Do BPs acknowledge the colour of the rat?

Does the colour of the rat have any impact on your BPs reaction to the food?


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My ball python doesn't seem to care about the color. Ball pythons go by scent and heat but I have heard some people say that their ball python prefers a certain color. We'll just have to wait for one of the experts to chime in as I only have one ball python of experience. :)

Mine doesn't care about colour or species (rat or mouse), but I have definitely read about BPs that are picky about that.

I picked up a couple bps from a Craigslist add a while ago and the previous owner said they WILL NOT eat the rat unless it is all white. Said she's tried and tried again and they won't do it. I've never had a problem with them eating white, white and gray, or all gray rats. They just like food IMO.

I've heard of this behavior too, but never saw it first-hand. It makes sense to me that if a BP (or other snake) has a bad experience (gets bit by) a rodent of
a particular color that they might associate that difficulty with those that appear to be similar in the future, & refuse them in an "abundance of caution". But
let's see what turns up here, if anyone can verify this?

I had a picky eater that only ever took light colored live rats. I had access to whatever color rats I wanted so after I figured it out I just offered her what had the best chance of her taking it. So yes, I believe they can distinguish the color but from my experience 99% of them could care less that color the rat is.

I’ve never owned one that cared. That’s just my two cents. Peace