Should I step up to rats?

I just got my first ball python a little bit ago and she's about 4 feet long and approximately 3 years old. The guy I got her from said she's only ever eaten mice. I just fed her today and the mouse just didn't seem like enough for her. The guy did say I could feed her more then one but it seems it would be easier to just feed her a small rat. Apparently he fed her only once every 3 weeks as well. So would it be better to continue feeding her mice, and feed her multiple ones, or would it be ok to start feeding her rats?

what's her weight? i started my female on small rats at 700g

If she will switch, I would definately get her on rats. Some are just mousers for life. Rats would be ideal, you could then feed an appropriate sized meal, with one item. If you stay mice, you need to feed multiple. Typically the rule of thumb is either a rodent the same size as your snakes widest part, or a rodent that is 10-15% of your snakes weight. But if she is that old and only eating a mouse every 2-3 weeks, that's not enough. My grown bps get offered a small rat every week.

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I'm not sure how heavy she is because I dont have a scale but I'd say she's about 5 lbs (however many grams that is lol). At her thickest point she's about as large as a full size rat. Since I fed her a mouse today when would be the best time to offer her a rat?

then a small/medium rat every week would be good for her.

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Originally Posted by JaGv

then a small/medium rat every week would be good for her.

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How long should I wait to offer her a rat? a week?

I would wait a week, then she should be hungry, and offer a small rat. It won't hurt her to wait. Does she eat live, pre killed or frozen thawed? Sometime live or pre killed makes the switch easier. But if you do live, be prepared to stand by with tongs or something to intercept bitey rat teeth in case your snake doesn't get a good hold. Don't ever leave your snake unattended with a live rodent. Also, sometimes mousers can be difficult to convert. You may have to try scenting the rat with mouse bedding, or she may switch easy.

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

I would wait a week, then she should be hungry, and offer a small rat. It won't hurt her to wait. Does she eat live, pre killed or frozen thawed? Sometime live or pre killed makes the switch easier. But if you do live, be prepared to stand by with tongs or something to intercept bitey rat teeth in case your snake doesn't get a good hold. Don't ever leave your snake unattended with a live rodent. Also, sometimes mousers can be difficult to convert. You may have to try scenting the rat with mouse bedding, or she may switch easy.

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She eats live only. The man I got her from said he's tried multiple times to feed her frozen/thawed and she just didn't take. He said he tried every trick in the book so I dont know if it's even worth it to try converting her.

Big difference between trying to convert from live to f/t, and from mouse to rat. Live to f/t can be harder. I would try getting her on rats. There is nothing wrong with feeding live, IMO. If your husbandry is spot on, she is likely to eat better too. If she wouldn't eat/switch for him, how was his set up? Tank, tub? Temps? How were temps controlled? A thermostat to control uth is a must.

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

Big difference between trying to convert from live to f/t, and from mouse to rat. Live to f/t can be harder. I would try getting her on rats. There is nothing wrong with feeding live, IMO. If your husbandry is spot on, she is likely to eat better too. If she wouldn't eat/switch for him, how was his set up? Tank, tub? Temps? How were temps controlled? A thermostat to control uth is a must.

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That makes sense. He had her in a horrible setup, which is the main reason I got her. She was in a glass tank that was only about two feet long with no light and no UTH and definitely no thermostat. All she had was a stick and a cat litter pan with dirty water in it. It looks like she was on mulch or something. Here's a pic actually:

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/...n/5d26e362.jpg

I now have her in a 41 quart rubbermaid on aspen with an uth controlled by a dimmer atm until I can get a thermostat. She has a clean water dish and a hide as well.

Gawd, that pic is a terrible set up for a bp. No hides?? They have to have hides. And tubs are imo, better than glass tanks. You need to look into thermostats. I prefer herpstat. There are less expensive ones as well, but that's my preference. From Spyder robotics, they are great to deal with. Reptile basics is also a great place for reptile supplies, and great customer service too.

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

Gawd, that pic is a terrible set up for a bp. No hides?? They have to have hides. And tubs are imo, better than glass tanks. You need to look into thermostats. I prefer herpstat. There are less expensive ones as well, but that's my preference. From Spyder robotics, they are great to deal with. Reptile basics is also a great place for reptile supplies, and great customer service too.

