What should my BP eat?

So after calling up the person I bought Winry from, he says he thinks she's about six months old and when I weighed her today she came in right at 92 grams. Should she still be on fuzzies or should I move her to some bigger/smaller food?

Some people make it rocket science and weigh everything out. Doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be. Take a look at the rodent compared to your snake. You want something that will leave a slight lump.


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Okay good, so she's already eaten a fuzzy. She stayed curled up in her hide most of the day after eating it so I couldn't get a really good look but, from what I saw it was juuuust barely noticeable and by the next morning I couldn't tell where it was at all. Does that sound about right?

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Originally Posted by TheSquigglyExplorer

Okay good, so she's already eaten a fuzzy. She stayed curled up in her hide most of the day after eating it so I couldn't get a really good look but, from what I saw it was juuuust barely noticeable and by the next morning I couldn't tell where it was at all. Does that sound about right?

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As long as you're talking about a fuzzy rat, then yes. If it was a fuzzy mouse, then it was too small.

Oooh, yeah. It was a fuzzy mouse. Can I find fuzzy rats at a pet store?

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Originally Posted by TheSquigglyExplorer

Oooh, yeah. It was a fuzzy mouse. Can I find fuzzy rats at a pet store?

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Your BP should eat a prey equal it's girth size every 5 to 7 days, as Eric mentioned fuzzy mice are too small, even out of the eggs they take something much larger than that (hopper).

If this animal is new to you before switching I would put a little more weight on him. Switching sometime can take time and this means tough love which would require a good body weight (a 6 months old at 92 grams is not what I call a good body weight), so keep feeding mice for a while just make sure they are the appropriate size.

Oh boy! I am so glad I asked. Will definitely be keeping her low stress and building up her body weight. If she's really that old how much should she weigh?

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Originally Posted by TheSquigglyExplorer

Oh boy! I am so glad I asked. Will definitely be keeping her low stress and building up her body weight. If she's really that old how much should she weigh?

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There is really no set target when it comes to weight and I would rather go with overall shape than weight, there is a lot coming into the weight. (weight out of the egg, how fast the animal was started, prey size, feeding frequency, fast etc)

I do not recommend trying to compare your snake weight vs others especially since in this case your snake was underfed getting preys that are usually fed to colubrids.

Usually they hatch at 60/70 grams but can also hatch out much bigger (90 grams or so) so as you can see even out of the egg it is variable.

So long you get on track with proper feeding and you snake looks good that is all that will matter. ;)

Definitely what Deborah said !
My 6 month old weighs around 250g. But iv seen many healthy BPs weigh a lot less and a lot more !
Just make sure she is eating the right size prey. Mine are all on rats.
The 6 month old is on rat chubs and leaves a noticeable lump. She also feeds every 5 days
You may find because she is likely to be hungry she might jump strait at the chance of bigger prey.
My preference would be to switch to rats as soon as possible

Good luck

Oh good, thank you so much. With you guys helping me, this lil gal is gonna grow up just fine.

Okay. So. It's been about three days since her last feeding and those fuzzy mice are clearly not keeping her well fed, since the second I thawed one out she was very adamant on eating it. But when she eats it, her neck is so skinny that the thing looks huge inside her, but when it makes it to her stomach I can't even see it. Should I keep feeding her frequently until she puts on weight then move up in food size, or would it be safe to try something larger? I don't wanna hurt her tiny neck but I wanna make sure she's full and happy too.

Go by her body girth not the neck size.


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Originally Posted by TheSquigglyExplorer

Okay. So. It's been about three days since her last feeding and those fuzzy mice are clearly not keeping her well fed, since the second I thawed one out she was very adamant on eating it. But when she eats it, her neck is so skinny that the thing looks huge inside her, but when it makes it to her stomach I can't even see it. Should I keep feeding her frequently until she puts on weight then move up in food size, or would it be safe to try something larger? I don't wanna hurt her tiny neck but I wanna make sure she's full and happy too.

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You want to feed something that is equal the largest part of her body, while the prey may look huge compare to it's neck it's ok there neck will stretch.

At this size you can feed a weaned to small adult mouse every 5 to 7 days. It's does not has to leave a lump but it does need to be bigger than fuzzies.

