too big or perfect

[snake_ghost]

i know that this is undoubtedly a 'beginners' question i've got 2 royals so heres the thing if this works the 15% rule says my pastel male should be eating a 82 gram rat and my pin female should take a 42 gram rat so would they be all good on them or what and if you could tell me if there a small weaner etc that would be brilliant as my local reptile shop is a bit funny when i say 25 gram rat etc so thanks for the help

[satomi325]

15% only applies to hatchlings and young juvis.
So your pastel is in the 500+g range? He can probably eat a weaned or small rat. The pin is around 200-300g? Could probably take a fat rat pup or weaning rat.

I choose feeder sizes by eye balling the size of the snake. You can match the size of the feeder to the largest width of the snake.

[snake_ghost]

male pastel 553 grams
female pin 289 grams

so would they be eating medium and large weaners do round about 40ish grams for my pin and 80 odd for my pastel???

[anatess]

male pastel 553 grams
female pin 289 grams

so would they be eating medium and large weaners do round about 40ish grams for my pin and 80 odd for my pastel???

Different suppliers have different size ranges for their small rats but generally, you can ask your supplier for a small rat for your pastel and a weaner rat for your pin.

[snake_ghost]

well i picked up a small rat today as i thought he would be good on them but the weight of the rat is 128 grams big or what??

[Pythonfriend]

i see no risk when you just try it; if the meal is too big its not a health risk, the risk is that she kills the rat and then decides not to try eating it and uses is as a pillow instead.

[snake_ghost]

so just try my pastel with the 128 gram rat and if he it's there's not risk of him hurting himself in any way

[Pythonfriend]

thats what i think. but i would wait until someone else confirms it

[Borgy76]

Is the rat the same size as the largest width of the snake, or even a little bigger? If so, I say dinner is served.

[Diasnis]

Going with the widest part of the snake is a good rule of thumb to start out with, and if the snake declines the food, then start stepping down. Like PythonFriend said, generally the worst thing you'd have to worry about would be convincing the snake to be rid of the dead rat that is decorating the tank, if it got attached to the new decor.