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Yeah that's what I thought when I saw the picture on CL. The mice had a better enclosure then that. I've been looking at thermostats at reptile basics a lot. I plan on purchasing one after I get paid Tuesday :)

I would definitely get her started on rats ASAP. They can eat appropriately sized rats right out of the egg. Being she is an adult mouser, don't get discouraged if it takes a few tries to get her to switch. A few missed meals won't hurt her none. Scenting the rat might help if she is being stubborn as well. You seem to be on the right track, though. :gj:

I start small rats at about 350-400 grams if they are good eats.. If not nice sized weaned rats will be enoug probably twice a week until they make the switch to smalls..A BP that size should be on small rats by now..pray that its not hook on mice that could be anoying

These are really nice thermostats for the price. I use them and so do a lot of other people on this site.
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...words=herpstat

Goodluck with converting her over to rats. I've converted all of my BP's over to to F/T rats but it was done when they were still young. I had one bp that got fed a few f/t mice when I was out of f/t rats. She decided she liked them and refused to take a rat after that. I started rubbing a thawed mouse all over the thawed rats and she would eat them when she smelled the scent. After a few feeds I got her back on unscented f/t rats.

In the long run you will save money if you can get her on frozen. Most pet stores (at least here) charge $5 for a live rat. I can get frozen ones for about $2ea online or at reptile shows. That's a big savings over the years and a lot less hassle since they're in your freezer whenever you need one.

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Originally Posted by johnmauser

These are really nice thermostats for the price. I use them and so do a lot of other people on this site.
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...words=herpstat

Goodluck with converting her over to rats. I've converted all of my BP's over to to F/T rats but it was done when they were still young. I had one bp that got fed a few f/t mice when I was out of f/t rats. She decided she liked them and refused to take a rat after that. I started rubbing a thawed mouse all over the thawed rats and she would eat them when she smelled the scent. After a few feeds I got her back on unscented f/t rats.

In the long run you will save money if you can get her on frozen. Most pet stores (at least here) charge $5 for a live rat. I can get frozen ones for about $2ea online or at reptile shows. That's a big savings over the years and a lot less hassle since they're in your freezer whenever you need one.

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That is actually the exact thermostat I have been looking at! Glad to hear they work good for the money :)

I just made the switch to rats 2 feedings ago. Today I put her in the corner of her feeder tub and put the fuzzy right in front of her and blammo. Quickest I have ever seen her eat. But as the rats get older you need to use a pair if tongs or a #2 pencil (it "locks" the rats teeth better then metal) to stop the rat from biting your snake.

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Originally Posted by darthkevin

I just made the switch to rats 2 feedings ago. Today I put her in the corner of her feeder tub and put the fuzzy right in front of her and blammo. Quickest I have ever seen her eat. But as the rats get older you need to use a pair if tongs or a #2 pencil (it "locks" the rats teeth better then metal) to stop the rat from biting your snake.

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Congrats! Thats a great idea about the tongs, I will have to get a pair soon before I feed her again :)

The reason he was not likely able to convert her to F/T was because that was horrible housing. She was constantly stressed out. Once you get her in a stable environment with good temps, humidity, she will switch to F/T no problem.

I just uploaded a video on it yesterday. You might want to check it out. It is a technique that works great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hz9XkNv4VM

Hair Dryers work well too. I'll usually sit down in front of my rack with all of my thawed rats and start going over them with the hair driyer to heat them up. The positive to this is after a couple minutes with the hair dryer, the snakes have picked up on the scent of warm rat in the air, and they know its feed time. Most of my snakes are sitting at the front of their tubs drooling before I even feed the first rat out.

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Originally Posted by spersky

The reason he was not likely able to convert her to F/T was because that was horrible housing. She was constantly stressed out. Once you get her in a stable environment with good temps, humidity, she will switch to F/T no problem.

I just uploaded a video on it yesterday. You might want to check it out. It is a technique that works great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hz9XkNv4VM

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Awesome video! And beautiful snakes! Thank you!

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Originally Posted by johnmauser

Hair Dryers work well too. I'll usually sit down in front of my rack with all of my thawed rats and start going over them with the hair driyer to heat them up. The positive to this is after a couple minutes with the hair dryer, the snakes have picked up on the scent of warm rat in the air, and they know its feed time. Most of my snakes are sitting at the front of their tubs drooling before I even feed the first rat out.

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I have heard of this technique before. I plan on trying it! Thanks :)