Is it Really That Difficult .....

... switching Coastals from mice to rats?

I have read some threads about how difficult it is.

I had no problem.

I had recently acquired two, two year Coastal Carpet Pythons. One of them had only been fed mice. The original owner said that she would not switch over.

Even though the seller said that they were ready to be fed, I waited a week to let them get settled.

Offered the female a rat and she refused. Thus, I gave it to the male along with another.

I waited one more week. This time I bought some mice and thawed one in the fridge in the same Baggie as the rat.


I offered the mouse and she hit it hard and slammed it down!


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...15fc4db6d0.jpg



I followed up with a rat and she repeated the same moves!


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...ecbdda5bca.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...605cadb081.jpg



So far, rats are no big deal, fortunately.

its not coastals that are difficult, its pure jungles.

I've only raised 2 jungles from hatchlings but neither of them were hard to switch. Out of the 12 jungles I hatched this year 6 took f/t rat pinks as their first meals, the rest live mice. I won't be switching the mousers to rats for 6 months or so but we'll see how it goes when the time comes.

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Originally Posted by loxocemus

its not coastals that are difficult, its pure jungles.

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Yes, I have heard that a Mouser Jungle is much harder to switch. :(

Most carpets, including jungles, will readily switch, so no it's not that hard. However, there is a small number that will be quite stubborn and some that will never make the switch. My first carpet was a pure coastal bought as a hatchling and she never took a rat. I've also had a couple of jungles and IJs that simply could not be converted. It's an individual snake thing, not really a species thing. I've kept dozens of carpets over the past 20+ years and I'd say nearly 90% of them took rats without issue.

My yearling coastal has been taking f/t rats without issues after being raised on mice by the breeder. I'm hoping the jungle hatchling will transition easily also. I'll probably stick with mice for a month or two before attempting the switch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Yes, I have heard that a Mouser Jungle is much harder to switch. :(

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my experience has been that there is no such thing as a "mouser". more correctly they are "non raters". every carpet I've ever had that wouldn't take rats was more than happy to take chicken, quail, guinea pig and rabbit.

How hard is the switch from live to frozen usually? My carpet has eaten live rats and mice but I can't get her to even look at frozen.

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Originally Posted by BumbleB

How hard is the switch from live to frozen usually? My carpet has eaten live rats and mice but I can't get her to even look at frozen.

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I've never had a problem with that. make sure the meal is thoroughly warmed up to live animal temps, about 100 degrees. if they still refuse give them a few weeks with no feedings and try again. carpets are greedy eaters.

My coastal is a pain in the butt. She refuses a lot, and then will eat a lot. I can't quite gauge her cycle but she has taken some enormous meals. I had no issue switching to rats, as I never fed mice. I've also used quail and chicks along with live and frozen.

She likes live more, but if I cycle her with long intervals between meals she will eat frozen readily.

The issue I have is with a royal python that refuses F/T always and even live at times. She has eaten once in the last year but is in great shape.

Any guesses as to why royal pythons are some of the longest living snakes on the planet?

The answer just might be the way they regulate their food intake.

I know she'll eat eventually, but the boring factor is about a "10" with her.

As carpets grow, they tend to smash about anything you offer.

There are a number of ways to convert them to rats from mice, but a lot of people don't really know just how much a carpet can take. They are known for eating giant meals, and they are not sensitive like boa constrictors so you can offer rats a lot earlier than you may think.

The waiting game is something that works well, but I'd not recommend it for a neonate or very young snake.

Of course every snake is an individual and I believe people when they say they have tried and tried and can't get it done.

Sometimes it is what it is LOL!

Gio, I agree, carpets are definitely susceptible to over feeding. Like I said, they are greedy feeders. Unlike BPs, and many others, a carpet python should not be "chunky". I feed my large carpets the occasional 1-1.5 lb rabbit, but their diet is still primarily rats with chicken/quail/rabbits in the 1/2 lb range. And they certainly won't be getting fed anything this week if they had a bigger rabbit last week. a 1-1.5 lb meal every week is unnecessarily large for even a big coastal; but that won't stop them from eating it! Whether it's carpets, balls or anything else; if you want to know what your snakes build should look like, just check out some pics of their wild relatives.