Prey order - sizing question

[Craiga 01453]

Hello fellow hognose keepers. I have a question regarding prey size. I'll be ordering from Perfect Prey this week or next, but I'm torn on what to order for Cosmo.

Cosmo went from March 19-June 5 without eating, but only lost 1 gram, so no sweat there, hopefully he's back on track. He was 58 grams empty as of yesterday.

I have 8 or 9 fuzzies (5-7 grams) left.
So, my question is this: should I order more fuzzies or should I move him up to hoppers after these 8 or 9 are fed off? Both come in packs of 25 or 50 pieces.

I've had Cosmo for about 14 months, so I still consider myself to be new to hognose snakes, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

[Neal]

How big is the fuzzy mouse in comparison to his thickness?

[C.Marie]

Any way you can get some Repti Links for your sweet hognose? From what I seen they love them as for ordering from perfect prey never have sorry I can not be more assistance to you best wishes always.

[Craiga 01453]

How big is the fuzzy mouse in comparison to his thickness?

Right around the same. They barely leave a noticable lump. He's taken 2 on a handful of occasions. My hopes are he's back on track and will bulk up a bit with regular meals. I'm not one to over feed by any means, though. If anything, I stay towards the smaller side with feeding.

So, I'm kinda on the fence. I have no doubt he could take a hopper, but I'm not sure if he'd be better off sticking to fuzzies until I actually see some more growth.

[Craiga 01453]

Any way you can get some Repti Links for your sweet hognose? From what I seen they love them as for ordering from perfect prey never have sorry I can not be more assistance to you best wishes always.

I've never tried them. I've heard mixed reviews with mixed results, but more positive than negative. As long as he's eating I'll likely stick to mice, but had considered links when I first got him, as well as while this fast was taking place.

[Neal]

I would order probably 25 fuzzies and 50 hoppers, then just do double feedings for him while you're doing fuzzies.

[Craiga 01453]

I would order probably 25 fuzzies and 50 hoppers, then just do double feedings for him while you're doing fuzzies.

Thanks! Trying to do what's best for my boy while getting the best bang for my buck as far as shipping costs go.

I can always give extras to my King, Django. Another great reason to keep Kings, they'll eat ANYthing. He's always happy to get a little treat, even a little tiny fuzzy.

[Charis]

I would order probably 25 fuzzies and 50 hoppers, then just do double feedings for him while you're doing fuzzies.

Agreed. Even if he outgrows them pretty fast, I've found that often the males on breeding season strikes, of all species I keep, will many times (not all unfortunately) be tempted to break their fast for a much smaller meal than their normal size. Figure if their instincts are telling them that they need to be ready to cruise around looking for a female, able to chase her once found and might have to fight other males, they don't want to be heavy and vulnerable digesting a big meal, so sometimes a tiny meal can tempt them. So having a few smaller prey items on hand can be useful. Sometimes works on females on strikes as well, though thankfully they do that less often.