insist on feeding rats to bp

hi, i have a 1000+g bp that is a mice feeder, it's in off feed now for almost 3 months, is it ok if i switch it to rat by offering a rat pup every 2 weeks? will it starve itself to death if not givin what it's used to eat?(mice) thanks in advance

I would try a rat weanling. A put is pretty small. BPs can go a long time with out eating. Some have gone 1.5 yrs. I would try a rat weanling every week. If you can get him to take one, wait another 10-14 days to try another.

But, yes. If they do not want to eat a rat out of fear, they can get ill. If you notice him loosing a considerable amount of weight, you'll have to go back to mice :( Good luck with him.

You can try switching but chances how it might not work especially since this animal is already on strike, but you can try there is nothing to lose.

Try offering a rat pup (they are the same size than a mice and it will make the switch a little easier, bigger different prey can be more intimidating), once your BP switches upgrade to a bigger size as needed.

Keep in mind that a 1000 grams BP can go months without food, so simply make sure your husbandry is optimal, keep handling to a minimum and wait till he resumes feeding (sooner or later he will)

Note: When an animal that age stop feeding switching prey type is not always the solution.

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hi, i have a 1000+g bp that is a mice feeder, it's in off feed now for almost 3 months, is it ok if i switch it to rat by offering a rat pup every 2 weeks?

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yes, though you could probably just feed a small rat.

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will it starve itself to death if not givin what it's used to eat?(mice) thanks in advance

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no it will not starve itself to death. A healthy adult ball python can go well over 6 months without food.

thanks for the info guys :) i'll just wait till my bp eats rat :)

Are you feeding live or f/t?

I don't think it's very smart to not feed him until he eats rats. If he was bit, or traumatized by one, he might never eat them. They can go months without eating, but eventually he is going to start loosing weight.

I wouldn't try for more than 3 months. If he still won't eat a rat, switch back to mice. Breeding season is approaching, and he may stop eating all together. It's a long time till next spring.

Is the snake a male or female? I personally keep my males between 800 - 1000Grams. Ive heard that you want slimmer trimmer males. I have a bp that's been off food for 3 months now. At first i was freaking out.. but everyone keeps telling me to relax about it.

my thoughts..:)

Scuba

Definitely give rats a try before going back to mice. I had a couple mousers who switched to rats after going off feed for a few months.

thanks for the info guys :)

I have two females (one is 1000g and the other is 1700g). I bought them a month ago and they are mouse eaters. One has not eaten for me at all and the other eats F/T mice. I put a small rat in a few days ago and it just watched it (live). Today I bought a live mouse and she wouldn't eat it either. My husbandry is good so I do not know what is going on. I am going to put the mouse in late tonight and hope she eats it. If she doesn't I guess I will wait another couple weeks and try again.

I have 8 other BP's that eat F/T rats with no problem. I just switched my male Pin from live adult mice to F/T weaned rats. The weaned rats are about the same size as jumbo mice. I just did the defrost in hot water and blow dry method and he took it no problem.

thanks for the info :)

I personally would get the snake back on it's feeding schedule. Once it starts eating regularly, buy a frozen mouse along with the proper sized rat you want to feed your snake. Thaw the mouse and put it in a container with the rat for a few hours. What you're wanting to do is scent the rat with the smell of the mouse. This may help your snake with the switch. If this works, do it again for a few more weeks, then try just the unscented rat. See if it works.

Some times the snake will eat a mouse scented rat where it wouldn't eat just the rat.

Give it a try, it' won't cost you that much.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

thanks j h smith :)