Rat chewed up all my wires!

[Abby_The_Python]

Hi, I hope I have the correct catagory.

I live feed my healthy 1 yr old bp inside the enclosure once every 5 days.

I upgraded to medium sized rats recently & after dropping it in (i have a tank with 2 identical caves on each side) the rat chewed the digital hygrometer bud sensor to pieces.

I have the sensors above the aspen substrate inside each hide.

Is this just a normal side affect of live feeding?

Or is there anything I can do to prevent this?

Thanks all!

[sho220]

Hi, I hope I have the correct catagory.

I live feed my healthy 1 yr old bp inside the enclosure once every 5 days.

I upgraded to medium sized rats recently & after dropping it in (i have a tank with 2 identical caves on each side) the rat chewed the digital hygrometer bud sensor to pieces.

I have the sensors above the aspen substrate inside each hide.

Is this just a normal side affect of live feeding?

Or is there anything I can do to prevent this?

Thanks all!

If you leave a rat in an enclosure long enough it'll probably chew on anything in there, including wires. Be careful your snake isn't next...

[alyssa_lennon]

Medium sized rats might be a bit too big for an adult ball python, you might want to downsize to a small rat, or two large mice... Also, only baby balls pythons are fed so often, adult ball pythons are fed once every 7-10 days. Otherwise, it might fast to catch up.

Could you try and place the sensor under the aspen to avoid chewing?

[starmom]

How much does your yearling weigh? Male or female?
Most people feed yearlings every 7 days. Also, unless it is a she and she is a very big girl, a small rat will do the job Also, Sho220 is correct in saying that you're lucky the rat did not chew the snake

[Cop]

You can feed in a separate container. That's what I do every time I feed my snake.

[edie]

Rats will be rats! I don't feed live but I had a pet rat that chewed through the charing cord for my ibook - $80 to get a new one from the apple store! Just something you need to keep an eye on, when I fed live the snakes would usually strike the rat/mouse the moment it was placed in their cage, they never gave them enough time to settle in and chew things up.

[Bruce Whitehead]

I have lost many thermometers to rats. Some have been dropped in and promptly wandered over and chewed the wires.

Regardless of size.... the largest rat I would consider feeding is a 60g to my largest adults.

But depending on the size of the snake you could go with a few smaller rats rather than one bigger rat. A crawler should be around 25-30g. You could go with 2 or 3, depending on how much you are feeding in a sitting.

But yeah, rats are rats, and they chew.

bruce

[starmom]

You can feed in a separate container. That's what I do every time I feed my snake.

I prefer not to feed outside the container because it seems as though this would incur stress on the snake as well as having to move a 'snake on the hunt' back into its own container I would also not want to encourage regurg...
Also, ball pythons seem to be ambush hunters and so having them in their own space might, over time, maintain a good feeding response.

[ViciousBliss]

to avoid such things, i don't leave my snake or his enclosure unattended when feeding. i'd have poked that rat with a stick. nicely. or given it something else to chew on.

sry to hear that!

[NightLad]

I upgraded to medium sized rats recently & after dropping it in (i have a tank with 2 identical caves on each side) the rat chewed the digital hygrometer bud sensor to pieces.

Hi there. 5 days for a 1 year old can be a little much. Remember, snakes can become obese too. Sometimes people make the mistake of judging their health based solely on their weight. That isn't always the best indicator. I would suggest you change to a 7 day cycle, depending on the size of rats.

I have the sensors above the aspen substrate inside each hide. & Or is there anything I can do to prevent this?

I'd move the sensor below the substrate. To anchor it, try a setup like this. You can substitute the paper for paper towels, they work just as well in my opinion.

Is this just a normal side affect of live feeding?

Do you provide the rat with food and water prior to feeding? Do you leave the rat in the enclosure even if the snake shows no interest? If so, they will get hungry and start nibbling on whatever. Including your snakes. Seriously, they go right for the eyes and spine. Rats can be very vicious.

I prefer not to feed outside the container because it seems as though this would incur stress on the snake as well as having to move a 'snake on the hunt' back into its own container I would also not want to encourage regurg...
Also, ball pythons seem to be ambush hunters and so having them in their own space might, over time, maintain a good feeding response.

Those are valid concerns. I worried about them myself when debating whether or not to feed in a separate tub. However, since doing so, I’ve not noticed any lack of feeding response in Salzedo - in fact, just the opposite. He has come to ‘know’ that when he goes in the big tub, its rat time! As opposed to being 'stressed' he seems downright excited. My fears about regurg have also been put to rest, because when he gets the rat all the way down he actually starts climbing the walls trying to ‘get home’ on his own. When I gently pick him up (providing full body support) to put him back home he immediately seeks the direction of his enclosure. In contrast, he did refuse quite a few meals in his own enclosure back when I was doing that. The separate feeding tub seems to be working quite well, because he has never refused a feeding, and he is gaining healthy weight like a little piggy! To each their own. I suppose individual methods will vary as widely as the personalities of the snakes. This is just my experience with it. Hope the information is helpful!