Another Feeding Question

[RobbinRN]

For a few weeks now I have been feeding Alice two mice a week with a total weight averaging 45 grams. His last meal was 47 grams and that finished off the "large" adult mice (range was about 22 to 28 grams) from Mouse Factory. I opened up the package of "jumbo" adults to sort them by weight. They vary from 32 to 45 grams.

My question is whether I should start with the largest of the mice and go back to feeding one at a time or start with the smallest of the mice and continue with two per meal. The latter method would constitute a 20-gram jump in meal size for a 561-gram snake.

I kind of have an idea what the answer is going to be, but I just thought I would ask the experts before his meal tomorrow. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Robbin

[RobbinRN]

Oops...correction ~ that batch came from Big Cheese

[kid_mustango02]

Stick to the 10-15% rule and you'll be fine. You'll want to get rid of the smaller ones first and work your way up as the snake grows. Sounds like you'll still feed 2 at a time and be in that range

[kc261]

First of all, if I understand your situation correctly, going with 2 of the smallest mice from the new batch is closer to a 15 gram jump in meal size than 20g.

However, that isn't as important as what is the proper size meal for your snake. Using a single one of the largest mice will result in a meal that is somewhat below 10% of the snake's weight. Using 2 of the smallest ones will result in a meal that is just above 10% of the snake's weight. Since 10-15% is often recommended (and it has been working well for my snake!), I'd go with 2 smaller ones. If you always take the 2 smallest remaining mice, the meal size will grow with the snake (probably not at exactly the right rate, but it is a start at least).

Plus it has the added benefit of keeping the same feeding routine of 2 food items.