Stepped up feeder size rat from small to medium!

I switched Marcie over from small rats to medium rats last week and it was the perfect size for her! I was worried about switching her over because: a) I don't want her to grow more, and I read that the bigger size she eats and if her terrarium is big (40gal breeder) then she will grow more, b) Marcie has been injured once before with a small rat (small scratch right under her head from the rat's nail while being constricted) so I didn't want the threat to be even bigger with a medium, and c) medium rats are $7.99, which is a $2 increase from what I was paying before, weekly. I was thinking about feeding her only twice a month, so basically, I was wondering: for those who feed medium rats to their snakes, how often do you feed? and how do you tell if your snake is hungry?

I feed every week. Unless they have sausage butt. I feed them once they have poo'd at that point.

Managing size is one thing, but trying to keep them from growing because of you personal desire for her size to stay where it's at is unethical.

A snake should grow to its genetic potential, not be stunted because we like a smaller snake. Also a snake does not grow to the size of its enclosure. Feeding and temp has everything to do with growth rate, as well as genetics and condition of the snakes health.

Do your snake a favor and feed appropriate sized meals at appropriate intervals. If your snake fits in a 40g breeder and you think that is big, I can almost guarantee it isn't ready or healthy for it to go to a 2 week schedule. Every 5-7 days is appropriate for a smaller snake, whereas adults can safely switch over to 10-14 day schedule if it has good weight and muscle tone.

What kind of snake again, how old? How big? Weight?

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Where do you buy your rats? That's really expensive for med rats. They'e $3 here and I thought that was over-priced.

I feed Dovah once a week if he's willing to take it. He's also on the small size of med rats.
If he doesn't take it, I wait until his next feeding day. He's on a strike right now, the jerk. lol

Snakes don't grow by their enclosure, they will continue to grow to their max size no matter what you do. You could keep them in a 10 gallon and they would still reach their full adult size(never keep an adult bp in a 10 gal)

If you want a smaller snake, perhaps you should look at other species.

wow, 8 dollars for a medium rat. you really need to order some frozen rats online, or stack up at a reptile show.

stupid question.... you are not buying pet rats, are you? 8 dollars looks like a pet price. you get feeder rats, which are basically the same, by asking for them in the reptile section of the store, feeder animals are not on display and the price is much lower. for the regular customer they are basically invisible. some very small stores may not have them, but most pet stores have them.

i dont think trying to get BPs to grow slower by restricting food makes any sense. a fully grown adult is not dangerous and not even intimidating, and can easily be handled even if you tie one arm behind your back. it should not be done without good reason, and i see no good reason. it only makes sense for truly gigantic species where it takes 2 or 3 people to safely handle an adult, like burms, retics, or green anacondas.

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

wow, 8 dollars for a medium rat. you really need to order some frozen rats online, or stack up at a reptile show.

stupid question.... you are not buying pet rats, are you? 8 dollars looks like a pet price. you get feeder rats, which are basically the same, by asking for them in the reptile section of the store, feeder animals are not on display and the price is much lower. for the regular customer they are basically invisible. some very small stores may not have them, but most pet stores have them.

i dont think trying to get BPs to grow slower by restricting food makes any sense. a fully grown adult is not dangerous and not even intimidating, and can easily be handled even if you tie one arm behind your back. it should not be done without good reason, and i see no good reason. it only makes sense for truly gigantic species where it takes 2 or 3 people to safely handle an adult, like burms, retics, or green anacondas.

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It doesn't even make sense with burms retics or anacondas. All of which I keep. Big snakes are just that, big snakes. You should never try to make them smaller by not providing food at appropriate intervals.

In the case of Burms retics and anacondas, if a person can't handle a giant snake, don't buy a giant snake. That's what boas, balls, and corns are for.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

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Originally Posted by Expensive hobby

Managing size is one thing, but trying to keep them from growing because of you personal desire for her size to stay where it's at is unethical.

A snake should grow to its genetic potential, not be stunted because we like a smaller snake. Also a snake does not grow to the size of its enclosure. Feeding and temp has everything to do with growth rate, as well as genetics and condition of the snakes health.

Do your snake a favor and feed appropriate sized meals at appropriate intervals. If your snake fits in a 40g breeder and you think that is big, I can almost guarantee it isn't ready or healthy for it to go to a 2 week schedule. Every 5-7 days is appropriate for a smaller snake, whereas adults can safely switch over to 10-14 day schedule if it has good weight and muscle tone.

What kind of snake again, how old? How big? Weight?

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She is a BP and was already an adult when I bought her, they thought she was around two years old, and I've had her for almost a year, so she should be three years old currently. I don't know how much she weighs, she's nice and full though, but I plan on getting a scale soon. I had said "I read that the bigger size she eats and if her terrarium is big (40gal breeder) then she will grow more" so I wasn't sure if it was true or what, so I'm sorry for getting my information wrong. I just don't have enough money for a vivarium yet, I'm saving, so I just don't want her to get too big for the enclosure she's currently in (which seems perfect for her size).

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Originally Posted by Kat_Dog

Where do you buy your rats? That's really expensive for med rats. They'e $3 here and I thought that was over-priced.

I feed Dovah once a week if he's willing to take it. He's also on the small size of med rats.
If he doesn't take it, I wait until his next feeding day. He's on a strike right now, the jerk. lol

Snakes don't grow by their enclosure, they will continue to grow to their max size no matter what you do. You could keep them in a 10 gallon and they would still reach their full adult size(never keep an adult bp in a 10 gal)

If you want a smaller snake, perhaps you should look at other species.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

wow, 8 dollars for a medium rat. you really need to order some frozen rats online, or stack up at a reptile show.

stupid question.... you are not buying pet rats, are you? 8 dollars looks like a pet price. you get feeder rats, which are basically the same, by asking for them in the reptile section of the store, feeder animals are not on display and the price is much lower. for the regular customer they are basically invisible. some very small stores may not have them, but most pet stores have them.

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I buy my feeder (not pet) rats from a small pet store (there aren't many places here that sell feeder rats), but they have to be ordered every week, and I've always paid that much for rats, even in South Carolina. Also, I feed live, since the pet store I bought her from said she's always been fed live, and because they're live and special ordered, I was wondering what other people do so I can get more insight. Thanks for giving me more info about the growth of snakes, Kat_Dog! I don't want a smaller snake, I just don't want Marcie to be cramped.

I love my snake! It's a lot of work, but I love her. I'm still a noob at this, I'm sure all of you have been at one point as well.

Oh. Yeah. She's going to grow as big as she's going to grow - and frankly it would be a rare bp that would outgrow a 40gallon tank. Even if she does, sterilite tubs are DIRT cheap. I'm actually moving my snakes into those this weekend, because the weight of glass tanks is impossible to handle at bigger sizes for cleaning and disinfecting.

I appreciate your input, CptJack!

Your snake is not going to be cramped in a 40 gallon tank. You can let the largest adult BP loose in your house, and guess were you'll find them? Crammed into the smallest,, warmest space they can find...

Switching from live to f/t could save you time and money as well. If your bp is a solid feeder, healthy, and your husbandry is good I would think you could buy a f/t or two and see if she will switch over.