mice to rats...

I have the same problem. I just picked up a 1006g normal female that was just fed mice. I offered her a 56g rat and she just smelled it and left it alone. So I will be trying the scenting trick, just have to get some used bedding.

You might also want to start out with smaller rats that are just a little bit bigger than adult mice, or the snake may be intimidated by the large size. If your snake doesn't take the scented rat the first time, you might also try offering a mouse first and then the small scented rat right after that, while it is still in feeding mode. I have had that trick work going mouse to small rat, as well as live mouse to frozen / thawed mouse.... by slipping them the desired different prey while they are still in that feeding mode after having eaten their usual prey. Good luck!

Hi everyone, I am new here so if this isn't the place to ask this, forgive me!

Why is it better for bp's to eat rats as opposed to mice? Is it just because it's a bigger prey item? My bp was adopted from a rescue group who've been very knowledgable and helpful and they said they never fed rats, only mice. My female is about a year and half old and she takes 2 large adult mice every 7-10 days. She appears to be in perfect health, so I am assuming this is ok?

She does get ravenous for her next meal though so that's why I'm wondering if she should eat something larger or if I should just feed her a little more frequently. I am leaning toward offering her meals every 5-7 days instead of giving her larger prey as I think smaller more frequent meals might be better for her digestion. What do you think?

Thanks so much for your advice! :)

2 large mice is only about 60, maybe 70g of food. For full grown ball pythons, they should be eating a small rat weekly which is around 100g.

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Hi everyone, I am new here so if this isn't the place to ask this, forgive me!

Why is it better for bp's to eat rats as opposed to mice? Is it just because it's a bigger prey item? My bp was adopted from a rescue group who've been very knowledgable and helpful and they said they never fed rats, only mice. My female is about a year and half old and she takes 2 large adult mice every 7-10 days. She appears to be in perfect health, so I am assuming this is ok?

She does get ravenous for her next meal though so that's why I'm wondering if she should eat something larger or if I should just feed her a little more frequently. I am leaning toward offering her meals every 5-7 days instead of giving her larger prey as I think smaller more frequent meals might be better for her digestion. What do you think?

Thanks so much for your advice! :)

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I prefer feeding one apropriate sized items rather than 2 small, there are several reasons price ( i get frozen rats @ about a buck apiece, all my mice are purchased @ local store and are over 2 bucks a piece) It takes less energy to eat one item as opposed to 2, and your bp will never get large enough to outgrow rats. Kinda like feeding my fat butt 2 happy meals instead of the double qurter pounder that I wanted anyway :D