3 mice every 7-10 days too much for BP?

[KittenKrusader]

Preferably a slight one. If he's a mouser try larger mice or up the amount. Rats just tend to be easier because its usually one and done.

sent via something from somewhere

He eats the mice really quickly so it's no hassle feeding him mice. But I will look for some chubby mice tomorrow haha


-Amber

[Pythonfriend]

damn, rodentpro is down right now, normally i use these links for reference:

http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp...el=frozen_mice mice
http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp...el=frozen_rats rats

what i remember is that its quite counter-intuitive. a rat can easily be as heavy as 7-10 mice. so 3 mice could be as little as a third of a rat.

i recommend not counting them, but weighing them. oh, the links are now working. so, a weaned mouse is 13-17 grams, and a medium rat is 85-175 grams. but both mice and rats have quite a range in weight.

so, are 3 mice enough? depends on the weight of the mice and on the weight of your BP. its kinda like asking: are 3 meat balls as good as a steak? i dont know, im not a scale, only a scale can really answer it.

[FireStorm]

You want to see a visible lump after feeding. It doesn't need to be a huge lump, but you do want to be able to see something. Or, you could weigh him and feed 10-15% of his bodyweight.

As far as feeding rats vs mice from a safety standpoint, personally I feel that a small rat (for me that is a 4-6 week old rat) is less likely to be aggressive than an adult mouse. I understand that you feel more comfortable feeding mice, and that is certainly your choice (and there isn't really any harm in feeding mice if that's what you prefer). I just wanted to throw my $.02 out there as someone who raises feeders (rats, mice, and ASFs). I've certainly been bitten by more adult mice than I have small rats (I've culled enough that my rats are really tame...the mice are getting better, and my ASFs all bite).

[AlexisFitzy]

Like Pythonfriend said it would be helpful to know how much he weighs and how much the mice you want to feed weigh. That will help a lot with giving you a good answer. Especially since you said he was underfed with his previous owners so he's probably under weight.


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[Never3]

I don't know about the sock thing, but if you guy is like mine and really only likes live food, then I would suggest that you make sure that the rat/mouse has been fed. I know that there are exceptions to every situation, but you shouldn't have any issues with the rats or mice trying to hurt your ball as long as the rat or mouse isn't hungry. I have talked to several breeders and other people who have had bad experiences, and they all say that typically the snake will be fine as long as the rat or mouse isn't hungry, and also as long as you don't leave it in the tank with your snake unattended for too long. i.e. more than 10 minutes. I hope any of this helps.

[Never3]

The snake will let you know how much to feed it. If your snake seems to be looking for more food after the first mouse have been ingested, then go ahead and give him/her another one. That's pretty much how you will know. You have to pay attention to the snakes body language. Well that..and ask lots of questions on BP.net
lol

[Pythonfriend]

oh, by the way....

i am fine with feeding frozen thawed, live, or pre-killed.

im not fine with hurting the rat, and then feeding it while it is hurt but still more or less alive. im also not fine with pre-traumatizing the rat. that crosses the line for me. either let the snake hunt and kill the food animal, or use a humane method to kill it. otherwise, treat the rat or mouse well. snakes do what they do because its their nature. we can be more fair. so either the snake kills it, or we kill it HUMANELY. so, please, no smashing or sock-spinning.

methods that are often used and considered humane are cervical dislocation (a defined method of quickly breaking the neck), or gas, most people say CO2 and i can accept that its alright when done properly, i would go for nitrous oxide (laughing gas, causes loss of consciousness, often used on humans for sugery and to introduce anesthesia) followed by nitrogen.

but when its alive, treat the food rhodent well. if the snake doesnt kill it, give it food and water. and please no bone breaking and sock swinging. humans are not supposed to hurt animals that way, unless they are nihilists when it comes to this issue. a snake does what it does, and when we are in charge, a human does what a human does. and treating rhodents badly should not be part of it. mice and rats are intelligent, people keep them as pets, that needs to be respected.

[KittenKrusader]

I don't know about the sock thing, but if you guy is like mine and really only likes live food, then I would suggest that you make sure that the rat/mouse has been fed. I know that there are exceptions to every situation, but you shouldn't have any issues with the rats or mice trying to hurt your ball as long as the rat or mouse isn't hungry. I have talked to several breeders and other people who have had bad experiences, and they all say that typically the snake will be fine as long as the rat or mouse isn't hungry, and also as long as you don't leave it in the tank with your snake unattended for too long. i.e. more than 10 minutes. I hope any of this helps.

That helps a lot. Thanks so much.


-Amber

[KittenKrusader]

oh, by the way....

i am fine with feeding frozen thawed, live, or pre-killed.

im not fine with hurting the rat, and then feeding it while it is hurt but still more or less alive. im also not fine with pre-traumatizing the rat. that crosses the line for me. either let the snake hunt and kill the food animal, or use a humane method to kill it. otherwise, treat the rat or mouse well. snakes do what they do because its their nature. we can be more fair. so either the snake kills it, or we kill it HUMANELY. so, please, no smashing or sock-spinning.

methods that are often used and considered humane are cervical dislocation (a defined method of quickly breaking the neck), or gas, most people say CO2 and i can accept that its alright when done properly, i would go for nitrous oxide (laughing gas, causes loss of consciousness, often used on humans for sugery and to introduce anesthesia) followed by nitrogen.

but when its alive, treat the food rhodent well. if the snake doesnt kill it, give it food and water. and please no bone breaking and sock swinging. humans are not supposed to hurt animals that way, unless they are nihilists when it comes to this issue. a snake does what it does, and when we are in charge, a human does what a human does. and treating rhodents badly should not be part of it. mice and rats are intelligent, people keep them as pets, that needs to be respected.

The idea of gassing/hurting the feeders was never an option for me. That's why I chose to live feed mice, because I thought there was a lesser chance of harm being done to my snake.



-Amber

[CptJack]

The idea of gassing/hurting the feeders was never an option for me. That's why I chose to live feed mice, because I thought there was a lesser chance of harm being done to my snake.



-Amber

I ONLY feed frozen because I'm a big old softie, but as somebody who has kept both rats adn mice as pets (see also: softie):

An adult mouse is 200% more capable of inflicting damage to the snake than a baby rat of similar or even larger size. It's not just a size thing, it's a maturity, experience, and coordination one. I mean feed what you want, how you want (I have one 500+ gram snake I can NOT get off mice, and he eats 2 every 5 days or so). But for safety, if you're feeding live you'd be better off with similar sized rats. At mouse sized their eyes are either closed or barely open and really dont' have the strength and agility to do real damage. They are also way, way slower and less mobile, so they're easier to strike and coil properly.

Again: What you feed matters not one iota to me. I feed mice to one of my sub-adults and it's looking like he's never going to switch), but don't think mice are safer. They aren't.