Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I picked up first pair of BP's this weekend at the San Antonio Reptile Show and have no previous experience with snakes(Just lizards, turtles, and furry mammals). I picked up a Pastel Male that was born this fall and a normal female which was born last fall. (Don't worry pics are on the way) My main concern is with feeding them which I wanted to do tommorrow since they didn't eat the week before the show. The breeder I got them from was John Wissner from Revolution Reptiles(Formerly Tropical Vision) and he told me that the Male was eating adult Mice, and the female Rat pups. After taking a trip to the pet store today the rat pup and mouse look to be about the same size. The Pastel male is currently 3.5" around and 1" in diameter, the female is 4.75" around and a little over 1.5" in diameter. Will an adult mouse suffice for both of these guys, or should I give the male one and the female two adult mice?

Mice are typically cheaper but rats have thicker bones (meaning more calcium) and also a higher fat content....
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-David Harrison-
.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Striped Anery Corn "V" or "5".....Has two names
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 Ball Python "Rocky Ballboa" (Didn't name her!)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko "The Crested Gecko"

"Have you ever tried simply turning off the T.V., sitting down with your kids... and hitting them?"

So would rat pups be the way to go then?

Probably if you want him to grow a little faster. And it helps your odds if you want him on rats as adults.
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-David Harrison-
.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Striped Anery Corn "V" or "5".....Has two names
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 Ball Python "Rocky Ballboa" (Didn't name her!)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko "The Crested Gecko"

"Have you ever tried simply turning off the T.V., sitting down with your kids... and hitting them?"

Well I guess I'll grab 2 rat pups(one for the female and one for the male since the guy said the male was ready for the switch soon) and an extra mouse in case the male doesnt want the rat yet.

The female can probably take bigger than a rat pup Maybe a small rat?

Switching to rats definately helps growth. My baby girls had a very noticeable growth spurt after I switched them to rats.

Good luck!

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

Get whatever is more convenient for you and is readily obtainable every week.

Also, since we don't know the nutritional requirements of Ball Pythons, it's a moot point to say that one prey item is better than the other. 2 adult mice equals 1 weaned-small/small rat.

All 35 of my Ball Pythons eat mice. I get awesome growth results and all of the females who laid last year have gained their weight back(they laid late this year, some late May, some in June) plus some.

Siblings who are raised on either mice or rats, grow exactly the same. Just stick to what the snakes will eat every week and what is easy for you to get locally.

I would go with your original plan of one adult mouse for the Pastel and 1-2 adult mice for the female. They will do just fine. It's not a complicated matter
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-Becky Brown, RVT-
1.0 Lemon Pastel Classic Jungle(NERD)
1.0 Black Pastel
2.13 Normals
1.0 NERD Yellow/Green Hypo
1.1 Spiders(BHB)
1.1 Yellowbellies(BHB)
1.0 100% Het Pied Classic Jungle(Don Kaye)
0.1 50% Poss. Het Pied(Gary Kettring)
0.1 Classic Jungle
1.0 66% Poss Het Ax Genetic Granite(VPI)
18 07 Hatchlings

I feed all my ball pythons rats. I would rather feed 1 rat then say 3 or 4 mice. A propersized prey item, is no thicker than the thickest part of the ball python. Also, never leave the live prey item in the enclosure longer than 1/2 hour. If they haven't eaten within this time, they most likely are not going to. Good luck, and congrats on the new pets. You will love them.