How many fuzzy rats should I buy?

[LeoM]

Hello everyone. I'm new to snakes in general. I got my first normal ball python on Tuesday from a local breeder (Powerline Reptiles in Charlotte, NC) who thankfully was skilled enough to get her to eat f/t rat pinkies. I was told that my bp is now ready for f/t rat fuzzies. I was wondering how many I should buy, I have tried Googling this but to no avail. I know that the number won't be the same from snake to snake, so I would rather have a few left over than a few missing when she's ready to move up to f/t rat pups.

The reason why I'm worried is that my local feeder breeder is fairly far away from where I live so I would like to buy the most I can each time I visit him.

TL;DR
1. How many rat fuzzies should I buy if I just got a snake and she's ready to switch over to them?

Side question, what is common etiquette for buying feeder rats locally? I don't wanna show up under prepared or *too* over prepared. I know this is a dumb question .


Thanks a ton for reading this!

[Ax01]

congrats and welcome to he BP world!

Hello everyone. I'm new to snakes in general. I got my first normal ball python on Tuesday from a local breeder (Powerline Reptiles in Charlotte, NC) who thankfully was skilled enough to get her to eat f/t rat pinkies. I was told that my bp is now ready for f/t rat fuzzies. I was wondering how many I should buy, I have tried Googling this but to no avail. I know that the number won't be the same from snake to snake, so I would rather have a few left over than a few missing when she's ready to move up to f/t rat pups.

The reason why I'm worried is that my local feeder breeder is fairly far away from where I live so I would like to buy the most I can each time I visit him.

TL;DR
1. How many rat fuzzies should I buy if I just got a snake and she's ready to switch over to them?

i would just buy like 1 pack of 25, that would last u like 6months if u feed conservatively. your BP will be on pups soon enough.

Side question, what is common etiquette for buying feeder rats locally? I don't wanna show up under prepared or *too* over prepared. I know this is a dumb question .


Thanks a ton for reading this!

just show up knowing your order and have cash in hand. not much to it. i would also probably pickup the pups while your there.

good luck and enjoy!

[Jnksnakes]

Yeah I would definitely buy extra. I use a website called coldbloodedcafe.com and order a 6 month supply at a time to get the most for the shipping cost. I have 20 snakes but you could do the same if you have just 1 if you have the freezer space. Buy a bag of fuzzies, bag of pups, etc. or do the same from your local breeder if he is priced well.

[LeoM]

Thanks for the replies guys! I have a local(ish) rat breeder and I went with 12 fuzzy rats to start off. Just today she ate her second f/t fuzzy which is what intrigued me to come onto this website again.

Not having to pay $30 in shipping is a big thing for a broke college student hehe.

I will keep track of how many fuzzy rats it takes before moving onto pups and so on for the different sizes so that I can provide some useful info for beginners who only have one/two snakes and don't want to buy an excess of feeders.

2 fuzzies down, ??? more to go until pups!

[Ax01]

here's a good feeding chart and guide:




u can also eyeball it. i do this w/ most of my snakes. feed them the prey that's about as thick as the widest part of their body.