finally on pups

[dannyd]

Hi everyone yesterday Mitch my bp went up to eating rat pups. At first he was a little scared but after it was hanging for another minute he grabbed it when i was off gaurd and constricted the hell out of it. After he finished squeezing it he kepting looking for the head but ending up with the back end. I was very nervous because the was his first pup and his first time eating backward. It took him about half an hour to eat the hole thing. He was preety tired though he didnt want to move so i had to wait to put his hide back. Later on that night he drank almost all the water in his water dish, he's never done before.
Right now he is laying on top of one of his hides facing the T.v. Is that normal for a b.p to be out after eating a bigger then usual meal?

[frankykeno]

As long as his warm and cool side temps are within the range then he's just doing what he feels he wants to do. They know what is best, we just have to provide the right environment and trust the snake's instincts. Congrats on his taking his first rat pup!

[dannyd]

Thanks. I was a little nervous that he wasnt going to eat it because I have heard of some poeple tring yo convert from mice to rats and their snake wouldnt go for it. My boy is a champ. I love this guy i havent had not one problem at all since i goy him, and i got him from a pet store, but i got him the same day he got there also so i was a little lucky.

[Lioness]

congrats on the feed! i need to convert mine from mice to rats soon.. but i've heard that rats are a bit more aggressive than mice..and sometime fight back! i would rather feed f/t.. but i keep Fendi here at the office with me.. and dont really have a fridge to keep frozen rats. Do you think pre-killed or stunned would be the best route for me? or should i just try live?

[frankykeno]

A couple of our BP's were originally mice eaters and transitioned nicely over to rat pups. Quite honestly though it was more for our convenience as I can manage to breed my own rats but I failed miserably at breeding mice LOL. They seemed to do just as well on mice as they do on rats. It's all about appropriate amounts of food and a snake with a strong feeding reaction to that particular prey.

[Lioness]

.... but will adult mice satisfy their appetites the same way rats would, once their adults? or do you have to feed two adult mice to equal an adult rat?

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

congrats on the feed! i need to convert mine from mice to rats soon.. but i've heard that rats are a bit more aggressive than mice..and sometime fight back! i would rather feed f/t.. but i keep Fendi here at the office with me.. and dont really have a fridge to keep frozen rats. Do you think pre-killed or stunned would be the best route for me? or should i just try live?

If you feed live, just monitor them, if you have a pencil or pen around, and the snake wraps up the rat but leaves themselves exposed to where the rat could still bite, you could stick the pencil in the rats mouth so it cant chomp down on the snake.

However, the biggest danger when a BP eats a rat, is the time he is left alone with the rat, and whether or not the rat is hungry/thirsty. As long as you monitor the situation you should be able to intervene if for some reason the snake isnt interested, but the rat is....


So really if you are responsible, nothing serious should happen.

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

.... but will adult mice satisfy their appetites the same way rats would, once their adults? or do you have to feed two adult mice to equal an adult rat?

adult rat can weigh 200-800 grams easily

adult mice? 40grams,

so even an adult rat (classified as a large in feeder terms) would be equivalent to 5 mice, and a large adult rat (XXL Jumbo) would be like 10-15 mice in terms of size/weight..


But yes, if you feed smaller prey, you can simply feed more of them at the same sitting. You dont want to feed more than once a week so they would have to eat them one after another in the same feeding session.

[Lioness]

thanks for the help! i guess i should be fine feeding alive..since i usually watch her feed anyway. i keep her right next to my desk..and feed her in a big container next to me while i work. so i yea..i suppose it should be fine.

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

thanks for the help! i guess i should be fine feeding alive..since i usually watch her feed anyway. i keep her right next to my desk..and feed her in a big container next to me while i work. so i yea..i suppose it should be fine.

Just check out the rats pre feed. Offer them some food and water, see if they act aggressively.... thats just another safety check. I raise my own so I know they are fed, watered, and I handle them as I pick them out and can tell their temperment to some degree..