Looked like a murder site!

I just fed Mona a medium rat, and I swear it looked like a murder site after she was done! :O She hadn't eaten in about 3 weeks, due mostly to being in shed & rejecting a F/T meal... I guess she was really hungry tonight, because she was striking at the tub (and nearly my hand) before I could even get the rat inside.

She doesn't like being watched, so I left the room and immediately heard that awful SCREECH from the rat being killed. When I went to check on her a little later, she was still cruising around the tub (hungry?), and there was quite a scene on the newspaper... a puddle of blood, and some unidentifiable matter of various colors. Nothing was actually left of the rat, so I assume she took it down without a problem. But is this kind of thing normal? Was it just because of her extreme hunger and excitement? This is one reason I'd love to get her on F/T, but unfortunately she is being stubborn about that. :rolleyes:

P.S. She has eaten live rats for me before (3 times since I got her), and never left so much blood/guts behind.

Did you dust for prints? You may need to get a blacklight in there. :rolleyes:

I'm guessing she was just hungry...or the rat was a hemophiliac. You never know.

Btw, try alternating between f/t and live, or scenting a f/t rat with a live one. People may think you're weird for rubbing down a rat with a corpse, but you do what you gotta do.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrshawt

Did you dust for prints? You may need to get a blacklight in there. :rolleyes:

---

LOL... seriously, it looked like something from CSI. :oops:

Quote:

---

I'm guessing she was just hungry...or the rat was a hemophiliac. You never know.

Btw, try alternating between f/t and live, or scenting a f/t rat with a live one. People may think you're weird for rubbing down a rat with a corpse, but you do what you gotta do.

---

Yup, we do strange things for our snakes! Thanks for the suggestion, and I'll try that next time...

Sometimes when I feed the young BPs smaller mice/rats than they should be eating because is the closest I can find for their size. The mice/rats seem to be realy overpowered by the BPs. Blood usualy comes out of their mouth and nose.... and even sometimes their eyes will pop out a bit... It is not something you would want young children to see. :(

By the way, how big is a Medium Rat? Weight?

Btw, do you think that was a big enough meal for her? It was a medium-sized rat, but kind of on the smaller side... and she's a big girl at 4ft and ~2000g. It seemed like she was looking for more, so I wonder if I should have offered a large rat - or two small?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Danounet

Sometimes when I feed the young BPs smaller mice/rats than they should be eating because is the closest I can find for their size. The mice/rats seem to be realy overpowered by the BPs. Blood usualy comes out of their mouth and nose.... and even sometimes their eyes will pop out a bit... It is not something you would want young children to see. :(

---

My roommate was just talking about the eye thing... blech. :P I'm actually glad she's a shy eater, because I have no interest in seeing all of that!

Quote:

---

By the way, how big is a Medium Rat? Weight?

---

I was just cross-posting with you, and wondering if it was in fact too small for her. I don't know the measurements/weight of the "medium rat," but it looked like a standard pet rat you'd see in a store... I'd almost say it was closer to a small one. Should I go for large next time? They look so huge!!

I dont have any experience with a full grown BP, I cant wait till mine are adults =), So Im just trying to help.

Here is a link for sizes
http://rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?pro...el=frozen_rats

Going by the 10-15% Weight to feed Rule, at 15% x 2000 = 300.

So I would say at least 2 medium per feeding. I dont know about Large rats, Im sure they have big Teeth! But again I dont know much a full grown BPs. I guess someone will chip in this :)

Wow, I was way off... for some reason, I thought a medium rat weighed more like 200g. Should I get her another one tomorrow, or wait until next week?

Woah, hold up. Medium rats are usually around 150g apiece. However, once the bp gets big enough for them, you shouldn't need to feed anything larger since they don't require as much nutrients when their growth slows.

Don't quote me on that, but I think rabernet or Deborah said something similar a little while ago.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

The largest rat that I feed, regardless of the size of my snake, is a small medium (about 140-150 grams).

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrshawt

Woah, hold up. Medium rats are usually around 150g apiece. However, once the bp gets big enough for them, you shouldn't need to feed anything larger since they don't require as much nutrients when their growth slows.

Don't quote me on that, but I think rabernet or Deborah said something similar a little while ago.

---

Hmmmm... I'll wait for a few others to chime in, but that sounds about right. :confused:

Ya I dont know what to say, No clue about already grown BPs :P

I want to know too!

I feed my adult (2200g) rats that weigh around 125-150g. I've offered some rats in the 200+ size but it's not guaranteed they will eat. I think the size may intimidate them a bit. I usually feed every 10 days unless he takes one of the 200's then I will wait 14 days...


Rob

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lolo76

P.S. She has eaten live rats for me before (3 times since I got her), and never left so much blood/guts behind.

---

Mine does the same thing with his F/T's. He slams them in the water bowl, hits them against the glass. I seen him continually constrict them while swallowing them, apparently to make it easier... I don't know...

Remember that our captive ball pythons are often getting more meals in a year than their wild counterparts. A small medium for an adult ball python every 7 days is fine. The size "rule" is generally for growing ball pythons (babies and juvies). Once they're adults, I only feed more to the females I plan to breed in the months leading up to breeding.

Last year I offered two prey items every 7 days, this year I'm going to offer one prey item, every 5 days instead. More for me to see which method works better for me for consistent feeding and aids in pre-maternal bulking up. I'm not trying to make them fat, I'm trying to get them to have more reserves for their bodies to draw against when they stop feeding once gravid.

My adult females not in the breeding rotation will stay at one small medium every 7 days.

Thanks for the replies, and I guess we'll stick with one small/med rat weekly. She must have just gotten over-excited, and squeezed a little too hard... I've never seen her react so quickly either! I'm going to continue trying to switch her to F/T, and will try the tricks you suggested. :gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

The size "rule" is generally for growing ball pythons (babies and juvies).

---

Ah, OK, I was wondering about that. Reading of adults sizes here in the 2,000g range being fed medium rats, that 10% body weight rule wasn't making sense when seeing the size of feeder rats online.

A 2000 gram snake, I would feed a small to medium rat to once a week--if I were breeding her! If not, then feed every other week. Otherwise, you will wind up with a FAT snake. ^_^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

A 2000 gram snake, I would feed a small to medium rat to once a week--if I were breeding her! If not, then feed every other week. Otherwise, you will wind up with a FAT snake. ^_^

---

Really? I thought they were okay with once a week! :oops: I am planning to breed her next season (to my pastel), so we'll stick with the weekly feedings - right?

Btw, she is a proven breeder, since she laid a clutch (or more) for her breeder... so I wonder if this is her "good weight" during the off-season?