Please help with feeding size and frequency - 28 inch BP

[willieg]

I would really appreciate some advice on when to get my snake on something bigger than hopper mice. She is 1 and 1/4 inches in diameter at the widest spot. She eats every Sunday morning and alternates between one hopper per week and two per week. The weeks she only eats one, by about Thursday, like right now, she starts yawning a bit more, and to me she seems a bit more exploratory. She just shed yesterday but even with that her every other thursday activity was in full force. I wonder if she is hungry a couple of days early when she eats only one on Sunday.

I really have two questions.

- should I try and feed her early or keep on the every Sunday cycle?

- when I hold up a hopper up to judge it by eye against her diameter, it appears a little smaller than her widest part and it doesn't leave a lump. Should I go to an adult mouse and do once per week?

Thanks in advance!

[VEXER19]

You could probably feed your snake 2 adult mice every 5 days. Would have to see a weight first to know for sure but you definately need to upgrade the prey size to at least 1 adult mouse every 5th day.

[rgalanti21]

Th golden rule in BP feeder size is to feed it a prey item that is 10-15% of your snakes weight in grams and that is slightly larger than the girth of your snake. Follow that and you can't go wrong. 4-5 days for younger snakes and 7-10 days for adults.

[captainjack0000]

My BP is about 28 inches and she takes a rat pup about once a week. The rat pup is a step up from a rat fuzzy according to my pet store. I'm actually thinking about bumping her to something even larger because she's really bulked up.

Something to consider is that the girth of the mouse usually doesn't include the fur. A mouse or rat might look bigger than it actually is because the fur is poofy.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Weight is the best method of determining prey size.

[captainjack0000]

Weight is the best method of determining prey size.

x2

See my post about 15%.

BUT, if you haven't invested in a set of scales yet, or cannot weigh your food item for whatever reason, the girth is a reasonable rule of thumb, from what I've heard.

[RestlessRobie]

X3 15% is a great rule of thumb a scale is almost as important as a Thermostat in my opnion and you can get one relatively cheap $15 or so if you look around I got mine at Harbor freight for $12 works great

[willieg]

I had a sense these hoppers weren't big enough. I don't have scales but I will pick up a scale tomorrow and weigh her so I have a good measurement. The girth is how I always heard to do it, but I like the weight idea a lot better. Makes sense that this would be a more accurate measurement.

Thanks for the feedback.

[willieg]

So tomorrow morning we are going to a reptile "swap meet" which is held twice a month not too far from where I live. I was told there are vendors that sell prey less expensive than does the pet store. The pet store prices aren't really outrageous or anything so I am wondering if there are pros and cons in regard to purchasing from a big pet store and factory packaged prey vs private sellers. I don't want to save a couple bucks at the expense of feeding my snake less quality. Quite the opposite I would rather spend a little more and get her the best. Opinions?

[RichsBallPythons]

Tell you right now With snakes length is nothing, Toss that out the window and go by weight.

hatchlings to 100g Hoppers
101g-200g Sm Adults
201g-300g Adults
301g i switch to wean rats.

If they dont switch i just keep feeding adults or Retired breeders which are same size as wean rats.. Some feed larger prey items, but i feed every 3 days so i do slightly smaller meals.