Whats a better way of feeding?

[51-50 Python]

Well i have a close by pet shop that sells mice but no rats. And theres another pet shop about 20 minutes from my house that sells rats. Now is it worth driving all the way there everytime to get a rat? Or should i just give it 2 mice everytime i feed it

[Thor26]

honestly some people say its better to eat 1 big meal but i don't think it matters as long as they get the right amount of food.

[51-50 Python]

what about if i just fed it 1 mouse every 4 days instead of feeding 1 rat a week ?

[51-50 Python]

actually nvm that was a stupid question loll i guess ill just get the rats instead.. its worth the trip

[jeffjr464]

when your snake gets full grown, which assuming its not if your feeding it one mouse a week(for an adult 1 mouse is a tease), you will be finding yourself feeding it more like 4 mice at a time to keep your pet satiated, your best bet is to get on rats asap, that way when he's full grown, 1 medium rat every 10 days or so will do him/her perfectly fine, without having a ginormous feeding bill, hope this helps

[rabernet]

Mice or rats, one is not better than the other. It's about volume of food. An adult doesn't need anything larger than a small/small rat once a week, which is approximately the same size as two large adult mice. I raised my current breeder females on mice, but I do have everyone on rats now, simply because I now breed rats. When they were mousers, I fed them two mice a week.

Feed what's most convenient for you - they'll grow fine on either.

[Gloryhound]

Another thing to consider here is a 2500 gram female will have trouble coiling up and really constricting a mouse! She will be thicker than the max length for a mouse. If this happens and she feeds live it could cause her to try and eat the prey while it is still live which could give the prey a chance to fight back and cause harm!

Just a thought I have about why rats are the way to go for the most part. Now new born baby snakes first meal or two should be fuzzy mice as they move more and have a better chance of attracting the attention of the snake!

[rabernet]

Another thing to consider here is a 2500 gram female will have trouble coiling up and really constricting a mouse! She will be thicker than the max length for a mouse. If this happens and she feeds live it could cause her to try and eat the prey while it is still live which could give the prey a chance to fight back and cause harm!

Just a thought I have about why rats are the way to go for the most part. Now new born baby snakes first meal or two should be fuzzy mice as they move more and have a better chance of attracting the attention of the snake!

I've never had that problem with a large female and a mouse. They've been very effcient at killing their prey, no matter how small in comparison to them.

[51-50 Python]

thanks a lot for the help.. ill just go with the rats.. my ball is about 2 feet long but i dont know if its a male or female.. ill give it a small rat once a week.. but right now its in the process of shedding so ill wait until its done and then let it gobble up a nice rat loll

[Stewart_Reptiles]

There is no best way, gram per gram mice or rats it's all the same.

I have BP that eat 3 to 4 mice and most BP eating one small rat a week!

The bottom line is to feed what WORKS and is CONVENIENT for the owner.