GAH - rat bite = pierced snake

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I feed hundreds of small rats a week and have been doing so for a lot of years ... I haven't experienced anything like that.

-adam

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I'm not saying they WILL, but that they can...

we do have a stickie on the subject down in the feeder section of this forum.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=33850

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Originally Posted by djslurp1200

I'm not saying they WILL, but that they can...

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True. That is evident by this thread. Anything with teeth can and will attempt to bite when attacked. Snakes are designed to kill rats, so they have a technique that works to avoid this, but now and then a snake can get nipped.

Feeding prekilled resolves this issue, but sometimes prekilled is not an option. If you feed live you can minimize possibility of nip damage with smaller rats, but there is always a slight risk. I personally fed a small (90gram) rat to 950gram Albino female ball and the snake waited a mere second and grabbed the rat by the neck and constricted. The rats mouth just happen to end up next to a coil and just bit. It did cause a wound that was visible but it healed up and went away after several sheds. I feed both live and prekilled, but this is now one of the snakes that gets only prekilled.

Everyone has opinions, it's all opinion. Yours, mine, his, hers.. No one is right, no one is wrong. Just use your common sense, read peoples opinions and make your own choices. If feeding live is for you.. good. If you think feeding prekilled or frozen thawed is best, thats good too. Either is fine as long as you snake is fed.

Rick

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Originally Posted by djslurp1200

I'm not saying they WILL, but that they can...

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Lots of things "CAN" happen ... F/T and P/K rodents have sharp teeth and claws that "CAN" cut and puncture the soft inner tissue of ball pythons causing abcesses ... heating elements and thermostats "CAN" malfunction and cook snakes in their enclosures ... The reality is that live rodents "CAN" be fed to snakes week in and week out for years without any problems ... I "CAN" prove it. ;) :D :sweeet:

-adam

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

I personally fed a small (90gram) rat to 950gram Albino female ball and the snake waited a mere second and grabbed the rat by the neck and constricted.

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Try smaller rats ... I feed "small smalls" 40 -50 grams ... hundreds a week for many years ... never have a problem. ;)

-adam

I wack every rat in the head before i feed it off.. It's fun HAHAHA..

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Originally Posted by JASBALLS

I wack every rat in the head before i feed it off.. It's fun HAHAHA..

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:O :confused: :O

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Originally Posted by JASBALLS

I wack every rat in the head before i feed it off.. It's fun HAHAHA..

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not at all funny :colbert:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

not at all funny :colbert:

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Wasnt trying to be FUNNY...

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Try smaller rats ... I feed "small smalls" 40 -50 grams ... hundreds a week for many years ... never have a problem. ;)

-adam

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Ok so my pet store I bought my BP from tells me to feed her a rat the same width as the widest part of my BP. I also bought an adult female from them and they told me to feed her mediums. She weighs 1500 grams. They gave me a medium rat to feed her and I couldn't believe the size of the thing I didn't think she would eat it. They were like oh ya for sure every 2 weeks. So I gave it to her she ate it fine I was shocked. So now I'm under the assumption thats what to do. These rats weigh like 150g.

So if you're feeding 40-50 gram rats to your BPs are you feeding them 1 rat every week or 2 -3 rats every week lets say for a 1500g female BP like mine?

and am I overfeeding my girl by feeding her a medium every 2 weeks? I feed F/T.