Switching bloods to rat pups

So I got my blood python from a local reptile store who got them from a breeder around here that I know of and heard good things, when I got him they were feeding him live mice and from what I have gathered that is 2 no no’s. I fed him exactly a week ago I got him to take f/t first try I was very happy with that. Anyway, I decided ultimately for the future I want him on rats so I can sustain him better as he grows I picked up a small f/t rat pup and tryed to tong feed him which he did very well with the mouse, it seems like I got 2 attempts at a strike but I’m also not sure of that was just him being pissy lol. I just tried heating it up with a hair dryer and leaving it in his tank with him. My question is does anybody have any experience with switching them over? Maybe I am feeding him to soon again exactly a week later? I know pythons metabolic rate is much different than what I’m used to anyways thank o you in advance!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shake_down94

So I got my blood python from a local reptile store who got them from a breeder around here that I know of and heard good things, when I got him they were feeding him live mice and from what I have gathered that is 2 no no’s. I fed him exactly a week ago I got him to take f/t first try I was very happy with that. Anyway, I decided ultimately for the future I want him on rats so I can sustain him better as he grows I picked up a small f/t rat pup and tryed to tong feed him which he did very well with the mouse, it seems like I got 2 attempts at a strike but I’m also not sure of that was just him being pissy lol. I just tried heating it up with a hair dryer and leaving it in his tank with him. My question is does anybody have any experience with switching them over? Maybe I am feeding him to soon again exactly a week later? I know pythons metabolic rate is much different than what I’m used to anyways thank o you in advance!

---

I'm glad to hear you say no live rodents my ? How old is your Blood ? When my Blood was a baby baby he started eating Rat Pups and from this he went to small Rats and as he grew we feed him larger rodents to match his growth Maxwell Smart 4 years later he eats a double extra large . You should post pictures as he grows plus we love to see everyone's precious Snakes, You will find a bunch of help here as several folks have Blood's and they are willing to help with any Questions you have.🪱🪱




Sent from my SM-T878U using Tapatalk

That’s a good question I’m curious as well actually, from the info I’ve gathered he’s probably 4 or 5 months old maybe a bit older. I’ll post some pictures here soon I know he has an interest in the prey item I think I may have scared him with it to be honest I am adamant on feeding him f/t especially being their rat eaters and I’ve heard horror stories. This site has been very helpful thus far with all the knowledgeable keepers floating around your blood is gorgeous btw!

On a side note the smell of the hair dryed rat brought my male hognose out of a 2 month hunger strike very very happy about that 😃

Update: he took the rat after I rubbed a hopper on it and left it with him! for a while. He has been at it for 10 or so minutes on a weaned rat pup concerned I may have fed to large of a meal it seemed like a good size has anyone ever had an issue feeding a weaned rat pup to a 5 or 6 month old blood?

He should be able to handle that no problem once he gets it figured out.

Everything went down as expected he’s got a healthy sized lump and he now takes rat pups I’m super happy sorry for the over posting just trying to get everything in order lol patience is a virtue I suppose

Glad he switched over so easy for you :)

Out of curiosity, why is mice bad with a blood python? I can see why for an adult, is it just about making sure to transition them when they can take a weaned rat or is there something specifically about mice that's bad for that specific species?

I’m relatively new to python keeping but from what I understand it’s more sustainable in the long run to start on rats as opposed to mice mostly because it’s hard to switch to rats later on because the smell is different and also because all a full grown blood will ever need even as an adult is a jumbo rat, I’ve gathered That a lot of people because of their size think they need rabbits or something as adults and I guess the general consensus is that it’s frowned upon to feed larger animals to them because their prone to obesity and their metabolism is very slow. But from what I have gathered from my own blood is that switching them to anything shouldn’t be to hard LOL he would probably try to take a horse if it could fit in his enclosure lol