Reptile & Amphibian Forums

could i get away with one mouse a week or will i need to feed them rats?
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jake

my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (zyklon)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)

A mouse is not enough. As a general rule of thumb, the widest part of the food item should be about the same as the widest part of the snake. Pituophis also have higher metabolisms than some other snakes, and therefore like to eat every 4-5 days.

Tim

Third Eye

That's the first time I've heard that bulls like to eat every 4-5 days, Tim, and I will give it a try with my adult female albino. I HAD heard from John Cherry that he feeds smaller prey items to his pits, and have noticed that if I feed something too large to my girl, she will sometimes regurge a little skin or part of the tail a week or so later.

Is that a hypo?

Yep, it's a hypo. And yes, feeding too large of an item causes problems in many snakes. That's why the thickest part of the food item should be about equal to the thickest part of the snake.

Tim

For me, I always err on the small side of the feeding spectrum. Several small items are better and more easily digested than one large one etc. As far as feeding times, we feed our young pits every 7-8 days and our adults are on the same routine with spazmodic skips to keep them anxious for food. It seems to keep them just a little on the edge. As far as rats versus mice, I like to use rats, rat pups or anywhere in between as I personally believe they grow and do better on them. One side note, realize that most of our snakes in captivity get more food in a month than wild ones do in 3-6 months. Obesity will shorten the snakes life and also be a potencial breeding problem.

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

Cherryville Farms - Reptiles

That is a great question and also, that question could have so many answers, so here is my take on this subject and what I do.

I feed my largest adult pits small rats. My largest bull, my white bull pictured, gets one small rat every 14 days, as does my largest pine. His weight is maintained quite well, and he is actually the only bull I own that gets rats. Reason being of course, is that he is an adult, about 6 feet or so.

The next step of answering your question is how fast is your snake's metabolism? If you have an adult bull with a high metabolism, once every few weeks, like what I do, may not be enough. Play it by ear. If the snake looks a little thin by the proper scheduled feeding time, feed him. If his weight looks perfect or more than normal, skip it.

My experience with feeding rats and faster growth in pits is very different than others. I experienced no such faster growth with rats, but have with mice. I keep all my pits on mice till they are adults.

Tim, that hypo bull is screaming!!!! If I didn't already have a hypo bull that looks similar, I would have gladly taken that when I saw it in the classifieds! I hope you are keeping it!!!!

Billy

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Genesis 1:1

I remeber that pic of your snake in the classifieds a while back. What A temptation that was! Bob.