Is my bp big enough for small rats? (live feeding question)

[vmachina]

Preface: yes I've wasted a lot of frozen mice/rats trying to switch my bp over to f/t (admittedly I haven't tried pre killed yet) , and right now he's at the size where he needs two adult mice to be full, and is the right girth for a small rat. (600-700 grams, haven't weighed in a while) However I find small rats are still kind of large at the local pet stores I've been going to and A LOT more intelligent than the mice I've been feeding. My local pet stores also don't seem to carry anything in between the size of a mouse and a small rat.


I usually hold the mouse by the tail and my bp will grab it by the face with no problem, and last week I attempted to feed a rat by holding the tail but this time it climbed it's own tail upwards and bit me. I was so scared of it hurting my bp so I chickened out and promptly went back to the pet store to exchange it for two mice.

I've also heard that some people have trouble switching bps over to rats, so if it's possible; switch them over while they are younger. Should I try to feed a rat again next time, or should I keep feeding two mice until he's at a size where I'm a little more confident he can take down a rat? Anyone have tips? Thanks in advance!

[Caspian]

When I feed live (I have one girl that won't take f/t at all) I don't hold them by the tail. For one thing, that's just asking for an excited snake to miss it and bite you, instead. Instead I set them in the cage, and the snake grabs them from there. Admittedly, that has led to a couple bites on my girl... once because she managed to get the mouse by the tail and got a few small bites on her belly, and the other time she got it by the middle and got a nasty bite on the nose, after which I rearranged her tank - I'm pretty sure the angle of the hide she was in was responsible for the bite on the nose. The tail was just a mouse that was quicker than her - I saw her start to strike, head on to the mouse, and by the time she'd finished the strike it was turned around and leaving! But both healed up perfectly, and she doesn't seem to have been dissuaded from wanting more. As to size, though... I went from feeding her two large mice to two baby rats (2/3 weeks old... hopper?) and I'll work her up from there.

[cron14]

My BP is around 660 grams. I'm lucky because the pet store near me carries rat pups. I'm not sure if I misread but are you using tongs or hands to feed? If you're using hands, definitely make the switch to tongs. That way you don't get bit by any animals. I would say your BP is definitely ready for small rats. I've been feeding my small rats for a while now. You have to be very careful with them and your BP as they are big enough to inflict some serious damage. You can try stunning the small rat. I've really only heard of one method of doing this and someone else with a lot more experience than I will be able to help you a bit more but you basically put the rat in a bag and either bop it on the head or smack it against the wall in a bag. Stunned rats can be dangerous as well without supervision. If they wake up chances are they're going to be scared and I would assume more likely to attack. I hope this helps.

[DennisM]

... Stunned rats can be dangerous as well without supervision. If they wake up chances are they're going to be scared and I would assume more likely to attack. I hope this helps.

Which is one reason to never feed stunned prey. Just don't do it.

[Sauzo]

Also holding a mouse or rat by the tail during feeding live is a bad idea as the rat is on the defensive. If you are going to continue feeding live, just put the rat in there nice and calm. That was he isn't really ready when the snake strikes and by then its too late anyways. I personally just pre killed or F/T to all my gals. My BP started on live rat fuzzies since they couldn't hurt her. Then once she was up to weanlings, I would just pre kill them and she took them fine. Now I just do F/T for everyone as I'm lazy and I definitely don't want to try and kill weaned rabbits for my big boa.

And I know you feel about the sizing. I have a reptile shop by me who stocked all the sizes of rats and mice down to newborns. Sounds like you need something like a weanling rat or maybe a large crawler. Check and see if you have any reptile shops close to you. I know I have to drive about 40 mins each way every couple weeks to get my big boa her F/T weaned rabbits but its the same place that has all the live stuff too so I'm used it by now lol.

[vmachina]

Another stupid question: How do you guys hold live rodents with tongs? I used chopsticks as makeshift tongs for a mouse once (held by tail) and it squealed out of pain, which is why I started hand feeding, so it would be less stressful.

But I think I might just try putting in the rat in without holding it and supervise it closely if it gets out of hand.

[Caspian]

I don't hold the rodents with the tongs - I use them to catch, sometimes, especially if I need to take a rodent back out of the cage, but then I transfer over and hold it by hand to put it in a container. They're much less likely to be agitated and aggressive if they have all four - or two, if they stand up on their hind legs - feet on something solid. I had one snake come out before I could set the mouse down, and the mouse grabbed it by the nose with both front paws... that snake refused to eat at all that time. Didn't get bit or anything, but it got its nose grabbed, and wasn't having anything to do with the mouse after that.

[Sauzo]

You don't want to hold live rodents. You calmly put them in the snake cage or feeding tub and let them feel a sense of security. Then the snake slams them BTW the only time I would advocate a feeding tube is if you feed live to a snake in a PVC cage since if something goes wrong, it can be hard to get in there quick enough with a chopstick or pencil to try and pin or block the rodents head from going for your snake. Honestly, my advice would be to try some tough love and switch to F/T but that's another story.

[NoStepOnSnek]

I was at that point too where I realized 2 small mice were no longer keeping him full and he was always moody.
Switching to rats is easier for some, for me it was a tricky situation because that rat did also climb it's own tail. At which point I dropped it into the enclosure. You don't wanna hold it/wiggle it in front of your python. Plus he might start associating your hand with food idk *shrugs*
I thought small rats were still too big also, but he managed just fine. Don't keep it in there for an extended period of time if yours doesn't go for it, just wait a few more days and offer again. Good luck!