feeding advice

[STEW]

Why turn the OP off of even trying to switch to rats? They have more nutrients than mice which is better for your snake in the long run...... The BP in this post doesnt seem to have issues with eating or the amount of prey items wouldnt be the question....... Dead animals also dont bite, so if you have issues with the possibility of your snake getting bit, switch em over to pre killed.... I know BP's are notorious for their eating habits so reminding me is not necessary.

[vangarret2000]

Why turn the OP off of even trying to switch to rats? They have more nutrients than mice which is better for your snake in the long run...... The BP in this post doesnt seem to have issues with eating or the amount of prey items wouldnt be the question....... Dead animals also dont bite, so if you have issues with the possibility of your snake getting bit, switch em over to pre killed.... I know BP's are notorious for their eating habits so reminding me is not necessary.

How do you know rats have more nutrients? Just curious.

[mrshawt]

After all, compare and adult mouse with a small rat. The mouse is farther along in its growth, therefore having more calcium and other nutrients. The rat is less developed and has less nutrients overall. That of course, is theory until some numbers are applied. I did look up a study that compared feeder nutrient levels, and mice and rats contained about the same amounts of essential nutrients.

Here's a link: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/zoo/Who...nal02May29.pdf

[STEW]

just goin off what all the experts at the site i post boa related issues at say. I could go over and pull their links but im pretty lazy

[Wh00h0069]

just goin off what all the experts at the site i post boa related issues at say. I could go over and pull their links but im pretty lazy

A lot of expert on forums are not experts at all. They just say what they have heard other say.

To the OP, I would say one to two large mice or one weaned rat would be about right. The size of the prey should be around the same size as the thickest part of the snake. If you do not see a small lump after the snake swallows, then you either need to feed one more or increase the size of the prey.

[stinker2009]

So it seems like mice and rats have essentially the same nutritional value if they are the same size. A few small mice will be the same as 1 small rat if weights are added up and are comparable. Also remember that even if one of the two has twice as much nutrients, the requirements of the bp are unknown so this whole debate may not even be worth it lol.

Right now my 3 month old has taken both with little hesitation, its just a lot harder to find fuzzie rats around town cause most places dont carry them or they outgrow her quickly. Should I stick with the mice for now and try converting in the future or just run all over town trying my best to find rats?

[stinker2009]

Oh and also on size to feed...I'm a noob and literally brought my scale to the pet store and was weighing mice until I found one that was 14% of the body weight of my bp. I didn't wanna go with guessing cause the first time I did that I grabbed a rat that was almost 30% of her bodyweight! lol Whoop for returns!

[Wh00h0069]

Oh and also on size to feed...I'm a noob and literally brought my scale to the pet store and was weighing mice until I found one that was 14% of the body weight of my bp. I didn't wanna go with guessing cause the first time I did that I grabbed a rat that was almost 30% of her bodyweight! lol Whoop for returns!

Just do what works for you. If it is easier for you to find mice, then feed mice. The main reason that people like to feed rats is that you only have to feed them one. One thing to keep in mind is that if you continue to feed your bp mice, it may be very difficult to get him to feed on rats later if you decide to switch.

I don't go by weight. I measure the size of the prey item by the thickness of the snake.

[stinker2009]

I don't go by weight. I measure the size of the prey item by the thickness of the snake.

I think I would like to start doing that but I am a paranoid numbers kinda guy and it is just more comfortable for me now to go off what I can calculate. That rat I mentioned really didn't seem too big and I'm guessing my bp would have still taken it, but I didn't want her to get too stuffed to eat the next week. Hopefully when I get a better eye for it ill be able to just go off of thickness

[AcousticHoney]

Would you advise to feed your ball python two mice?

And if so, what sizes? My bf and I fed our baby two hoppers,
someone who has had ball pythons for a while said that if
he is still hungry that he will go for the second one... and he did

But I was wondering if that is healthy for him?
Is it possible for them to become overweight?

We bought him as a juvenile from the pet shop,
fed him a pinky the first week (two days after we got him
since the pet shop told us when he last fed), then a hopper the next,
and did two hoppers the following week.
This Friday will be his third feeding from us.

The first hopper we bought him was a bit smaller than
the thickest part of his body, that's why we decided to buy two
but I think these 2 hoppers were at the end of their "hopper" stage.


I just joined the forum and will post pics on my profile,
I would now but I'm at work...