feeder baby rats...

[Ginevive]

I have a batch of eight rat pups, still with their mother, to use as feeders. Do you guys think I should wait unntil the baby rats get their fur, to feed them to my smaller bp and bci, or feed them in the "pinkie" stage? I ask because Octavia my BP is still rather small, and the pinkies are about the size of the average mouse I was feeding her.
Also for those of you who breed your own rats; do you feed fresh-killed, or euthanize all the rats, freeze them and then feed them to your snakes?

[JLC]

If it's the right size, I would feed the pinks. But others may feel differently.

Sorry, can't help with the killing part since I buy frozen meeces.

[freakoverdose1]

i euthanize with dry ice and suffocation.

[Marla]

If the pinks are the size you were feeding her, why not try going with fresh-killed for the next 2-3 feedings? That bumps prey size up gradually and shouldn't be more than she can handle.

[Ginevive]

Well last night I fed Octavia two of the baby rats. I usually don't like feeding multiple prey items, but she took them both, and I figure a snake would do the same in the wild if it found more than one baby rat. She has a weird habit of just using her immediate neck area to constrict; not bothering to use the rest of her body, just her head and upper neck. But I think that by the time her next feeding comes around, the rat pups will be big enough to just feed one; they grow like weeds!

[iceman25]

You know what Godfather would say! Its easier if you can get a large ruler, put it on top of the neck and give the tail a hard yank. This snaps their spines and kills them instantly. Or you can do the rat in the sock deal and wack it real hard against something solid. If that does not work, grab them by the tails and throw them really hard against the floor. This kills them immediately. Just make sure u throw real hard! I've had to try all methods and finaly managed to switch my girl over to frozen. Now I just buy it from the store, just like I buy my chicken.

[Ginevive]

I just did the "whack the sock against the doorframe" method. For some reason, though, Octa decided to re-constrict them. Usually she just scooped the dead mouse off the cage floor and ate with no constriction. An well, she is a weird one.