Too big?

Was wondering if a small rat weighing ~50 grams was too big to feed my 225g BP. I normally feed 2 mice that weigh about ~35g combined every 5 days, but wanted to switch too only feeding one, so I asked the petstore how big the small rats were and they said around 40g:rolleyes:. Obviously not! Is it ok to go ahead try and feed it, its been 7 days since I fed last because my car Im doing :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: to my car and its inconvenient to get a ride to get smaller mice. I can include pics if you want. TIA

Rule of thumb....if the prey item is as big or just slightly larger then the thickest part of your snake you are good to go.

That rat is way to big, you should feed your snake a meal that weighs 15% of his body weight so your 225 gram snake should be fed 30-35 grams of rodent.

225 x 0.15 = 33.75

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ve16/photo.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

That rat is way to big, you should feed your snake a meal that weighs 15% of his body weight so your 225 gram snake should be fed 30-35 grams of rodent.

225 x 0.15 = 33.75

---

Thats what I usually do, but its easier to just feed one larger, so the guy said the rat should have weight 40 grams. I go home and weight it and its ~50.:confused:

You can try but I know my BP's won't take something that big. Let Him/her decide.

Ill try as long as I know it wont do any harm if he does eat it!

you're snake should know if it can't take on a meal too big...but if he/she does eat it, pay attention to how long it takes once it gets past the first set of legs because if it is a good size, the rat will just slide through, but if your snake struggles, then i would look for something a bit smaller.

You can always take a razor blade and cut the rat in half. :]
I do that to pinkies when new born corns come into the shop.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by okswerve16

Thats what I usually do, but its easier to just feed one larger, so the guy said the rat should have weight 40 grams. I go home and weight it and its ~50.:confused:

---

Good luck trying to eyeball rat weights yourself, I'm sure he was being honest. 40g isn't that much different from 50g, I'd call both a "small rat" in size.

Can a 225g bp generally eat a 50g rat without health consequences?

Absolutely, as long as it wants to eat something large (not all will). They are plenty physically capable of it. Make sure you have a good hot spot and ambients, I wouldn't feed large meals if your ambient is below 78.

Should you feed 20-25% body weight to a BP on a 5 day basis?

Nope.

If you fed one large meal and went back to regular meals, would that be ok?

Sure!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pinkeye714

You can always take a razor blade and cut the rat in half. :]
I do that to pinkies when new born corns come into the shop.

---

Sounds realllyyyyy messy lol. I would just try feeding him the larger meal and if he takes it just wait two weeks til the next meal.

A ball python will absolutely eat a meal that's too big for them, and a meal that's too large can cause problems.

OP, can't really judge by your picture.

Just to update, he ate it no problem! He just has a pretty big lump now lol I will try to see next time if they have a slightly smaller rat thanks for the advice guys :gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pinkeye714

You can always take a razor blade and cut the rat in half. :]
I do that to pinkies when new born corns come into the shop.

---

Waait a second, are you serious? Never heard of this before. How would you thaw and heat up a half-rat?

Edit: Good that he ate it no problem. For future reference though, bring your food scale to the rodent store. The reptile store guys all know me as the only guy who brings a scale to weigh out every feeder that I buy, but I dont really care if Im being annoying. I'd rather get appropriately sized meals for my snakes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mattchibi

For future reference though, bring your food scale to the rodent store. The reptile store guys all know me as the only guy who brings a scale to weigh out every feeder that I buy, but I dont really care if Im being annoying. I'd rather get appropriately sized meals for my snakes.

---

Man thats great, I've never thought of that.. I would love to see someone walk into a reptile shop with a scale... just to see the guy behind the counter react to it