Feeding 2 mice at the time..

well i tried this 2day because i didnt feel like driving 20 minutes just to get a rat so i got 2 mice from a close by petshop.. i threw both in at the same time.. my BP ate one n then ate the other.. is this how i should always do it? or should i let it eat one n then throw the next one in

I would say feed 1 then wait till that one is dead, swallowed and your snake is crawling around flicking his/her tongue. Thats how I feed when I feed multiples.

I would never throw two in at the same time. I throw one in, wait to until its down, and unless he heads off to his hide, i throw in another. This gos on until i reach three mice, because I have a limit for him:)

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Originally Posted by 51-50 Python

well i tried this 2day because i didnt feel like driving 20 minutes just to get a rat so i got 2 mice from a close by petshop.. i threw both in at the same time.. my BP ate one n then ate the other.. is this how i should always do it? or should i let it eat one n then throw the next one in

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Are you feeding live or F/T. If live, I would say feed one at a time, so while the other mouse is waiting to be a meal, he doesn't potentially injure your snake. If F/T, it shouldn't matter.

Is this a double post? I could haave sworn I read more posts and posted in this thread five minutes ago...

If my big girl will eat 2 I always feed her live one at a time.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Is this a double post? I could haave sworn I read more posts and posted in this thread five minutes ago...

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I merged the two threads now.

To the OP - you NEVER put two live prey items in with the snake at the same time. Let it constrict and consume the first one, get it down and re-align its jaw - THEN introduce the next prey item. Be prepared to house the mouse for a full week if your snake refuses the second.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I merged the two threads now.

To the OP - you NEVER put two live prey items in with the snake at the same time. Let it constrict and consume the first one, get it down and re-align its jaw - THEN introduce the next prey item. Be prepared to house the mouse for a full week if your snake refuses the second.

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when i asked that question at the pet store where i bought my snake, they freaked out and told me to not even feed two prey items at the same time since the likelyhood of the snake regurgitating is very high, if you feed two separate items in one feeding

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Originally Posted by Igor

when i asked that question at the pet store where i bought my snake, they freaked out and told me to not even feed two prey items at the same time since the likelyhood of the snake regurgitating is very high, if you feed two separate items in one feeding

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Consider the source...

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Consider the source...

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No joke. Bill Cosby should host a show called "Pet Store Employees Say The Darndest Things" :)

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Originally Posted by Igor

when i asked that question at the pet store where i bought my snake, they freaked out and told me to not even feed two prey items at the same time since the likelyhood of the snake regurgitating is very high, if you feed two separate items in one feeding

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Consider the source...

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:rofl: So true, Robin, so true :rofl:

well i did consider the source...both of the people who told me keep 20+ ball pythons as well as other pythons in their own personal care...soo i guess i valued their opinion? i dont know, you tell me, your the experts

if it eases your mind i feed my ball 2 large mice every 10 days for the last 6 months with no problems, unless you consider a perfect shedding, healthy pooping, drinking ,solid muscled snake a problem :)

lol alright :taz: sounds good

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Originally Posted by Igor

well i did consider the source...both of the people who told me keep 20+ ball pythons as well as other pythons in their own personal care...soo i guess i valued their opinion? i dont know, you tell me, your the experts

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I also have never had any of my ball pythons (listed in my signature) regurgitate as a result of feeding them two mice on the same feeding day - some adults even ate three or four.

Pet store employees generally aren't known for giving the best husbandry care. My so called pet store "expert" told me that there are no female ball pythons available in the pet trade, because breeders won't sell them. Told me that I should feed in a separate enclosures or else I'd be attacked by my snakes, told me that I would sterilize my ball pythons if I sexed them.

Forty years of experience he says. And yet they keep multiple balls in one enclosure, can't get any of theirs to eat, have mites, and stuck sheds.

And no - I'm no expert, I just know that eating two mice at one sitting for a juvenile or adult is not going to cause a regurge.

My guy won't eat rats - so I ALWAYS feed 3 mice at a feeding(1 at a time) - NEVER had him regurg or any other problems associated with this method:)

Marc

Is it ok that your ball won't eat rats? Mine won't eat rats, only mice. But she will eat multiples. I put a thread on here asking about it, and some people said she is probably stressed, but I don't think she is. She is very calm and sweet. She's comfortable with being held, and has no problem going from the warm and cold sides. She just isn't interested in rats, no matter how small.

Amanda, yes - it's perfectly fine to keep her on mice. If you want to try to switch her for convenience sake, then you can try a few things. Get some mouse bedding and put a handful in her enclosure about 1/2 hour before you put the rat in. Get a white small/small rat and then put it in with her.

I've found that simple "tough love" works best. I stop offering mice completely - when they get hungry enough, they'll take the rat. It usually takes 4-5 weeks of tough love with a stubborn one to convert.

But if you are comfortable keeping her on mice, it's not detrimental to her at all.

ok, thank you. I was worried after what some people said, that I was doing something wrong or something was wrong with her.

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Originally Posted by Elvyra's Keeper

ok, thank you. I was worried after what some people said, that I was doing something wrong or something was wrong with her.

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If she's eating, defecating, shedding and growing - you're doing nothing wrong! :D