Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read so much conflicting information on rodent size/type I am so confused!!! My "small" BP we just moved up to a small rat(frozen) because I read rats are more nutritious than mice. My big one eats large rats (live) I have been reading on this forum and it seems like most of you feed mice only. These snakes are just my pets and I am not trying to breed. I dont even have a scale to give an idea of size. My small one is 24" my big one is over 4 ft. and her body is as big around as a small apple.
I just want to know what you all feed.
Thanks

Rats only from the time they're hatched. Just what i do.
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"What are you afraid of? What ever it is, it's here. That and things your little irrational mind couldn't even dream of."

Any stray neighborhood children......wait....nvm, best not to give out secrets.

I prefer to feed rats too. It's nice to feed only one item at a feeding & with a big adult BP on mice you'd have to feed 3,5 maybe even more mice to equal a nice juicy rat! The rat should be about the same girth as the thickest part of your snake. Hope this Helps- Deb

I have 2 BPs.. One gets F/T rats because she'll take them. The other fellow won't eat anything that isn't alive, & since I'm a paranoid mom I won't give him anything that can do damage to him. Even if an adult mouse tries to bite (& I'm not quick enough to put a ruler in its mouth) it has yet to break skin. Therefore, I feed him half a dozen or so adult mice at a sitting. Pain in the neck but he takes them readily & quickly without a complaint. Growing, shedding, pooping like clockwork. If I had my way he'd get rats, but I won't sacrifice his safety.. & I don't have any plans to breed either.

-Tami*

I too have a few live feeders... mice seem much more "bitey" than weaner rats. Rat pups won't bite at all. But I would think you may be able to stun a weaner Rat & feed it safely to your BP... just a thought.

I've actually heard that before. I can't seem to find a young rat supplier anywhere near me & I don't breed my own :/ (2 snakes, that would be silly). Outside of that, stunning or pre-killing (larger rats) has been nothing but a disaster on my end. Maybe I don't have the stomach for it, but I've tried on multiple occasions with no success -- just a lot of squeaking that tears at my heart (Lord I'm a softy..) Any tips??

Thanks!

-Tami*

yea-- i started that way too--- I had live only feeders but with red tails-- theres no way to keep them on mice...

I eventually started having to do stunned rats--- I really dont like it but i'm a big "humaine animal treatment" person... so it is hard for me still-- it took me about 2 months of just having to get over the soft heart I have-- and to ignore the squeeks and twitches-- BUT -- after 5-6 feedings of stunned rats-- i offered a F/T from tongs-- and WHAMMO- took it and has eaten F/T ever since...

tips.... If you're willing to try stunned again-- turn your radio up loud... i thump rats either in my bathtub or on my front porch (depending on time of day and traffic...yha know...)--- I just whack and drop in the cage-- its usually wrapped up in a matter of seconds and dead shortly there after.

as for size--- I've gone 100% to rats now, for me they're cheaper-- I have a guy that sells them to me for 1$ each--- far cheaper than anywhere else-- i've seen his set up, and have had great luck with his stuff-- and all he does is rats-- occasionally i'll get a mouse for something new that is stubborn-- and it costs me 3$ for a tiny mouse, when i'm getting xxl rats for 1$... and they're more nutritious (or juicy as previously labeled...)-- and i've noticed a change in thier waste... it doesnt seem to smell as bad...
anyway-- i'd go with rats- and they should be as big or slightly bigger than your snakes middle. you would be suprized what snakes can eat--

and you know how people here are-- we'd love to see pics!

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Mice are fine.. Rats are fine.. Whatever you choose to feed that the snake will eat consistently, safely, and you can obtain easily. If you can get mice easier, feed those. There's no need to feed your adult Ball large rats, they just don't need that much food, and it's going to be wasted(right out the back end). Stick with small rats, such as weaned or smalls, and if the snake wants another, give it one more. Large rats are for Boas.

All in all, weight is weight. If 2 mice weigh 25g apiece and 1 rat weighs 50g, it's the same thing. To me, mice are easier because they won't outgrow the snake in a week or two and I can keep them around for long periods of time. I buy about 300 mice at a time, and that lasts a good month for my 40 Balls.

Some say rats are more nutritious.. It's a bunch of BS. It doesn't matter IF they are higher in protein or fat or whatever, since no one has done a study on the nutritional requirements of Ball Pythons, then it's a moot point. A mouse could have 10g of protein and 7g of fat, while a rat has 12g of protein and 8g of fat, but if a Ball Python only needs 5g of protein and 5g of fat to thrive and grow, then all of the extra is just being excreted. (the above is JUST an example, the values are not exact obviously)

Please don't stun.. If that rat wakes up, and the snake doesn't want it, it's going to be in pain, disoriented, and very scared. It is much more likely to bite your snake if it is scared and in pain, than if you had gently placed it on the opposite end of the enclosure and just let the snake do its thing. Stunning is not necessary and just creates unneeded pain and stress on the prey animal. I may not like mice, but I'm not flinging them up against the wall so they don't nip my snakes. If one of my snakes gets nipped, which is an extreme rarity, then all they do is coil tighter when they feel that mouse scraping their skin. It's why they have such a tough epidermis, it's meant to take the scratches and bites. I can say I've never had a snake bit to where it left a mark.
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-Becky Brown, RVT-
1.0 Lemon Pastel Classic Jungle,1.0 Black Pastel,1.0 Enchi,1.0 Yellow Hypo,0.1 100% het Butterscotch Hypo,0.1 66% Poss Het VPI Hypo,3.24 Normals,1.1 Spider,1.1 Yellowbellies(BHB),1.0 100% Het Pied Classic Jungle,1.3 66% Poss Het VPI Axanthic, 1.1 Poss Het VPI Snow,1.1 100% het Genetic Stripe

Place the rodent in that spare pillow case / snake bag and with a firm spin just thwack it down on the floor, table or cinder block.

The rat / mouse is dead instantly.

I raise my own rodents, and even after countless feedings, it still tugs at me a little whenever I toss in a critter I have raised and cared for over a period of weeks.

Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
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1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cane" Rescue
1.2.9 Storeria dekayi Casper, Xena, Athena, & Kids
0.0.2 Thamnophis marcianus - Checkered Garters "spot" & "Zig"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garter - Princess
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua"
0.1.10 Storeria occipitomaculata - Red Belly snakes
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Juvinile CB
0.1.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER"
0.1.0. Green Anole "Crystal" WC
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
0.1.0. calico RAT
2.4.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.