135g Python feeding questions

[CoinOperatedGirl]

We had been feeding our snake small adult mice and decided to switch over to similarly size rat which translated to a rat that was somewhere between a fuzzy and a pup.

We have had her a little over a month and have had zero feeding issues. She is eating every 5 days without incident . She has been fed all live prey thus far. With mice she is extremely efficient - she has them coiled, dead and fully eaten within 10-15 minutes. She is always seems super hungry afterwards so we figured with the higher fat content in rats she would be more satisfied.

She was extremely interested in the rat we offered her, she struck it but didn’t coil as tightly as before. She stayed coiled for longer than normal and when she released to reposition herself the little rat was still breathing and slightly twitching. This didn’t seem to phase her at all and swallowed it and slithered off to her favorite hide.

I, of course, started googling and was horrified to read stories about snakes eating prey that was still alive and then said prey killing the snake on the way to its stomach. Considering the little rat was “mostly” dead I am not too worried about this particular time for the snake, but I don’t want this to become a trend.

My ultimate goal was to switch her over to young rats now, then switch her to f/t rats. I have read that switching a snake from a young, not very mobile rodent to frozen thawed is easier than switch from highly mobile prey to something I am dancing around with tongs.

My question to all of you: do I follow my instincts and revert back to mice or do I try another fuzzy/pup? I tend to lean towards mice but that is because this is my daughters second beep (I do all of the care, she’s 9). The first one didn’t make it through the first 3 weeks of us having it. The vet said it was likely something pre-existing (tested negative for parasites) and that our husbandry was good. Even though we were reassured by a professional I am still quite paranoid and try to ensure this little beep is as happy as a captive snake can be. I would hate to lose her because of something like this, especially since she has been doing so well with mice.





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[Sunnieskys]

Honestly, that would scare the crap out of me. I can't feed live, it is way to emotional for me. I only feed F/T so I'm not of any use. Do you want to switch her? I would start now. Just my opinion.

[c0r3yr0s3]

Honestly, that would scare the crap out of me. I can't feed live, it is way to emotional for me. I only feed F/T so I'm not of any use. Do you want to switch her? I would start now. Just my opinion.

I agree... No time like the present. I only feed live and every once in a while I get a tough one that doesn't die completely but I've had the issue with mice and rats so if you're really worried, try making the change to f/t asap. I wish you and your bp the best of luck with whatever you decide to do

[Godzilla78]

Wow, that is weird. I have never had a python not suffocate the prey. My first python Ragnarok, was very strong and I fed her live all her life, so she got lots of constriction exercise. It is pretty graphic, but she would crush the hell out of even large prey, and sometimes blood would come out of their mouth!

With more experience, I would think the python will get better at killing. the best course is just to switch to thawing out frozen rats or feeding pre-killed prey.

Since you are feeding live, Stick with rat fuzzies for a few feedings, and once she has gotten the hang of it and put on some weight, then switch to rat pups.

[c0r3yr0s3]

I just assume that it's nerves are making it look alive. I am pretty confident that the snake knows what it's doing and squeezes until the pulse stops. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case but I figure it's like when a hungry human burns their mouth on hot pizza for example. We know it's gonna hurt but when hungry enough, a sacrifice must be made

[CoinOperatedGirl]

I just assume that it's nerves are making it look alive. I am pretty confident that the snake knows what it's doing and squeezes until the pulse stops. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case but I figure it's like when a hungry human burns their mouth on hot pizza for example. We know it's gonna hurt but when hungry enough, a sacrifice must be made

This is totally what I think happened - it was her first rat and she was visibly excited about it. She was ‘tracking’ our 80 lb Labrador as she walked by the enclosure from her hide post rat.

Should we be feeding her more often than every 5 days? Her meals are appropriately sized per her width.


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[CALM Pythons]

Ive had this happen several times over 30 years... this is why i went to Fresh Kill. I worry about snakes under 500 grams. Im really not interested in frozen for several reasons myself. If you like the Frozen idea then maybe try ordering some (stay away from Petsmart as they are 3 times the price online at RodentPro) and trying it..
As far as the other situation it happens but isn't common. I wouldn't worry. There are times they just don't get a good grip either.

[c0r3yr0s3]

This is totally what I think happened - it was her first rat and she was visibly excited about it. She was ‘tracking’ our 80 lb Labrador as she walked by the enclosure from her hide post rat.

Should we be feeding her more often than every 5 days? Her meals are appropriately sized per her width.


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I personally wouldn't feed more often but I do feed 2 per feeding. My calico has eaten 3 once. After the second, she was obviously still hungry so I tossed in one more and she snatched it up without hesitation. I only feed live and I do worry about the prey harming my snakes so I feed slightly smaller than recommended but I double em up so they get the right over all prey weight but it's easier for them to feed

[c0r3yr0s3]

sometimes blood would come out of their mouth!

I've had that happen with a boa I used to have but I didn't think a bp could get that strong. Great name choice btw

[larryd23]

Since your BP seems to have enjoyed its first rat, this might be a great opportunity to try to switch to f/t. We were fortunate that our local reptile shop switches their hatchling over to f/t before they sell them. Once we graduated from mice to rats, the growth rate of our pastel banana boi accelerated significantly.