Alexander Ate

[Arsinoe]

I gave up yesterday and bought a live hopper for him. It had been a week in my home and a week at the pet store without food and since he is a baby I didn't want him to croak cause he didn't want frozen mice.

I gave the Mickey apiece of Oatmeal cookie for his last meal. It's the favorite of my rats, so I knew he would like it. He romped around a bit...I left the room and Alexander must have gulped him down super fast. Cause I wasn't gone that long.

Assuming Alexander will not convert to frozen mice,I have a question. If I buy say 3 mice and put them all in at once....Will Alexander eat all three at once or will he just eat one at a time as he is hungry?

I'm asking cause it would be more convenient to do it that way if he will space his meals over 2 weeks time or however long.

[twan]

Not a good idea feed one mice at a time to avoid your snake getting bit up.

[xxsplitfirexx]

You'd like to just throw some mice in his tank and let them live there until he eats them? That doesn't sound like the greatest of ideas :-\. They could hurt him. I've heard some bad stories about mice / rats harming peoples snakes. I'd just feed him when he's hungry one at a time, for safety.

but alas, I'm no expert. Just my 2 cents.

[musicalKeyes]

I would definitely not do that ever. Rodent bites are the worst. Also, he won't eat them as he's hungry, he'll at them all at once, it's a survival technique left over from being wild. And you're cage will get disgusting really quickly.

[Arsinoe]

I wasn't sure on that very point if the mice would gang up on him. I guess I'll nix that idea.

You know it didn't make much of a bump inside him. Should I stay with hoppers next time or up the size? If so what do you call the next size up?

I'm going to wait a week and try the frozen one again if not I'll just give in and get him live.

[joHtoD3]

I have always fed one mouse at a time for the reason that rodents, especially Rats, can be aggressive. My Last BP got tore up pretty bad by a rat and had to get stitches at the vet. It was a bloody mess. Ever since then I have always been careful to monitor the snake's progress Until I at least I know the rodent is dead. I have even seen rodents bite a snake while in the coils and the snake retract and let go and not eat. That is what happened to my last BP on one of his feedings. Best I can figure, I saw him strike the rat and coil around him and then I left the room. Came back about 5 minutes later and the rat was alive in one corner and my snake coiled and bleeding in the other. I know this is what must have happened and I've made sure never to leave when they are feeding. If one rat or mouse can do that much damage, think what a 3 on 1 battle could end up like.

[joHtoD3]

On the amount I would try two if he's already eating one or feed him more often. My BP was eating one mouse every two weeks, then went to eating a mouse every week and now he is up to eating two mice every week and soon I think he will be ready for his first rat pup.

[Kaorte]

I wasn't sure on that very point if the mice would gang up on him. I guess I'll nix that idea.

You know it didn't make much of a bump inside him. Should I stay with hoppers next time or up the size? If so what do you call the next size up?

I'm going to wait a week and try the frozen one again if not I'll just give in and get him live.

It might be worth your while to get a small kitchen scale to keep track of the weight of your snake. A good way to measure how much to feed is by using a scale to weight the snake and the feeders. I feed 10-15% of the snakes body weight for snakes under 1,000g.

I am not sure how old your snake is but hatchlings can eat adult mice after about a month out of the egg. The next size up from a hopper would be an adult mouse.

I wouldn't completely give up on f/t. Sometimes babies do better on a few live feedings and after that will gladly take f/t. If he doesn't eat f/t next week, don't give up. Wait another week and try again. He could easily go a few weeks without eating so don't worry. As long as he isn't loosing a lot of weight he will be fine!

[Arsinoe]

He's about 13 weeks now.

[Kaorte]

He's about 13 weeks now.

He could probably eat an adult mouse now no problem