What size meal?

Hey everyone,
I finally measured my ball and I want to say that he is 21 inches long. Should I introduce him to adult mice now or should I continue on his fuzzies? I mean he still looks for food in my opinion when I feed him a fuzzie so I thought it might be time for a bigger mouse. What do you guys think?

Hi,

How would the thickness of a hopper mouse compare to the thickness of him at his widest point?

Would this be F/T or live feeding? whats his feeding response / strike accuracy like?


dr del

Well Its F/T and im a newbie whats a hopper mouse size? I mean I have some videos of him eating if you need to know exactly the size of my ball's mouth its youtube.com/thedigi1

Basically, the right size feeders doesnt matter on length, it matters on girth. The appropriate size feeder is about the same width as the snake, when measured at the largest point. For example, if the ball python is about as big around as a half dollar coin, then the mouse/rat to feed would want to be about the size of a half dollar coin (around).

Hope this helps, and ...please dont feed him currency :)

Furio is about that size. Give him a hopper.

okay then whats a hopper? I just bought a adult size mouse. I haven't fed him yet cause I don't ever feed him this late but I wanted to make sure that I didn't try to feed him something too big for him.

Check out this link: http://www.themousefactory.com/rates/rates.html
This is from The Mouse Factory and they have good pictures of the different sizes of mice and rats. Understand though, I have found TMF grams for each size to be on the light side relative to other places!

Well I watched the video of the "gut buster". If that is your snake it looks to me that he will be able to handle an adult mouse without much of an issue.

Thanks! thats a good start! so an adult mouse will go down his body with no problem? and how will I know if he can't handle it?

What will most likely happen if it is too big for him is he will just down right refuse it. He may strike, coil, and begin to swallow and a bit down he may throw it back up. He may even swallow it whole, but please PLEASE make sure if the bump is nice and big leave him alone for at least two FULL days or until the bump disappears in a nice quiet place. You don't want him to throw it up.

okay see thats new to me cause out of all that I fed him he never had a bump! I don't feed him in his habitat. Can I pick him up after he eats and put him in? or does he stay where I feed him?

You can pick him up and put him back into his home. Just curious, why do you feed him outside of his enclosure?

that is what everyone had been telling not to feed him where he lives

ya some feed in enclosure some dont.

those who dont usually do it so that their snake doesnt relate feeding time with every time you reach in the enclosure, and strike at you.

btw- i have a 23 incher (-ish) who is getting pretty fat and he is taking down small rats from petco fairly easy. and those are roughly double the weight of adult mice he was eating, twice a week.

Yeah, mine is 24 inches and eats two adult mice a week.

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Originally Posted by thedigi1

that is what everyone had been telling not to feed him where he lives

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This is only a myth; origins unknown. Snakes will not mistake you for food and will not strike at you if you feed in their enclosure. It is my opinion that it is natural for a snake to feed in their environment and so the feeding response stays strong.
I have never fed any of my snakes outside of their enclosure, including my boas, and I have not ever had any of the snakes mistake my hand for their food source :)

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Originally Posted by hawaiianice99

ya some feed in enclosure some dont.
those who dont usually do it so that their snake doesnt relate feeding time with every time you reach in the enclosure, and strike at you.
btw- i have a 23 incher (-ish) who is getting pretty fat and he is taking down small rats from petco fairly easy. and those are roughly double the weight of adult mice he was eating, twice a week.

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A fat snake is an unhealthy snake and might give you problems with fasting and refusing food. Also, life expectancy decreases greatly with obesity. A better method to determine size of prey is to weigh your snake and feed 10% of their body weight in prey, one time per week (in snakes over 200g, more or less). Also, keepers typically never offer prey, even to large adult royals, bigger than about 70g rats; on the average-- there is variability and instances where this can change (like after laying eggs, etc.) I am only giving averages!!

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Originally Posted by mr86mister

Yeah, mine is 24 inches and eats two adult mice a week.

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Please check out what I typed above! Gram scales are inexpensive and a very good way to determine the weight of your snake and correct prey size. Obtaining your snake's weight each month is also a good way to keep your eye on its health and provide great records should you ever need to take the snake to the vet.

starmom- sure some snakes may be able to feed in enclosure without any problems but i am speaking from experience with my kingsnake. i started it off feeding in eclosure and after awhile everytime i would reach my hand in he would sure as hell bite me. thats why i feed my bp out, and he doesnt mind a bit.

ofcourse this is just my experience.

oh and my bp isnt getting "fat" fat, just big enough to where he can take down a small rat.
and where can i find a gram scale?

Thats Starmom.

It seems to me you are very much taking the "mother" role at the moment.

The gram scale I have always thought of but never decided to buy one. I will make the investment especially because my new obsession of snakes is taking hold of me and I will probably be getting some more within the next year!

Thanks "MOM"!:rolleye2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr86mister

Thats Starmom.

It seems to me you are very much taking the "mother" role at the moment.

The gram scale I have always thought of but never decided to buy one. I will make the investment especially because my new obsession of snakes is taking hold of me and I will probably be getting some more within the next year!

Thanks "MOM"!:rolleye2:

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Okay, you little brat!! Yeah yeah, always the mom; I'm a grandma too (very young grandma!) and also in grad school for mental health counseling....caring for the world, one person at a time :rofl:
Anyway, gram scales are cheap and can purchased in kitchen stores, office supply stores, etc. You'll be glad when you get one; it's fun measuring the snakes from month to month!!!!!
Take care :)

starmom- Haha. I could be a brat sometimes. I'm a 22 year old guy and sometimes my mother still needs to remind me who brought me into this world! :D

BTW! Congrats on the college world. Not many people seem to be able to get back into college after having children.

thedigi- We would love to see a picture of your snake as well!

Your mother is a very smart woman! ;)
Mother's Day is coming. Call your mother the day before Mother's Day and tell her that you don't need Mother's Day to remind you to appreciate all she has done for you. :P
We mothers love that sort of thing... :)