Alternating Portion Sizes?

So I have read that switching up the size of the prey is a good idea to maintain a healthy b/p etc.
Is this something that I should be doing? We have just gotten 2 b/p's from a very bad owner, they were in a tank with no heating, no water to bath in..only a small dish to drink out of etc. We tried to feed them both tonight using frozen rats (small) but they wouldnt touch them. I know they could a) be stressed over the move that took place about a week ago. b) arent used to eading frozen (they ate live..and in there tank!) and I have also been having some trouble keeping there humidity under control.

The old owner said they were both fantastic eaters, and they are actually pretty plump. 1 is 4 foot and the other is 3 foot but both are 2 years old.

She wasnt to clear on what they ate and I am sure she didnt know the diffrence between rats and mice.

So as you can tell I am in a pickle, tonight I let them take a nice long soak while I cleaned out there tank and everything and after that they really seemed ready to eat and spent the rest of the day crawling around there place. But once we got them into there feeding boxes they would have no part of it.

Also, I was attempting to feed them small rats, maybe they arent ready for them?? If not how many of which should I be feeding them? I have also decided to just go back to live since that is the only thing the old owner did know about them.

Do help please.

~Audrey

92-94 on the warm side, 82-84 on the cool side... seperate enclosures... identical tight-fitting hides on the cool and warm sides... once these conditions are met... give them 1 week, then try feeding a wean (35-40g) or small (60g max) rat... If they still don't take it, then there are some other tricks to try... but no handling, and get their environments set up correctly before trying to feed again.... then don't handle them until they feed.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Oh - and you can feed them in their enclosures... there's absolutely no issue with doing that. Feed boxes/etc... require handling both before and directly after feeding, which can lead to regurges. The small amount of substrate that they may ingest is nothing compaired to the bones/hair that they'll be digesting anyway... and if you're worried about associating going into their enclosures with food, then you can adjust their association by entering their enclosures for many different purposes. (cleaning/watering/handling/etc..)

seperate enclosures, meaning I should seperate them for now?

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

seperate enclosures, meaning I should seperate them for now?

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yup yup

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

seperate enclosures, meaning I should seperate them for now?

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Separate them for always - they should not be housed together.

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

seperate enclosures, meaning I should seperate them for now?

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Ball pythons are solitary animals that only come together during mating time.So for them to in there best interest you need to place one in another enclosure.I commend you on rescueing them from the previous owner :gj: .The members here including myself have many tips on helping you keep your scaley kids happy healthy and fit.

so even if the end up being the same sex I need to seperate them?

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

so even if the end up being the same sex I need to seperate them?

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If you want the very best for them...yes. ;)

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Originally Posted by TheAudOne

so even if the end up being the same sex I need to seperate them?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Separate them for always - they should not be housed together.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Ball pythons are solitary animals that only come together during mating time.So for them to in there best interest you need to place one in another enclosure.I commend you on rescueing them from the previous owner :gj: .The members here including myself have many tips on helping you keep your scaley kids happy healthy and fit.

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Originally Posted by JLC

If you want the very best for them...yes. ;)

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I'll just leave it at that. :)