Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have one ball python that i keep as a pet. I take her out of her tank for about 10 minutes or so a day. I really like her.

I have been thinking lately about getting a rat as a pet. I dont have a problem with feeding my snake a frozen rat each week or so that looks like my pet rat. What i am worried about is that she will go into feeding mode every time she smells the pet rat.

I would wash my hands before hold the ball python and they would live in separate rooms, but if i hold both of them every day, will there be a problem with lingering rat smell on my clothes and stuff?

has anyone else done this successfully? i mean with a ball python pet (one you handle daily and dont just keep for breeding).

i breed mice and rats for my snakes... some days i go into the "reptile room" and forget to wash my hands..the snakes havent posed a problem as of yet...there is one thats kinda feisty but he's like that even with out smelling the mice lol... i dont think you'll have many problems as far as that goes but it really depends on your snake as an individual...my breeder rats are essentially pets with benefits lol
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we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

i agree you shouldn't have a problem. we also keep rats as pets with benifits . we keep sanitizer handy so we can do a quick sanittize and we have not had a prablem as of yet.
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2.1.0 ball python (aragorn, frodo, arwen)
1.0.0 columbian boa (squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
0.1.0 corn snake (baby)
0.0.1 whites tree frog (trevor)
3.2.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy
"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

"it really depends on your snake" I think this is the key-phrase for this post. I have bred both mice and rats for years. I have owned snakes for quite a few years as well. (never bred though) I breed mice as pets. Main reason I started breeding mice is to learn a bit more about genetics. I breed rats.. well for snake food. atm.. I have 1 ball, and 1 burmese python.(have had lots of others though) The ball python is a "small rodent vacumm" so to speak.. in that he is ALWAYS ready to feed on a mouse, or large rat. (what i feed him now)
But I can handle my pet mice, or a rat for that matter all day, then go pick him up and he is fine with that. I guess he understands that I am "ok" he was one of my first snakes and is about 9 yrs old now. My burmese though.. what a different story.. I go into my rat room(not touching anything) and then walk into his room.. and he's in feed mode instantly. (not a good thing with an adult burm. lol) thank god he isn't adult yet and may be a chance he will grow out of this. Whenever I go into burm's room I do wash my hands and even change shirts if I had my rodents running on me..And he is very calm and loves for me to take him out to roam around. I had a retic at one point that was ready to feed either way.. no matter how I came into his area he was ready for food.. but I think that's in a retic's nature(to eat, not harm humans).. so I think it's all up to your snake. Hope my long ass post helps SOMEONE.. Thanks for reading! : )

thanks for the encouragement. Next time i go to feed her i think i will set the dead rat up and then not wash my hands before i pick her up and see what happens.

anyone else have a though on this or an experience?

I would go ahead and get a pair of rats, that way when they breed you can have some food for your snake. Of course, that is only if you could bear the thought of feeding your rat's offspring. I keep 1 male and 3 female adult rats solely for supplemental food for some of my more picky arboreal snakes, but they are actually growing on me as pets too. Rats are really good and smart rodents for pets, but breed, well, like rats! If you are going to have one, might as well breed them for the snakes benefit.

Mike C

rats do make great pets. however, even if you don't plan to breed rats for snake food, you should keep two in the same cage. rats are highly social animals and are happiest with a buddy to play with when you are not available. two females or two males work well.

i recommend washing your hands after handling your rats before handling your snake. the smell of rodents could trigger a strike, especially if it's near the usual time you feed your snakes. some may not strike anyway, but some will and to avoid unpleasant bites, better to err on the side of caution.

myself, i keep a breeding group of rats as pets, feeding off their offspring to my snakes. i avoid handling my snakes after handling my rats, as i do have a few nippers who would try and bite otherwise. i have to be careful with my rainbow boa, just walking past the rat cage with her in my arms, she picks up the scent and goes into hunting mode. if i move her away right away she calms down, but even then she seems to want to crawl back towards the rat cage lol.
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PHLdyPayne

You are going to purposely not wash your hands that smell like rat and then hold your snake to see "what happens"? Feeling adventurous? I would think that wouldn't be a good habit to get into regardless. That being said, I have been known to keep a tub or two of rats in my snake room when I run out of space outside, and have never had a problem with my ball pythons going into feeding mode from smelling rat in the air. I probably have a few who wouldn't care if it was on my hands either. But I'm not going to test the theory. I think you will be perfectly fine handeling your pet rat and your snakes. I would still recommend washing your hands though or using hand sanitizer when going between the two. A little tag here and there doesn't hurt much, but having one latched onto your hand (or in their mind a tasty rat)isn't fun. If you want to be super careful you can change your clothes between letting your rat crawl around on you, but I don't think that's necessary with the bp's, I have a pet rat who sits on my shoulder a lot and I never change my shirt - haven't had my shoulder attacked yet. However, I would probably change before dealing with any of my boas (who I never keep rats near - they are in another part of the house) just to be safe.

>>thanks for the encouragement. Next time i go to feed her i think i will set the dead rat up and then not wash my hands before i pick her up and see what happens.
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>>anyone else have a though on this or an experience?

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Amber

Boas
1.1.0 Colombian (Austin & Ava)
1.0.0 Suriname (Aloysius)
1.1.0 Albino (Bo & Daisy)
Balls:
1.27.0 Normal (Tucker, Taylor,and lil' girls - RIP Eva)
1.1.0 Pastel
1.2.0 100% Het Pied
1.0.0 100% Het Albino (Bubba)
0.1.0 66% Poss. Het Albino
Corns:
1.1.0 Amber
1.1.0 Butter Motley
1.1.0 Crimson
1.1.0 Ghost
1.1.0 Hypo
0.0.1 Normal
1.1.0 Okeetee
1.0.1 Snow (Aiden)
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley
Milks:
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran (Damien & Lucy)
0.1.0 Pueblan (Marishka)
1.1.0 Sinaloan
Other:
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
2.0.0 Ferrets - Bailey & Keyta