Small rat vs. 3 mice

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

3 adult mice is the most I would feed an adult male ;)

Remember BP are opportunistic, because they can eat more does not mean they NEED to eat more to thrive.

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So, how may grams equals three adult mice? I'm really wondering what the gram weight is for an adult ball eating every 7 days...

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Originally Posted by starmom

So, how may grams equals three adult mice? I'm really wondering what the gram weight is for an adult ball eating every 7 days...

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depends on what size adult you feed

Large Adults
30 to 40 days of age. These mice have reached sexual maturity.

Length (Inches): 2.50 - 3.00*
Weight (Grams): 20.00 - 29.00

Extra Large Adults (XL)
5 to 6 months of age. These are retired breeder mice. These mice are almost twice the size of a young adult mouse. Perfect in every way but have reached the end of their peak producing ability.

Length (Inches): 3.00 - 3.75*
Weight (Grams): 30.00 - 50.00

I guess if you don't have a choice, Mice will do the job. To me, Mice are the fast food of the feeder world. Rats would be a much more meatier meal and offer more nutrition.

I also don't really believe in stack feeding. Snakes are not designed to eat multiple meals at once and 2 or 3 of the same type of feeder does not mean the break-down and digestion rate will be the same for all three.

One proper sized meal is better then many undersized meals in my opinion. On top of, I don't see 3 Mice being as good as one rat still.

Just my thoughts on the topic.

I guess I was really thinking about rat size...I think I'll start a new thread so I don't hijack this one!!

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Originally Posted by ChrisBowsman

Would there be any harm in alternating?

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I don't think that there would be. I alternate with the 3 '07s that I still have. 2 are sold and I am waiting on better weather to ship them to their owners. I feed them mostly smaller rats, but I just fed mice today because I had no rats of the right size, and the price was right at the store. All 3 take either-or. I also figure this way, their buyers can feed them easier on either mice or rats, whatever they choose, as the snakes have taken both.
*If* you have a picky feeder though,, my advice would be to stick with one type of prey and get the snake feeding reliably.

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Originally Posted by starmom

So, how may grams equals three adult mice? I'm really wondering what the gram weight is for an adult ball eating every 7 days...

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3 adult mice are about 75 grams = small rat

I don't feed anything more than 1 small rat or 3 mice a week even to the largest females.

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Originally Posted by APBTOwner

I guess if you don't have a choice, Mice will do the job. To me, Mice are the fast food of the feeder world. Rats would be a much more meatier meal and offer more nutrition.

I also don't really believe in stack feeding. Snakes are not designed to eat multiple meals at once and 2 or 3 of the same type of feeder does not mean the break-down and digestion rate will be the same for all three.

One proper sized meal is better then many undersized meals in my opinion. On top of, I don't see 3 Mice being as good as one rat still.

Just my thoughts on the topic.

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How do you know that rats as oppose to mice offer more nutrition? There has never really been a study on the nutritional requirements of ball pythons. I don't know about being meatier but rats do have a higher fat content which would explain why bp's seem to gain weight faster on rats than mice.
The rats are better than mice therory is just opinion not really based on any fact.

I fed my bp 3 mice a week for three years and his vet, Dr. Scott Stahl, said he was one of the healthiest bp's he had ever seen.
I think you should feed what your bp will eat. The key is not so much WHAT to feed as to how much/little and how often.

I feed both. Though with breeding rats again most if not all mine will be switching over I have fed both mice and rats very often. For some of my girls I have offered multiple mice (never more then four). I really don't believe they'd need more then that even being an adult.

When my ball pythons were babies, I fed them mice just to get them going, but then switched to rats as soon as I could. It seems that the snakes grow faster when you feed them rats than mice. They're just bulkier.

I know that no scientific study has been done, but it's been my experience.

I feed all of my balls rats. I would also look for a rat breeder close to you. 4.50 is way to expensive. I get mine for a buck. Hope this helps.