Switching to rats and need some advice on size

I found a local rat breeder that I am going to start getting rats from starting tomorrow, my ball python is under a year old and is 4 inches in girth, circumference, around, whatever you call it. So should I get a pinkie? Hopper? Or something else? This is my first snake and he still acts hungry when I feed him a mouse from the pet store but I don't know what kind of mice they were, they looked like a adult white mouse but only about 2 inches long not counting the tail. So I want to switch to rats early I just need help getting the right size. Sorry for the long post just trying to get everything in there.

PS he will only eat live

The rat should be no bigger than his largest girth. 4" circumference will probably be a either a pup or weanling is my guess. I'm assuming if it's a local breeder, you should be able to see what size your options are and go from there. Some people do 10-15% of weight... I just go by size and girth.

As gaplastina said. I tend to follow the 10-15% rule and of course I also check the width of the snake and prey size.

But now I'm in somewhat doubt myself what to order. My stock is coming to an end and I need to restock on rats. My python is ~500g 9months old and i'm wondering if I sholuld just order 40-60g rats instead of 20-40g rats he's on now. He even munches on two of them sometimes.

What would be your suggestions. Should I buy the smaller ones and try to feed more than one or should I just go for the next size. He doesn't always want to eat two or more. Usually he doesn't care for another one after he ate the first :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jxl

As gaplastina said. I tend to follow the 10-15% rule and of course I also check the width of the snake and prey size.

But now I'm in somewhat doubt myself what to order. My stock is coming to an end and I need to restock on rats. My python is ~500g 9months old and i'm wondering if I sholuld just order 40-60g rats instead of 20-40g rats he's on now. He even munches on two of them sometimes.

What would be your suggestions. Should I buy the smaller ones and try to feed more than one or should I just go for the next size. He doesn't always want to eat two or more. Usually he doesn't care for another one after he ate the first :P

---

I think I'd go with those 40-60g ones. They are right on with the 10-15% rule...

http://iansvivarium.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=75

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gaplastina

I think I'd go with those 40-60g ones. They are right on with the 10-15% rule...

---

Seconded.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by randysnp

I found a local rat breeder that I am going to start getting rats from starting tomorrow, my ball python is under a year old and is 4 inches in girth, circumference, around, whatever you call it. So should I get a pinkie? Hopper? Or something else? This is my first snake and he still acts hungry when I feed him a mouse from the pet store but I don't know what kind of mice they were, they looked like a adult white mouse but only about 2 inches long not counting the tail. So I want to switch to rats early I just need help getting the right size. Sorry for the long post just trying to get everything in there.

PS he will only eat live

---

How much does your snake weigh?

If you can't weigh him, the food should be about as big around as the snake is at it's widest point.

I don't know what his weight is, I know the rule about the widest part of their body, I was just wondering what that size was called so I didn't look like a moron trying to describe how big my bp is. But what I ended up doing is loosely tying a string around his widest part and taking the string with me to compare sizes. My new concern is that the rat pup looked the right size and he ate it fine but it left a much bigger bump then the mouse did. Is this about a normal size bump or is it too big?
Before:
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camer...C7s5e2N6hzmhGQ
After:
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camer...MmAQ62X9SOkdmw

Here is a link to Layne Labs size chart for their F/T feeders. Click on each tab and it will give you a weight range for that particular size of rat.

http://www.laynelabs.com/frozen-rats

here is a link that gives a comparison difference on mice, rats, and rabbits with pics . I go by girth when selecting f/t or live (my ball doesn't care which)
http://www.frozenfeeder.com/sizing.html