Is this rat too big?

[sbit]

Okay, sorry to make a post since I think I've mostly gotten an answer from others' posts but since this is my baby we're talking about I just want to make sure

I went to get his usual mouse (which are getting almost too small) and found the freezer at the pet store had been left open and all the rodents inside totally ruined. I reported it to the manager and he thanked me, and pointed out a second freezer, which only had rats. Several in the package felt small enough so I bought them.

I got one out tonight to check the size before I feed him tomorrow. Um, the diameter seems perfect, just a tiny bit bigger than his mice and a little smaller than the biggest part of his body. But it weighs 41g, his last mouse was more like 25g.

I don't think there will be any problem with him taking the rat, he's a very aggressive feeder and gets really excited around food. I just don't wanna cause him to regurge or be in any distress.

Currently he weighs 155g empty and he last ate on Sunday. :s Do you think he would be okay to eat this rat?

[Mike41793]

Well thats like 25% of his body weight and they reccommend feeding 10-15% usually. So i would say if you feed him that definetly wait 10-14 days rather than 7 as usual.

[angllady2]

That is a big meal for him, but as long as you have spot on husbandry, I'd just give him a little longer to digest it and get hungry again.

Believe it or not, a lot of times these guys sense when something is too big and will refuse to eat it. I've had a few different ball pythons take a prey item, get it partly swallowed, and then suddenly decide it's too big and just spit it back out.

Watch him carefully, and let him digest in peace, and he should be okay.

Gale

[mattchibi]

I would probably rather go back to the store tomorrow and pick up something closer to 15-25 grams. It sounds like you're feeding frozen/thawed so you can just save the 44 gram rat for when hes ready for it. If the diameter of the rat looks appropriate for your snake, I dont see why it would cause any harm to try and feed it to him. Only drawback I can think of is that if you feed meals that are significantly too large for your snake, it may cause him to refuse his next meals. Its best to feed 10-15% on a 7-10 day schedule for adults, and 5-7 days for hatchlings.

[sbit]

Thanks guys for all your advice! I noticed this morning that he is starting to go into shed, so I don't want to stress him any further/risk refusal by offering something big. Gonna drive to the far-away store to pick up a mouse since the local one is still out, and only try to offer the rat if THAT place is out of mice too. Good to know that I probably COULD feed him something a little bigger in a pinch though!

I think he'd be okay with it but I won't rock the boat this time. I never thought about just waiting longer to offer again! I think that's what I'll do when I am a little closer to switching him to rats permanently and he's a bit bigger. (I sort of want to feed him more often, but feeding every 7 days gives me 2 days when I feel I can totally safely handle him without bothering his digestion...he's a bit shy so I feel like I should. I may be waiting longer than needed to handle him after eating though...)

Love this forum!