Okay good. That was the first time I actually got to see her eat in the open and I was very concerned about her itty bitty self ^^'

I hate to drag this back up but I more so would hate starting a new thread for almost the same question/incident.

So I moved her up to larger food.... But guys, what do I do if she didn't eat it, she just picked it up and took it into her hide? It's still in there, she's laying on it. But not eating it. I'm really not sure if this is normal behavior or what?

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Originally Posted by TheSquigglyExplorer

I hate to drag this back up but I more so would hate starting a new thread for almost the same question/incident.

So I moved her up to larger food.... But guys, what do I do if she didn't eat it, she just picked it up and took it into her hide? It's still in there, she's laying on it. But not eating it. I'm really not sure if this is normal behavior or what?

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I'd warm it up with a hairdryer and offer it again unless it's been there for ages and has gone off .. Some need a few attempts before actually eating , it's a good sign that it dragged it off in the first place.

I sort of disagree with the poster who said not to even TRY rats for several months until she's gained more weight. Mice are like slimfast for snakes, and they're addictive, so the sooner you try it, the better.

There is absolutely no harm in offering her a fuzzy rat. Worst case scenario is that she goes, "Meh." and doesn't eat it, so you go right back to offering whatever mice she eats for a couple weeks and then try again... you might waste a couple bucks on uneaten rat fuzzies for a while, but the sooner you switch her over, the easier it will be. Most of my babies will eat rats or mice, depending on what I happen to have available in the correct size. It's not that big a deal when they're still young... but the older they get, the pickier they get.

Best case scenario is that she eats it, problem solved.

As far as prey size I'll tell you what I did yesterday for my killerbee. I took string and wrapped it around the largest part of her body and marked it and then cut string where I made the mark. I then took the string to the pet store with me and wrapped it around the mice until I found the closest to the size of the string. Also do what's suggested and keep your ball on mice until it eats quite a few tines and gains some weight.

Alright. So the food I offered her was a mouse and I did that string test and it was apparently the perfect size. She just drug it off and is guarding it but won't eat it. It's been there for one day but I can't get it back from her without completely dragging her from her hide.

Should I even be trying to feed her a mouse, even if it seems to be the right size?

If its been there for a day I would take it out. You don't want your ball to eat it since its going to go bad. If mice is what was being fed before then yes that's what you should be feeding. Just take it out but be careful. I would try using tongs to remove it. Then try feeding again in 5-7 days.

Well they were feeding her one fuzzy mouse a week but those things are way too small. So I tried giving her a regular mouse the right size and this is what happened, heh. I got it out safely though. She didn't bite at me.

COuld you copy and paste the url

@New2Dis I'm not sure I understand what you mean by copy/pasting the url?

Okay so I went back to the pet stor to try and find some fuzzy rats but they don't have any. But until I can. Order some she's still going to need to eat, is it fine to feed her two fuzzy mice if she'll take them?

If she will eat 2 then yes. Her dragging it into her hide and guarding it might not have anything to do with the mouse being bigger. Did you just stand there and watch her to see of she was going to eat it? If so she might of been distracted by you. I always walk away and check back in half hr or so. I would try the bigger prey in 5 days and if she refuses again wait another 5 and try fuzzies again. That's what I would do anyways. Good luck!

Nah, I always try to leave her alone since I know she's small. But she even refused a fuzzy mouse today, so I guess it is back to the regular feeding cycle with her. Makes me sad, I feel like she's gotta be hungry, buuuut I know they'll eat when they're good and ready so we'll see how it goes. Thanks guys <3

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Originally Posted by TheSquigglyExplorer

Nah, I always try to leave her alone since I know she's small. But she even refused a fuzzy mouse today, so I guess it is back to the regular feeding cycle with her. Makes me sad, I feel like she's gotta be hungry, buuuut I know they'll eat when they're good and ready so we'll see how it goes. Thanks guys <3

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I made the mistake of trying to feed my first ball 3 days in a row. I know you want her to eat and feel bad if you don't offer but every time she refuses wait 5-7 days. I definitely feel you though my male super pastel still is giving me problems. He eats a meal and then won't eat again for 2-3 weeks. I always think what if I try again now and then I don't bc I have to remember what everyone on this forum has told me. You don't want to stress her out. I was thankful my male ate today since he hasn't since March 18th. If she drug it into her hide she is interested. Try with the bigger prey again next feeding time.