Too big?

[okswerve16]

Was wondering if a small rat weighing ~50 grams was too big to feed my 225g BP. I normally feed 2 mice that weigh about ~35g combined every 5 days, but wanted to switch too only feeding one, so I asked the petstore how big the small rats were and they said around 40g. Obviously not! Is it ok to go ahead try and feed it, its been 7 days since I fed last because my car Im doing :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: to my car and its inconvenient to get a ride to get smaller mice. I can include pics if you want. TIA

[Rob]

Rule of thumb....if the prey item is as big or just slightly larger then the thickest part of your snake you are good to go.

[The Serpent Merchant]

That rat is way to big, you should feed your snake a meal that weighs 15% of his body weight so your 225 gram snake should be fed 30-35 grams of rodent.

225 x 0.15 = 33.75

[okswerve16]

[okswerve16]

That rat is way to big, you should feed your snake a meal that weighs 15% of his body weight so your 225 gram snake should be fed 30-35 grams of rodent.

225 x 0.15 = 33.75

Thats what I usually do, but its easier to just feed one larger, so the guy said the rat should have weight 40 grams. I go home and weight it and its ~50.

[The Serpent Merchant]

You can try but I know my BP's won't take something that big. Let Him/her decide.

[okswerve16]

Ill try as long as I know it wont do any harm if he does eat it!

[Snake_Tooth]

you're snake should know if it can't take on a meal too big...but if he/she does eat it, pay attention to how long it takes once it gets past the first set of legs because if it is a good size, the rat will just slide through, but if your snake struggles, then i would look for something a bit smaller.

[pinkeye714]

You can always take a razor blade and cut the rat in half. :]
I do that to pinkies when new born corns come into the shop.

[mainbutter]

Thats what I usually do, but its easier to just feed one larger, so the guy said the rat should have weight 40 grams. I go home and weight it and its ~50.

Good luck trying to eyeball rat weights yourself, I'm sure he was being honest. 40g isn't that much different from 50g, I'd call both a "small rat" in size.

Can a 225g bp generally eat a 50g rat without health consequences?

Absolutely, as long as it wants to eat something large (not all will). They are plenty physically capable of it. Make sure you have a good hot spot and ambients, I wouldn't feed large meals if your ambient is below 78.

Should you feed 20-25% body weight to a BP on a 5 day basis?

Nope.

If you fed one large meal and went back to regular meals, would that be ok?

Sure!