rats vs. mice

[zachman17]

after 3 weeks of trying to feed rats to my 2 year old male bp i decided to try mice last night. He ate two of them w/o hesitation.

i guess he has a taste for mice, but my question is...

eventually do bp's have to start eating rats(nutrition reasons)?
or can you keep feeding them multiple mice forever?

any suggestions on how to switch from f/t mice to f/t rats? i'd like to switch so i don't have to feed two or three mice every feeding.

thanks guys.
zach

[Brandon.O]

Try skipping a few feedings so hes nice and hungry, then try giving him a rat, if he doesnt take it, then try scenting a rat with a mouse (rub the mouse on the rat) and then since it smells more like a mouse he will most likely eat it


Good luck !

[Andrew00]

I read that when your ball gets big enough to feed on a good size rat that it only has to eat once every three weeks, is this true?

[Brandon.O]

Hmm, i really dont think so, 3 weeks sounds like a long time

My snakes arent really that big, my biggest is only three feet and she eats medium ADULT rats and i feed her once a week.

[elevatethis]

A letting the rat run around in mouse bedding does wonders.....ask the shop where you go to scoop up the corner bedding that the mice generally pee on and put that in with the rat......you're snake will probably hit it w/o hesitation...

[hhw]

I read that when your ball gets big enough to feed on a good size rat that it only has to eat once every three weeks, is this true?

Most people would go by once every two weeks, but three weeks would still be fine for a male or pet female.

[elevatethis]

Weekly feedings with rats really aren't 100% necessary, especially in adult snakes, and especially when feeding 100+ gram rodents like medium sized rats. And remember, ball pythons have a natural diet of rodents the resemble gerbils and degus- so in the wild they have the multiple-smaller-type rodent diet, as opposed to a rat picked by us that exactly matches their girth.

[Adam_Wysocki]

A ball python will be fine living it's entire life eating mice. I have several 2500+ gram girls that have never touched a rat and lay nice big clutches of eggs every year.

As far as rats go, there is really no need to ever feed a ball python of any size anything bigger than a small rat once a week. Feeding larger meals just makes them more prone to not eat on a consistent basis.

-adam

[elevatethis]

Yeah I'd have to agree with Adam's last point, just went through a 2 month fast with female who had last eaten a meal that was probably wayy too big for her.....

Adam, as you know I just picked up one of your babies, do you think I should just feed him mice and see what happens? I mean I have another BP that eats rats, I wonder if it'd be wise to have a mouse-eater as well to compare and contrast....

[Adam_Wysocki]

Rat eaters will grow faster and be less of a pain in the a$$ down the road. Do you have any idea how many mice a 2000 gram male can eat in an afternoon?

Ball pythons can be big time imprint feeders, if you offer him a mouse now, he may be stuck on them for the next 20 years. I would stick with the rats. He should be on at least large fuzzies if not small weaned by now. If he still looks hungry after the first, feed him a second one.

-adam