Unsure of what size rat or mouse to feed

[Nicolemarae]

I have a BP and he's 160 grams. I've been giving him adult mice and was wondering when I should try and switch him to a rat and what size he should have? He eats f/t. The adult mice just seem like they might be a bit to small. He eats them pretty easily.

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[tj4x4fun]

At 150 I would keep it on mice or rat pups. A small rat would be way to big. Try to pick your feeders by matching them up to the widest part of your ball pythons girth.

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[Nicolemarae]

Thanks, I was just really wondering if I should up him to rat pups. Ill wait a bit longer though.

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[Eric Alan]

Using the 10-15% guideline for hatchlings, he should be getting a meal of 16-24 grams per feeding. That puts him in the large fuzzy/small rat pup range.

[Nicolemarae]

There was a girl at petco who said she was feeding her similar sized snake, adult mice and it prolapsed. Mine seems to be doing fine, the mice he's been eating are smaller than his widest girth. I'll switch him up to small rat pups after the mice are gone.

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

A 160 grams BP can take an adult mouse or a rat pup of similar size.

Forget the 10 or 15 percent rule just eyeball it and feed something equal the girth size of you BP for now while he is growing.

As for prolapse they are not all the result of over feeding.


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[Eric Alan]

Forget the 10 or 15 percent rule just eyeball it and feed something equal the girth size of you BP for now while he is growing.

That's why I used the word guideline and not rule. Since I have access to a scale, and it appears that OP may as well, I was just throwing it out there. As a new BP owner, I used this guideline with my first little ones until I felt comfortable eyeballing them. I think they turned out pretty well.

Of course, there is the side effect of becoming "a little" record keeping OCD and weighing/taking notes on everything. Too much documentation never hurt anyone, right?

[SlitherinSisters]

I agree with a rat pup if you think the mouse is too small. You can safely feed prey that is just slightly thicker than the thickest part of your snake.