Feeding twice at once?

I'm all out of rats, and the nearest place that sells them cheap & in the size I need is 30 minutes away, so I make the trip when I have something to do out in that direction.

Anyway, I DO have some frozen adult mice, but they are much smaller than the rats I usually feed him every 5 days. If I had to guess, they're about half the size(about 2 inches long in body length) & the rats are around 5 in body length.

I've heard of people around these forums feeding two mice in the same meal, one after the other has been swallowed if the snake accepts it.

My question for you is if this is safe.

Never did it myself, but a friend prefers this method. Not quite sure why. But his BP is 8 years old and quite healthy.
I'd be interested to hear of any negative impacts though...

If the 2 smaller meals you feed are the same size as the larger one you would normally feed then i cant think of any negative consequences.

At only 7 months of age, he's just under 3 feet long(pretty big for a male at this age I suppose); because of this I don't feel it's too much food, but there may be another factor to consider, like stress on the lining of the esophagus or something. Either way, I just want to feed him an adequate amount to continue proper growth.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

If the 2 smaller meals you feed are the same size as the larger one you would normally feed then i cant think of any negative consequences.

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It'll be a bit smaller, so three might be a better decision, but I don't want to push my luck.

Thanks.

I have done it a few times with my BP because I had a surplus of fuzzies. I've also done it when I was jipped on the size of my mice. I have never had an issue with it, and the snake seems just as content and comfortable with it as ever. Since they're smaller than what the snake is used to taking there shouldn't be negative effects regarding tissue lining, etc as the snake is not having to work the mouse nearly as hard as it does a rat to get it down.

Just my $.02.

I have done this numerous times with absolutely no ill effects. As a mater of fact my corn eats two mice every meal of course she is a absolute pig. LOL

Are saying to just feed one then wait till its down and feed another? or are you saying to put the head of the 2nd mouse in the snakes mouth as he is finishing the 1st so he will take both down at the same time? Feeding him one and then waiting till its down and feeding another is not a problem that would be fine. The other method is used when people are trying to switch a mouser to rats and should be used for that purpose. Some BPs that never get switched to rats grow up to eat 4 or more adult mice in a feeding. He will be fine :gj:

I think you should be fine. I was just reading my bp care book and they say it's fine. I've never done it with my bps. But, I've fed my retic two small rats within 5 min interval's only because he kept coming up looking for something to grab after first one.

no issue if they are small - whether you wait or feet head to tail.

I would be more concerned feeding mice to balls steady on rats. They like mike better and may give you grief the next time you feed a rat. I would toss a frozen mouse before i feed a rat eater a mouse...but that is just me! ;)