New owner, feeding question

[Danielle]

I just got our BP two days ago. He (she?) is about three feet in length. He had been fed 2-3 live mice every two weeks. I'm getting so much conflicting advice on the feeding and have never owned a snake before, so any advice is much appreciated. I'm figuring on Satruday offering his first feed here. That way it'll be two weeks since his last feed and a week since he settled in.

I intend to try and transition him to F/T, but not for his first feeding here, or maybe I will, depending on what you all say. So, my question is: I'll put him in a seperate box or tub out of his cage, and offer him live mice. But how? Give one, then wait how long before offering the next?

How big of a box or tub should this be? Big enough for him to chase his dinner or small enough that he's looking it right in the eyes?

Do you think I should offer 1 live mice, then a warmed up F/T one with tongs and see what he does?

Also, a copuple people have told me he should be eating small rats rather than 2-3 mice. How will I know when he's big enough for a rat? I don't want to put a live rat in with him anyway - I saw the rat bite pic. I have also kept rats as pets and I like them. It would be hard for me to slam one against the wall to stun or kill it. So I wonder, over the long haul, if I can't get him to eat F/T, if it would hurt to keep giving him large mice. How much do I have to worry about that? Thank you!

[Marla]

Definitely always only feed one live at a time if you're going to, because a snake only has one mouth and the other rodent(s) can be hurting him in the meantime (and putting him off his feed, too). Did the previous owner feed in a separate box? If so, I'd try to mimic what s/he did as much as possible for the snake's comfort level. Bear in mind he may well refuse at this first feeding, so you should know what you'll do with the rodents if he doesn't want them. And I'd get him eating in his new home before trying to switch him to new food, frozen or rats.

Adult rats are more nutritious than adult mice, but adult mice are more nutritious than baby rats, so it's up to you how important it is to get him switched to mice. Many snakes live on mice their entire lives and do just fine, but a rat-fed snake will tend to grow faster and has to eat fewer food items. You can tell what size food your snake is ready for by looking at the circumference of the biggest part of him. At three feet, he should definitely be able to eat small rats, just make sure their bellies aren't bigger around than his.