Switching to Rats - help!

[rabernet]

maybe your snake is intimidated by them. i dont konw about you guys but it took me a very long time to switch her over to rats due to me being more worried of the situation than she was. i knew she was ready but i wasnt. eventually i mustered up and she handled it like a champ. so just take your time. sooner or later your snake will be ready and you can spend the big bucks on rats like the rest of us lol. til then enjoy the $2 mice. sure wish i could enjoy the $2 mice price.

$2 a mouse? I pay $1.65 a medium rat and $.65 a mouse.

[stealthk7gsxr]

$2 a mouse? I pay $1.65 a medium rat and $.65 a mouse.

ugh. unfortunately i have to get mine from good ol petco

[Patricia]

Also, if he has good body weight on him, I've employed "tough love" and just never offered a mouse again. After several weeks, they took a rat and never looked back.

What exactly is "good body weight"? I mean, is this tough love OK to do when they're under a year old? I think I read that at under a year, they should eat regularly in order to grow properly. I've also seen weights of 350-500g mentioned to start snakes on rats, yet that's under a year old.

Ours is around 420g and has refused a f/t rat twice. He feels "empty" and acts hungry. He'll turn a year old around Jan/Feb.

So, should I tough-love him out, or continue to feed mice weekly until age 1, and then introduce f/t rats again?

[rabernet]

What exactly is "good body weight"? I mean, is this tough love OK to do when they're under a year old? I think I read that at under a year, they should eat regularly in order to grow properly. I've also seen weights of 350-500g mentioned to start snakes on rats, yet that's under a year old.

Ours is around 420g and has refused a f/t rat twice. He feels "empty" and acts hungry. He'll turn a year old around Jan/Feb.

So, should I tough-love him out, or continue to feed mice weekly until age 1, and then introduce f/t rats again?

I don't know that not eating regularly causes them not to grow properly, as they certainly don't eat regularly in their native environment, as prey doesn't come wandering by on a weekly basis. Our captive animals most likely eat far more frequently than their wild cousins.

With that said, it's really a matter of knowing your own snake. 420 grams on you boy may be different than 420 grams on another snake.

For me, a good weight is a nice solid animal. Some of mine I switched at 500 grams, some I switched at 1000+ grams, it all depended on the animal.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with an animal growing up on mice, I raised the majority of my girls on mice. I'm not convinced that rats are "better" than mice - certainly more convenient, but we don't know what the nutritional "requirements" are of ball pythons, since no official study has ever been done. So while a rat may be on paper more nutritious, it's quite possible, that any "extra" nutrition is just expelled as waste.

Most of my girls grew at a rate of 100 grams a month on mice. I guess I'm saying this to say - don't feel you HAVE to switch to rats, if mice work just as well for you.