Is my BP underweight?

I just called the Petco near where I live and they sell small, medium, large, and jumbo rats. Should I start by feeding adult mice and then move up to small rats?

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Originally Posted by abrunsen

I just called the Petco near where I live and they sell small, medium, large, and jumbo rats. Should I start by feeding adult mice and then move up to small rats?

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I try to feed weaned rats before I move to smalls. Are there any other pet stores near you? Not a Petco or Petsmart. If not, then you can feed adult mice and eventually double up on those each feeding and then go on to small rats. I don't start mine on smalls until they are about 600g. The small rats I get are about 60-80g each.

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Originally Posted by Kinra

I try to feed weaned rats before I move to smalls. Are there any other pet stores near you? Not a Petco or Petsmart. If not, then you can feed adult mice and eventually double up on those each feeding and then go on to small rats. I don't start mine on smalls until they are about 600g. The small rats I get are about 60-80g each.

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Im in college and have no form of transportation off campus. I have to take a city bus every time I need to go get food for my snake. So unfortunately Petco is my only option.

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Originally Posted by abrunsen

Im in college and have no form of transportation off campus. I have to take a city bus every time I need to go get food for my snake. So unfortunately Petco is my only option.

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Then you will need to hold off on rats and feed adult mice for the time being unless Petco will order some rat pups for you, but I doubt it. BPs can live on mice just fine, rats are just easier which is why so many prefer them.

Petco should have a 3 pack of f/t adult mice. If you dont see it I would ask. Or if that really is your only option, then I would say to feed live cause petco does have feeder mice. Just be sure to keep an eye on your BP if you feed live.

If you can't find pups or even weaned rats I would stick to adult mice (maybe even multiples per session if she'll/he'll take them) until she/he is ready to move to small rats. Note that some won't transition easy from mice to rats so you may need to "trick" her to take rats if she gets picky but she could transition in no problem.

Does your town have a zoo? You could talk to the reptile "keeper" there (if the zoo has reptiles) and they may point you to a local feeder breeder if that could be an option for you down the road. That's how the bf and I found a local feeder rat supplier.

Don't feel bad about PetCo telling you that about pinkies. When my husband and I got our very first BP in 2004, they told us the same thing. We fed it pinkies and tiny little mice from July to December, once a week. Then on December 14th, I got my first snake bite. It was because she was so hungry that she thought I'd be giving her more food.

You are definitely in the right place! Your BP is very cool looking. Do you have a name for him/her yet? :)

Petco's "jumbo" rats are smaller than the average adult mouse. They are a joke in terms of size. Your bp should have very little trouble eating a 20 g petco rat.