Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed some ads that stated if you feed your ball python rats they will grow bigger than if you feed them mice.Is this true?If so why?
Stevebp

1.0 Graziani Ball python
1.1 100% het Ball python
1.1 Normal Ball python
0.1 Cal king snake

rat eaters grow faster

rat eaters are at times mushier than mouse eaters which will be more muscularly fit***

both make balls grow

both work well.........

I have bred 18 month old 1750 gram ball girls....that ate mice........

have fun....

*** (this observation was from a friend with rat and mouse eaters.some which feel mushy and some which feel harder......)
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JYReptiles

Scales-N-Tails Reptiles ltd........Pa

as far as i understand it...

most ball pythons will only eat one prey item per feeding (whether the prey is a rat, mouse, gerbil, etc). because of this, if you're feeding mice it becomes much harder to increase the size of a meal as a ball python grows because mice don't get very big. on the other hands, rats weigh upwards of 600g, therefore you can feed your ball python only one prey item and still have it be a good size meal.

but like the previous poster said, a mouse-eater that will eat multiple mice per meal can grow just as quickly as a rat-eater

that will eat five or six in a row and still look like they want more.
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Louis Kirkland
Cornerstone Reptiles

My female ball eats a few mice per feeding, but it's only cuz she will,like someone has already said eat only one live at a time. So i put the first one live in and thenas she almost finishes swallowing the first i put another one that i prekilled in followed by one more. And that's my new burm, got him from the feb. 25th Hamburg show, hes around 5 months and 33" and my female ball is 40" and will be 2 y/o in nov. just a size comparison of the two
Link

Good luck with them.
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Louis Kirkland
Cornerstone Reptiles