Yet Another Feeding Question - FULL VIV SETUP DETAILS INCLUDED

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Can you define this

small adult rats

with an average weight.

And how much doe your BP weighs?

And PLEASE DON"T DO THIS

I tried assist-feeding him once

You do not assist or force an animals that knows how to eat no matter how frustrated his refusals are to you.

[b.rt]

Can you define this with an average weight.

And how much doe your BP weighs?

And PLEASE DON"T DO THIS You do not assist or force an animals that knows how to eat no matter how frustrated his refusals are to you.

I'm going to buy a scale on my way home from work and will post rat and snake weights ASAP.

And I didn't EVER plan on doing it again. His response was enough to tell me that it was a bad idea!

[b.rt]

Okay everyone,

Louis is just a little over three feet long and weighs 970 grams.

The live rat I have right now weighed in about 150 grams. It was a bit hard to get an exact reading holding him by tail :p

I think his F/T rats I usually buy are probably closer to 100-120 grams cause they're a bit smaller than this live guy.

I'm just so concerned because the vast majority of my research says that "an eating python is a happy python" and I just want him happy.

Should I keep the rat for a few days and try again or let it go outside? I feel bad keeping it in a box on the porch.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Well the size of the rat for starter are way too big for a male, while he is capable of eating them does not mean he should. Over feeding is a common issue with those animals.

If you want a BP that feed with consistency you want to feed smaller prey once a week, males even at 1500 grams don't need anything larger than than a 80 grams rat and of course when fed too much it sooner or later catches up and they will fast.

Also around 800/1000 grams BP will reach what we call the wall and tend to skip meals or fast.

Finally depending on where you live tempertures may already start to drop causing changes in BP'S behaviour.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[b.rt]

Well the size of the rat for starter are way too big for a male, while he is capable of eating them does not mean he should. Over feeding is a common issue with those animals.

If you want a BP that feed with consistency you want to feed smaller prey once a week, males even at 1500 grams don't need anything larger than than a 80 grams rat and of course when fed too much it sooner or later catches up and they will fast.

Also around 800/1000 grams BP will reach what we call the wall and tend to skip meals or fast.

Finally depending on where you live tempertures may already start to drop causing changes in BP'S behaviour.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Deborah,

Thank you for the guidance, I'll let this rat go!

I live in upstate New York, so right now is when our seasons are really changing, and we are experiencing significant temperature drops. Do you think that the weather coupled with his weight could just mean he's in a healthy fast?

And if so, how long should he fast for before I should start to worry?