What should sampson be eating?

When I got my girl the first feeding I did was rat pups. Shes been on rats since. Rats are larger than mice and will hold them longer between feedings than mice. We have a lps jere that charges pet rat prices for feeders because they don't breed their own and they don't like rats. With supervision you won't get the nasty bites. Mice are an advantage on the biting factor but then you have to think of the nutritional value also. Balls eat anything appropriate sized in the wild. Mine at approximately 2 ft was eating rat hoppers. I hated them because they moved too fast lol. Remember though if they were feeding 1 mouse every 2 weeks he's probably going to be hungry after waiting for his next meal. I fed every week at that size and still do, unless she's blued. Thats the only time she ever skipped a meal. On scales go to walmart or target which ever you have and get a scale there. Last time I looked they were around $20 or so. I need to pick a couple up myself. My girl after a forced fasting takes largish small rats at 3 1/2 yrs old. A friend has a ball that will take jumbo at the same age. That boy is fat though. Mine is on the skinny side until I get her back up to weight.

A note on the scales: Look for one that will do a tare weight. This is so you can zero the scale with a container on it then add your BP to the container and only see the BP weight. You could always weigh the container separate and do the math after but being able to do a tare weight is helpful.

With out a container good luck getting a good weight. The only thing harder then weighing a BP that doesn't want to be weighed is measuring one that doesn't want to be measured.

So I went and bought a scale and of course a new gorgeous girl I named Cleopatra. I have no pictures of her yet, but will take some after she's not so bitey.

I have a bit of a problem, I had asked what Sampson should be eating as well as other details such as apparent BS a store owner had told me. But now because I'm worried about one of my snakes, I do need good advice now that I have all of my snakes weights recorded.

Sampson is 220 grams.

Kaa is 20 grams. (This is frightening me, he's got loose skin, and I don't know if thats normal, I fear he's been under fed by his previous owner.)

Cleo is 100 grams, and I think she may be either the same age or younger then Kaa. That is why I am afraid that Kaa is only 20 grams.

so what should I feed these guys? And how many rodents should be fed to them in one go? Especially Kaa.

The snake shop owner of where I got my girl, said he fed her Rat Pinkies.

So the other two?

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Originally Posted by KayleighBrown

So I went and bought a scale and of course a new gorgeous girl I named Cleopatra. I have no pictures of her yet, but will take some after she's not so bitey.

I have a bit of a problem, I had asked what Sampson should be eating as well as other details such as apparent BS a store owner had told me. But now because I'm worried about one of my snakes, I do need good advice now that I have all of my snakes weights recorded.

Sampson is 220 grams.

Kaa is 20 grams. (This is frightening me, he's got loose skin, and I don't know if thats normal, I fear he's been under fed by his previous owner.)

Cleo is 100 grams, and I think she may be either the same age or younger then Kaa. That is why I am afraid that Kaa is only 20 grams.

so what should I feed these guys? And how many rodents should be fed to them in one go? Especially Kaa.

The snake shop owner of where I got my girl, said he fed her Rat Pinkies.

So the other two?

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Sampson needs at least a rat pup every 5-7 days, it will not be long before he is on small rats...at 2ft he might be able to start now.

Cleo should be able to take a pup as well every 5-7 days

Kaa, start with rat pinkies every five days for now, move to fuzzies when you get around the 55-75g mark...after that he will probably be ready for pups.

10-15% of body weights been working well for me feeder size. 20 grams sounds really small, like pinky/fuzzy size.Definitely quarantine in case of internal parasites etc.

Thank you so much for the information, my heart honestly goes out to you. I'll do just that and i'll be sure to keep checking their wight often.

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Originally Posted by KayleighBrown

I wish I knew how old Sampson really is. I want to say he is a year, only 2 ft long or so, that isn't a full adult is it? Aren't adults like full grown when 4 ft? Also if I did feed him a live rat, and something went wrong, what can I do to help? When I brought Sampson in to see what kind of mice he should eat, she actually said he was fat, and should eat an adult mouse every two weeks.

I really want to find out how much he weighs now, so I will get a scale, I just haven't seen any in any of the pet shops or supply shops I visit.

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There is no set length for balls at any age. The averages are simply 3-6ft, with the average being around 4ft...sizes are determined by a cocktail of feeding, genetics, and environment. I know of a handful of specimens that maxed out around 30 inches, but I also saw more than few that were flirting with the 6ft mark.