Advice on once week feeding

Hopefully somebody can help me out, my ball is about 150 grams 20-ish inches and has been eating 2 hoppers a week (one sunday one thursday) for a few weeks and she still looks at me like shes hungry after eating (the hoppers were about 12-14 grams), I was told by the place a got her (a local family owned shop) that i should bump her to mice, but slow it down to once a week (size wise at her roundest shes slightly girthier then a quarter) anybody have any opinions or advice on that?

Ditch the mice diet, switch to rats as soon as possible. One good healthy fat rat pup is the same size as an adult mouse, which should be about 15% of her body weight. Also you should feed a rat pup every five days until she hits 500 grams and then you can go to every seven days. Rats have 10% more protein than mice and more calcium too. More nutrition for your growing snake.

I feed 1 prey item (preferably rats) about the width of my snake at its widest point every 5 days until around 700-800 grams. Then the same thing except every 7 days. Prey item size increases with the size of the snake.

My mouse eater is about 140g and takes a weaned mouse every 5 days. He could probably go up to an small-medium adult mouse. The only reason he isn't is cause I have some cornsnakes in that prey item size and it's easier when it comes to ordering food.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by evan385

Ditch the mice diet, switch to rats as soon as possible. One good healthy fat rat pup is the same size as an adult mouse, which should be about 15% of her body weight. Also you should feed a rat pup every five days until she hits 500 grams and then you can go to every seven days. Rats have 10% more protein than mice and more calcium too. More nutrition for your growing snake.

---

I have heard that, i will have to try switching her. I have heard the 15-20 percent body weight reference, ill tried to do that, ill try doing it with rats, thanks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KatStoverReptiles

I feed 1 prey item (preferably rats) about the width of my snake at its widest point every 5 days until around 700-800 grams. Then the same thing except every 7 days. Prey item size increases with the size of the snake.

My mouse eater is about 140g and takes a weaned mouse every 5 days. He could probably go up to an small-medium adult mouse. The only reason he isn't is cause I have some cornsnakes in that prey item size and it's easier when it comes to ordering food.

---

I gotcha, Im thinking about going slightly larger and falling back to a 5 day, I deffinetly dont want to under feed her, but I dont want to over do it either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by evan385

Ditch the mice diet, switch to rats as soon as possible. One good healthy fat rat pup is the same size as an adult mouse, which should be about 15% of her body weight. Also you should feed a rat pup every five days until she hits 500 grams and then you can go to every seven days. Rats have 10% more protein than mice and more calcium too. More nutrition for your growing snake.

---

x2 not sure about the nutritional value info however make the switch asap because as the snake gets bigger and older its harder to switch them over.

Also i would be feeding a rat pup every 3 days. but my young females love to eat.

Gotcha, Im gonna try switching soon, ill see what shell take and see how she reacts and try to determine the schedule on that

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BFT12890

Gotcha, Im gonna try switching soon, ill see what shell take and see how she reacts and try to determine the schedule on that

---

It really does come down to a per snake thing the schedule. some will eat more than others and some dont. but i wind back to a 5-7 day schedule as they begin eating larger prey items.

My girl is a tank and has yet to refuse anything so im taking it slow because i dont know if she knows when to stop :P

I have never heard that rats are more nutritious than mice, but rats are certainly easier to feed an adult snake because of their size. If a pb stays on mice, they need several a week, which people do just fine, but I personally hope I don't have to deal with. The nutritional value of a rodent is largely determined by what the rodent was fed. A healthy snake eats healthy prey.

I am in the same boat though, my girl is on mice still. As soon as she eats the mice I have left, I am trying the switch and hoping she takes to it. You never know though, it's really up to the snake.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Emily Hubbard

I have never heard that rats are more nutritious than mice, but rats are certainly easier to feed an adult snake because of their size. If a pb stays on mice, they need several a week, which people do just fine, but I personally hope I don't have to deal with. The nutritional value of a rodent is largely determined by what the rodent was fed. A healthy snake eats healthy prey.

I am in the same boat though, my girl is on mice still. As soon as she eats the mice I have left, I am trying the switch and hoping she takes to it. You never know though, it's really up to the snake.

---

Hopefully the switch goes well for you :] im assuming it will for me, my girl is a little tank and is yet to less than destroy anything thrown in her tank :D haha