new adoption questions

I responded to an add that I have seriouslly been tracking for over a month now and decided to email the guy after finally persuading my hubby. We already have a baby BP plus 2 other snakes. I got a great deal on a 2 1/2-3 yr old girl. She's about 26-30" and I haven't gotten her weight just yet. When I picked her up he said she was ready to eat, he's been feeding live white rats. He feeds her every 2 weeks. I've had her since friday, should I go ahead and offer her some food? I wanted to give her at least a few days to settle in before we tried feeding and she does seem comfortable in her new home. should I keep her on the every 2 weeks schedule and when is it okay to try f/t rats? She has a pretty nasty 3" scar down at the end of her tail from someone leaving a rat in all night:(But still a lovely girl! thanks in advance!

I would recommend waiting a full week before offering food again. You should feed it live mice once a week. I feed my female that is 1000g+ 2-4 mice at one sitting depending on how many she takes. After having successful feedings for 3 or 4 weeks I would then give it a go at switching to F/T. Keep in mind though that some snakes will not make the switch and you may need to offer this snake live mice the entire time you own it.

k, I'll wait a few more days then...so I should scrap the rats and go for a couple of mice per feeding once a week instead of every 2 weeks?
I pretty much figured that she's probably been fed live since she was a baby, so feeding live is not a problem at all, but I may still attempt a f/t feeding, like you said, after a few successes,just to see. thanks for your response!

Some snakes switch no problems, others don't. I would definitely wait a full week though, if you decide to present a F/T or a live doesn't matter. If she eats the F/T great, if she doesn't you know to feed live next week. However when I get a new animal I like to get them set up and consistent before I try to change any aspects of their prior care.

I thought you had said she was feeding on live mice my first time reading it. Now I see that it was rats, so I would stick with rats since its easier to feed one item instead of multiples. One rat as thick as the thickest part of your snake, once per week.

I agree, one appropriately sized rat a week is a great schedule. Rats are preferred to mice because they have larger bones, making them higher in calcium.