feeding

[daveyboy]

would it be ok to feed my 8 mth ball gerbils,she wont take rats or multiple mice?

[frankykeno]

How long have you had this snake, has it ever ate for you and what was it eating before you purchased it? BP's are imprint feeders usually and if you feed gerbils or hamsters you might get stuck with an expensive feeding bill. Also gerbils tend to be highly aggressive so as live prey they can be a real safety issue for your snake. Also if you ever need to rehome or sell this snake, you may find there are not that many takers for a gerbil feeding BP.

[daveyboy]

i dont feed live i feed frozen,she is 8mths old and doesnt show slight bulge she is on jumbo mice at moment,i am from uk by the way

[frankykeno]

Okay so she does eat mice just won't take a second one and refuses rats...gotcha. Could you describe how you offer the second f/t mouse (method, etc.). If she's taking jumbo mice she may be quite fine with one per week and they don't have to have a significant bulge to be wellfed. None of mine from the smallest of the babies to the biggest of the breeder females looks more than slightly thick after eating but no visible lumps or belly bulging after they eat.

[daveyboy]

i offer the second one she strikes at it then leaves it,maybe this is sufficient?,i hear all sorts that you should get them onto rats etc,but soon as a mouse is in her tank its like red rag to a ball,thanx 4 ur advice.dave

[frankykeno]

Well you can try maybe ever other feeding to see if she really needs that second mouse but if they are truly jumbo mice she may not need that volume of prey yet. Do make sure the second mouse isn't cooling a bit whilst she's eating the first one. Sometimes a blast with a hot hair dryer really ups the temps on f/t mice and helps the snake zero in on it more.

Also don't believe in the rats are better than mice myth. BPs have been proven time after time to do as equally well on mice as rats. Sure you may have to feed multiple mice rather than one rat but it's really about volume of prey and good healthy top quality prey than anything else. That and a consistent weekly feeding schedule will always produce a healthy adult as far as I'm concerned (and I have both rat and mouse eating BPs in our collection).

Here's a perfect illustration of this. Here are 4 ball pythons. All are 06 hatched, all are about the same size and age, all eat each week.....2 of them always take mice, 2 of them always take rats...which is which????

[daveyboy]

point taken,many thanx 4 ur help has put my mind at rest

[Alt-tab]

thats a cool trick with use of the hairdryer - mental note made ! being bald as a bean haven't had the need for one but will put in on the shopping list this week

[frankykeno]

Oh heck don't run out and buy a new one then LOL. Hit the resale shops and rummage sales. There's always a good used hair blower or two there for next to nothing. It's not like the dead rodents care!