Question about proper weight

[artgecko]

Hi guys!
I have 3 BPs in my collection and I am unsure about when to move them up in prey size. My largest female has been on small rats for about 4 months now and she is starting to look "not as plump" as she used to. She is shedding and adding length, but I can see a slight defined spine on her and she is not completely round (like a sausage). I am somewhat afraid to move her up to medium rats (there seems to be a big difference between the smalls I have and the mediums I have), so I'm not sure what to do at this point.

Do you have any pics of what you would consider a slightly "underweight" BP vs. a "healthy but somewhat lean" BP?

I will try to get a current pic of her tonight or tomorrow and post it. She just shed yesterday and tonight is feeding night, so it may have to wait until tomorrow.

Any help or experience you guys can share on this issue would be great!
Thanks for your time and help!

[rlditmars]

This is the way I tend to go.

Hatchlings up to 300 grams - Rat pups
300 to 750 grams - Rat Weanlings
750 - 1200 grams - Rat Smalls
Males stay on Rat Smalls the remainder of their life
Females over 1200 grams - Rat Mediums

[George1994]

This is the way I tend to go.

Hatchlings up to 300 grams - Rat pups
300 to 750 grams - Rat Weanlings
750 - 1200 grams - Rat Smalls
Males stay on Rat Smalls the remainder of their life
Females over 1200 grams - Rat Mediums

Good guide, but OP, everyone is different. I feed my male Medium Rats, and feed him every 10 days. So long as you are in the right ballpark to begin with, after a while you can pretty much just eyeball it. A lot of people say 'no bigger than the widest part of the body' that is good advice yeah, but I don't push it. Just use common sense and do what feels right for the snake, it will all come

[SKO]

[SKO]

I got that picture from this forum and it seems to work lol

[200xth]

I am somewhat afraid to move her up to medium rats (there seems to be a big difference between the smalls I have and the mediums I have), so I'm not sure what to do at this point.

You don't need to move her up. You can sustain a female on small rats (65g to 75g) forever if you want.

There's guidelines for this, and people do things slightly different. You'll have to pay attention to your snake and see what works. Some of them seem to like smaller prey more often, some seem to prefer bigger prey less often.

To a degree it's trial, error, and observation. But don't feel you have to move up in size if you don't want to.

[kitedemon]

One of my foibles is the generic terms. Small rat, medium etc. One of my suppliers a 'small' rat is around 90-120 gm. The one of my other suppliers a small rat is around 40gm. That is a lot of variation. Small only means what one person thinks is small, there is no standard.

The chart put forward to me close.

I use a variation to it myself.

My personal way.

under 500 gm get 10% of the snake's weight in a single meal, every 5 days.
500gm to 1000gm Male and 1200gm female get 10% every 7 days.
Over these they get 3-5% a sitting every 7 days.

For example my large female is just under 4000gm her meals are around 120gm (she eats off season so I sometimes toss her a 200gm rat here and there) . Small or Medium, maybe large, depending on whom calls what size what.

[anicatgirl]

See, I have this issue too. I always feed something about as big around as my girl, but the small rats I can get from my breeder would be still too big for her. So I feed her two adult mice instead, to get her bumped up until she is a better fit for the rats.

[Albert Clark]

Well imo, you would have to take into account the age and weight of the animal as well. Normally we feed by the rule of a prey item at or slightly larger than the widest part of the bp. As well there is the 10 -20% rule which is a little more exact. Of course there is leverage and a margin of leeway. I always heard a adult bp could thrive on a medium rat for all of it's adult life. Peace.

[Albert Clark]

See, I have this issue too. I always feed something about as big around as my girl, but the small rats I can get from my breeder would be still too big for her. So I feed her two adult mice instead, to get her bumped up until she is a better fit for the rats.

One thing to try instead of adult mice would be jumbo mice. Smaller than a small rat but larger than adult mice.