Eating machine

My lil mojave boy went 6 days without eating and he acted lije he hadnt been fed in a month!

I fed him a hopper at about 6pm. Hes only 100g so they are perfect size for him. And it was a large hopper at that.
Well about 6:30 my husband went to put his leaves back in and he bites my husband. So im thinking he cant still be hungry. Anyway I went to the store and picked up a second hopper. Striked and ate it in 2 min! Im so proud :)

Any way should I start feeding him adult mice since he took 2 hoppers no problem?

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Yes, hoppers are a bit small for a 100g BP.

Tjats a 100g full only like 90g empty

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Here is a handy weight chart for rodents I like to use :)
MICE

Sm. Pink 1-2 grams
Lg. Pink 2-4 grams
Peach Fuzz 4-6 grams
Fuzzies 5-8 grams
Hoppers 8-12 grams
Sm. Mice 11-16 grams
Med. Mice 15-24 grams
Lg. Mice 24-28 grams
XLg. Mice 30 grams+

Rats:
Rat Sm. Pink 3-8 grams
Rat Lg. Pink 5-12 grams
Rat Fuzzies 10-20 grams
Rat Pup 20-30 grams
Rat Wean 30-45 grams
Rat Sm. 40-80 grams
Rat Med. 80-150 grams
Rat Lg. 140-200 grams
Rat XLg. 190-250 grams

Takes the guess work out of feeding size :)

So then arent the hoppers right size based on that chart?

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Looks that way sometimes different breeders use different weights for the rodents.
Also when a snake gets into feed mode it can take a little while for them to calm down. My Pied girl would eat until she exploded if I kept offering. Especially when she was younger. I swear she would use her tail to stuff more rats in if she was allowed. Sounds like your little guy has a great feed response :)

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Looks that way sometimes different breeders use different weights for the rodents.
Also when a snake gets into feed mode it can take a little while for them to calm down. My Pied girl would eat until she exploded if I kept offering. Especially when she was younger. I swear she would use her tail to stuff more rats in if she was allowed. Sounds like your little guy has a great feed response :)

I know how ya feel. A few weeks ago I bought a 50 pack of hoppers for 3 baby BPs thinking they would last a long time. Now I find myself thawing 5 or 6 at a time to feed them. Definitely gonna buy a pack of adult mice and see how long that lasts. Good thing there are like 6 reptile shows around me each year so I'll never be far from my suppliers.

Usually after 1 he takes one he goes to his hide and sleeps. This time he was hanging out of his hide begging for more :)

I think I will start feeding him adult mice and space his feedings to every 7 days.

I take a bp with a great feeding responce any day :)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGuy

I know how ya feel. A few weeks ago I bought a 50 pack of hoppers for 3 baby BPs thinking they would last a long time. Now I find myself thawing 5 or 6 at a time to feed them. Definitely gonna buy a pack of adult mice and see how long that lasts. Good thing there are like 6 reptile shows around me each year so I'll never be far from my suppliers.

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You need to live closer to Houston! I have extra packages of adult mice, jumbo mice, rat fuzzies, and rat pups! I bought extra when I bulk ordered and now I don't need them. I have so many extras! If you plan on going to Repticon Houston, you can always hit me up.

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To the OP, you want to feed them 10%-15% of their body weight. Hoppers are BARELY 10% so you can go ahead and give them weaned mice or adults. Even though adults might be a little big, you can always give a longer resting period between meals and it'll be fine!

Unfortunetly my local pet shop goes from hoppers to adults. No weanlimgs :(

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as long as the adult isn't too much wider than the widest part of their body, adults should be fine. At least until he "grows into the adults" maybe wait an additional 2 days between feedings. So if you feed him every 5 days, wait 7 until his next meal. If you feed him every 7 days, that should be plenty of time.

I had him out today and I am finally starting to see him get bigger. A small adult mouse shoud be alright for him. I weighed him today at 130g full. Hes starting to get thicker in the middle :) I will start feeding him an adult small mouse every 7 days until he grows into them. :p

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Striking at thing after eating is a completely normal behavior, they are still in good mode and will eat what they can. As far as going to a 7 day feeding schedule, I would still stick with a 4-5 day schedule. Young animals are engineered to grow so I tend to give my babies lots of food, not to much. I keep them on a 4-5 day schedule until they are around 450-500g and them move them to a 7 day.

That is just what I do and it works for me. You will be surprised at the size they put on once they get a bit more food. Again they are babies and they need food to grow.

You already know my thoughts.
With the babies I offer every 3 to 4 days.
They are trying to plump up and get as much size on the as they can.
Dont worry too much about it.;)

I fed small adult mice to my mojave when she was 80g. Just observe the feeding and make sure there isn't a lump before the next feeding.