Won't eat a rat

[Brass City Reptiles]

My bigger bp won't eat a rat but will eat a mouse but my smaller bp will eat a rat y is that??

[Skittles1101]

Some just prefer one over the other, you can try scenting the rat with a mouse, or just feed multiple mice if needed.

[Brass City Reptiles]

That is my pastel that won't eat the rat and this is my spider that will eat it

[Brass City Reptiles]

Ty I feed the every 3 days

[Skittles1101]

That seems like a very short period, try feeding every 5-7 days instead.

[Brass City Reptiles]

I was told it is ok to feed every 3 days they eat them so y not feed them.

[Kateesaurus]

That's usually called power feeding and it's not very good for your snakes, it just helps them put on weight fast. The reason they eat is because they are opportunistic feeders and think they may notnget another meal for a while so they eat while they can. I would also suggest feeding every 5-7 days, it's just better for your snakes.

[toddbecker]

I was told it is ok to feed every 3 days they eat them so y not feed them.

May I make a suggestion. You come to a great place to gain knowledge and insight from some very experienced and knowledgable keepers that have been doing this for a long time. When someone suggests to you that you are doing something that is questionable or not in the best interest of your snakes you would do good to listen and learn from others experiences instead of making snide comments like you did. This is a great place to learn but it isn't difficult to alienate yourself by making comments and seeming to not care what people have to offer. And to second the advice, three days is pretty close together and I also would recommend atleast 5 days between feedings. Todd

[AkHerps]

I don't think marriedtothegame was being rude. A lot of people see their snakes always eating because they are growing babies so they feed them as much as they eat because they think they are hungry.

In all reality, a ball python is still a wild animal with instincts. They know as babies that they have to eat everything that comes their way whether they are hungry or not, but, in the wild, they are probably not finding new food that quickly, so in captivity they can gain more fat weight than muscle weight.

Every 5 days is a good feeding schedule.

The reason your snake wont eat rats is because it has imprinted on mice, meaning its used to those so it doesnt recognize rats as something yummy. I scented a frozen thawed mouse in rat bedding to get my ball on rats.

[Maverick67]

feeding every 3 days? so you only get to handle them 1 day a week? (it has been said you should give you bp 48 hrs to digest before handling to avoid the risk of regurgitation.) I would switch over to a 5-7 day schedule. the larger of the 2 possibly on a 10 day schedule. That alone may help with the refusal of rats.