Help.

[PythonFan8]

I bought my female ball python 6 days ago and tommorow is feeding day, My problem is i have never experienced in feeding f/t rats. Please tell me how i feed him it. Also what kind of rat would a 4 week old rat be? (fuzzy, pup, medium, jumbo etc.) Thanks, help appreciated!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I bought my female ball python 6 days ago and tommorow is feeding day, My problem is i have never experienced in feeding f/t rats. Please tell me how i feed him it. Also what kind of rat would a 4 week old rat be? (fuzzy, pup, medium, jumbo etc.) Thanks, help appreciated!

An adult BP does not need anything bigger then a small rat so jumbo are out of question.

You need to feed your BP a prey that is slightly smaller then the girth size

Now do you know what your BP was fed before you got her? It help to know because there is 2 important things here if your BP was feeding live she might refuse F/T and if she was eating mice she might refuse rat

So you need to be consistent with the meal as switching can be tricky

To feed F/T all you have to do is thaw the prey and then warm it up so the BP can get the heat signal from it for that here are your options

Putting the prey in a baggie and submerging the baggie in warm water for 5 minutes or

Putting the prey under a heat light or

Blow-drying the prey with your hair dryer

Then offer the prey holding it with some tongues or hemostats and dangling it in front of your BP

Switching to F/T if the BP is not used to it yet can be tricky and even more with BP that are adjusting to their new environment but with patience it can be some

[Sausage]

That would be a fuzzy, I think. And to feed him f/t you should put the rat in some warm water and let it sit for ~30 minutes. When that time is up, feel the rat to make sure he's nice, warm, and soft. Then, what I do is dangle the rat by the tail in your BP's tank until he snaps him up.
Good luck!

[PythonFan8]

Thanks for the help, I do know that the pet store was feeding it F/T rats
the owner told me when he sold me the snake. But he did not tell me how to feed the rat when i get it (you just told me) and he didn't tell me what the name of the rat kind was, all he said was 4 week old rats. What kind of a rat is a 4 week old one?

EDIT: Fuzzies are 4 weeks old? i thought they were younger but, im just learning. Thanks for your help.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Thanks for the help, I do know that the pet store was feeding it F/T rats
the owner told me when he sold me the snake. But he did not tell me how to feed the rat when i get it (you just told me) and he didn't tell me what the name of the rat kind was, all he said was 4 week old rats. What kind of a rat is a 4 week old one?

Weanling or small/small rat depend on the place you buy your rats from

[Stewart_Reptiles]

That would be a fuzzy

Fuzzy rats are only 10 to 13 days old

[Sausage]

Here's a month old rat
http://www.rodentpro.com/images/size_r_weaned.jpg
(Thanks rodentpro.com!!)

[PythonFan8]

Fuzzy rats are only 10 to 13 days old

Thats what i thought.

Here's a month old rat
http://www.rodentpro.com/images/size_r_weaned.jpg
(Thanks rodentpro.com!!)

Thanks. But still, what kind of rat would i ask the pet store if i was buying for that rat.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Thats what i thought.

Thanks. But still, what kind of rat would i ask the pet store if i was buying for that rat.

The ideal prey is a prey that is slightly smaller then the girth size (widest part of your snake's body)

It will be a weanling or small/small rat, it depends on the place where you buy your rats from

[rabernet]

Thats what i thought.



Thanks. But still, what kind of rat would i ask the pet store if i was buying for that rat.

You want to ask them for one that's still nursing but has opened eyes - a rat pup.