Can my snake eat mice?

[Quacking-Terror]

Thanks, Sammy. I wasn't sure if that held true with snakes or not. That's why I post here, because everyone is so great at educating those of us new to the hobby! I will do my best to start him on f/t, and if it takes a couple weeks, I'm not going to complain. He's seven weeks old, and I guess the previous owner tried to get him on f/t but couldn't do it. I believe that using the information I've gathered from this forum, I have a good shot at it!

[loonunit]

Thanks guys. I didnt read anywhere that they eat insects. I heard that they have poor eyesight so i figured they would eat anything that moves, like a large cricket. But now i know, and friday when its feeding time i will feed him a live mouse.

Naw, it's really just a constrictor thing. You can't strangle a cricket, right? And they have the heat pits on their upper lip, which won't trigger on a cold insect. They instinctively want something warm-blooded. Hopping around and fuzzy are also bonuses.

He should be good to go for an adult mouse. Though sometimes they can get picky about only wanting smaller food--if that happens, you can usually find a "small" size in between hoppers and adults.

(Parenthetically, I did just read that smooth/rough grass snakes can be fed crickets. Whoa!)

[Adam Chandler]

I heard that they have poor eyesight so i figured they would eat anything that moves

Actually they can see pretty good, about as well as a house cat.

[loonunit]

I just adopted a 7 week old BP today and he is a little smaller than Mitch, I believe. He has been eating fuzzies, live ones. I will be trying to get him to eat f/t, and I have been reading somewhere that letting them go a week without a meal before attempting to feed f/t from live is one method of trying to teach them to make the switch. I'm wondering if they are, like some animals, easier to "train" the younger they are.

For the record, I really do find that they are much, much easier to switch to f/t as hatchlings. A two or three year old adult can take MONTHS, but babies rarely take more than two weeks of effort.

...I wouldn't starve them a week at that age, though. They SHOULD be naturally hungry as hatchlings, but in any case they don't have a lot of body fat yet to buffer starvation.

My usual method, when they won't just take the f/t outright, is to "lead" with a live mouse, and then offer the f/t as soon as they're done swallowing--they usually will look around for second mouse immediately after the first one, and I find they're typically not as picky once they've had their "appetizer". It also helps if you warm up the nose of the f/t mouse for 30-60 seconds under a heat lamp, or with a hair dryer.

[SnakeKB]

Answering the question, can the snake eat an adult mouse, Yes it can. What i like doing is knowing how much the snake weighs and the weight of the mouse or rat. Not everyone is going to agree with me but I like to feed 15-20% of the snakes weight when i want them to bulk up. When my hatchlings were around 80g, they were being fed a mouse/rat that was 15-20g. Now there nearly 300g dining on 45-50g rats. My oldest male is 900g and eating 110-120g rats. There all growing extremely fast and there bodies are staying solid. If they start to get chunky then ill feed 10% of there weight and feed less often. Its been working for me and they all feed great everytime and growing very nice and solid.

[SpartaDog]

Well it seems you've gotten all of your questions answered, but I feel the need to say this: NEVER buy an animal without doing your homework beforehand. You got lucky this time, since ball pythons are easy to care for, but what would you have done if they reached 20 ft and could only eat a specific diet?

I had a guy contact me the other day about feeding his new leopard gecko. He was insistent on feeding the poor thing one or two mealworms every day, even though I told him crickets had a much higher nutritional value and one or two was not NEARLY enough, because it was too much of a hassle to buy two dozen crickets every week. I told him he should have thought of that before he bought the leo. :/

Still, I'm very glad to see you're so willing to do it the right way, and I wish you nothing but the best with your new python. ^_^

[don15681]

first, read the care sheet on this site, then when you feed him, if the rodent is large enough for him, you will be able to tell that he ate. when he gets the rodent all the way down. you will notice a lump in his belly. if you don't see that, then the next time you feed him, up the size of the rodent.

[Mikekrause2000]

Younger doesn't necessarily mean easier to switch. I've had many adults switch with no problems. To avoid the issue, my babies get rats from the first meal on.

[Mikekrause2000]

Well it seems you've gotten all of your questions answered, but I feel the need to say this: NEVER buy an animal without doing your homework beforehand. You got lucky this time, since ball pythons are easy to care for, but what would you have done if they reached 20 ft and could only eat a specific diet?

I had a guy contact me the other day about feeding his new leopard gecko. He was insistent on feeding the poor thing one or two mealworms every day, even though I told him crickets had a much higher nutritional value and one or two was not NEARLY enough, because it was too much of a hassle to buy two dozen crickets every week. I told him he should have thought of that before he bought the leo. :/

Still, I'm very glad to see you're so willing to do it the right way, and I wish you nothing but the best with your new python. ^_^

Why is everyone saying i got lucky from not doing research? I researched Ball Pythons. Ive read multiple care booklets, online guides, learned from word-of-mouth etc. Mitch isnt in a shoebox in my oven, I want him to live the 30+ years that ball pythons can live. I bough a snake starter kit (40 gallon tank, 1 day heat lamp, 1 night heat lamp, 1 water dish, 1 hide, misting spray, and reptile turf) I also got him a reptile heat pad for under his nighttime hide that covers a good portion of the night side of the tank. Hes got a locking screen on top for when he is bigger, he isnt terrorizing my apartment. I bought a 10 gallon tank with 3 male mice, 3 female mice, and a separate holding tank for the babies. I also put aluminum foil on the top of the screen around the lights that cover about 70% of the screen, i left around the lights open so he can get air and ventilation. My next project is getting one of those expensive heat lamp timers, that way i can be more accurate on him getting proper day lamp/night lamp exposure.

That being said, the thermometer in his tank is always in the low 80's. I know it needs to be around 90, but i have no idea how i can boost it. I cant get another heating pad on the bottom because he needs a cooler side of the tank, plus my water dish is over there. Maybe a better light?

[ChuckSM]

First, if he is eating 2 hoppers, then I would say he is ready for at least a young adult mouse. My normals are not big eaters so when they started eating 2 of a item, I knew it was time to bump up the size.

Second, OMG, just reading these forum or wikis gives great advice on taking care of these easy to manage Balls. You didnt get lucky, you did what you were supposed to do.

Balls basically tell you what they want.

Just like most people will tell you gravid females wont eat after thier shed. Mine says they are full of it. She still wants her rat and actively searches during that time.