Has my new BP been underfed?

[wny_luke]

I picked up my first bp last Tuesday, a male pastel, and he's been doing well eating a f/t over the weekend. The breeder told me he was born in August of 2010 making him around 8 months old. He weighed ~263g when I brought him home.

The breeder told me he's been eating once every 7 days consistently and was feeding him large mice. I bought a bunch of the same mice he was using as I thought it would make the transition easier to use the same food. I weighed several of the mice and they were all 28-30g.

Questions I have floating around in my head then:
- Is 263g small for 8 months?
- Should he be eating more frequently than every 7 days?
- Should I move him up to a bigger food size - if so what?

I'm going to weigh him again tonight. I weighed him in the small tub he was in when I brought him home and then weighed the tub again after I put him in his tank and determined his weight from there but I may have been off somewhere. I'm using a digital scale.

I'll also measure him tonight as well, using this snakemeasurer application I found searching online.

[JLC]

Sounds perfectly fine to me. There's no specific weight to aim for relative to their age...they all grow at different rates. Yours sounds just fine, and if he is indeed eating consistently every seven days, then a large mouse is good as well. You can switch to small rats at some point, but there's no hurry to do so.

[Skittles1101]

Yeah I have a male born Aug 2010 who's about the same in grams. He was very small when I got him. I feed every 5-7 days, depending on when I remember to take out the rats and as far as what he can eat at that size, easily a large mouse or a rat pup. Mine is taking rat pups, soon to be weaned rats in the next few weeks.

[wny_luke]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to know he's right around where he should be.

Is there a good weight to move up to rats? I bought 20 of these frozen large mice from the breeder but I won't be upset if I don't use them all as they were pretty cheap.

[Alexandra V]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to know he's right around where he should be.

Is there a good weight to move up to rats? I bought 20 of these frozen large mice from the breeder but I won't be upset if I don't use them all as they were pretty cheap.

There's no specific time or weight where you should move him to rats, that's up to you. I'd say wait at least a couple weeks, get some mice in him, and then try the switch with a rat that is about the same size as the mice he's eating.

[Skittles1101]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to know he's right around where he should be.

Is there a good weight to move up to rats? I bought 20 of these frozen large mice from the breeder but I won't be upset if I don't use them all as they were pretty cheap.

Yeah, there is no number standard for when feeding, rat pups are not much bigger than adult mice, so you could probably finish up the mice you already bought instead of wasting them. If you really don't think they are enough then feed every 4-5 days instead of 7, then switch to 5-7 days when you go to rats. They can eat food even bigger than the widest part of their body. Don't go too big, but adult mice and/or rat pups should be fine for his size.

[Simple Man]

I would switch to 5 days with a young snake and try a few F/T mice. I have snakes the same size as yours born around the same time and they eat several F/T large mice each when I feed. It is worth a try!

Regards,

B

[wny_luke]

I would switch to 5 days with a young snake and try a few F/T mice. I have snakes the same size as yours born around the same time and they eat several F/T large mice each when I feed. It is worth a try!

Regards,

B

Is there anything I should know about feeding 2+ mice at a time? Do I just wait till he gets the first one down and then present the 2nd one?


Thanks to everyone for the replies.

[Simple Man]

Is there anything I should know about feeding 2+ mice at a time? Do I just wait till he gets the first one down and then present the 2nd one?


Thanks to everyone for the replies.

You got it! I feed them one and make sure they get it down and then just make sure the second mouse hasn't cooled too much. After that I just put it near them and they are usually so fired up they strike and constrict it without any hesitation. Once their feeding instinct takes over it is a LOT easier to get a second meal down. I have a lot better luck when the F/T is at 98-102 degrees like a living rodent would be. I only have one snake that will eat it if I just toss it in and that's my Bee. He's my garbage disposal... LOL

Regards,

B

[Kingofspades]

That's about right for a mouse eater. If he was a rat eater, it would be different. I have a Mojove that is about 10 months old and 450 grams, but she has eaten rats since the start.