rather than frozen. If pinky's are too small do you suggest a small mouse?

Yeah pinkies are to small, they are basically just water. It would really depend on his weight for us to really know what size he should eat, but hatchlings right out of the egg eat hoppers. You want the mouse to be a little larger then the largest part of his body.

Another good way to go would be to get a rat fuzzy, they would be young and not as capable of hurting him as a full grown mouse and more nutritious, besides its best to get them used to eating rats ASAP sense when they are larger they will need to eat rats to get a full meal.


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[Zincubus]

Mice v Rats ...

Look to be very , very similar nutritious-wise ...

Apparently just easier to feed one rat than two or three mice to bigger snakes ..

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...e-and-vitamins


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[55fingers]

If you insist on feeding live, make sure you NEVER leave the snake unsupervised with the rodent.

As others are saying, switching to rats as soon as possible is the best idea. When your snake is big, he'll either have to eat multiple mice (more expensive) or one rat (less expensive), and ball pythons are notorious for being difficult eaters, and switching them from mice to rats can be VERY hard. That is why it is best to do it while they are young.

[Hannahshissyfix]

Why do you want to intentionally feed live? Many breeders with large collections do for the convenience and starting babies but if you only have 1 bp be prepared to often have "pet" rodents that will require housing, bedding, food and all of those additional expenses. also what happens when your local pet store doesnt have the right size in stock? What happens when you buy a small rat and in the week or month that it doesnt get eaten it now becomes too large to feed your snake? Im just curious what your motive is since it has almost nothing besides negatives to feed live if you dont have a large collection.

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[reptilemom25]

okay so not to argue or fight but I am going to feed my buddy live rather than frozen. If pinky's are too small do you suggest a small mouse?

Why in the world would you want to do that if you didn’t have to?


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[Bogertophis]

...I need some help!....Do I feed him live little baby blind mice called pinkies (which id prefer because i want him to get used to live)
or is that a bad idea? if so do i give him frozen??...

I believe that the bigger question is why did the OP post a thread (Little blind "pinkie" mice vs frozen) that indicates they are open to debate ("vs"!) and ask if
live "is a bad idea" and then stubbornly insist on feeding live??? Some people just want drama, not to learn...and sadly that appears to be the case here.

[Sunnieskys]

Also tells me no research was done and the petstore he bought from has no clue.

So so let's ask the tough questions......
what is your set up
how many hides
uth?
How are you heating your tank?
thermoSTAT? ( notice i did not say thermometer)
humidity level?

oh and if there is anything STICKY in your tank like stick on gauges or any type of tape...take them out. Your snake will get stuck on them. And they are not accurate anyway.