Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just weighed my female pac gopher - 690g

I don't know how long she is but she's well over 4 feet, I don't think she's hit 5 feet yet but I'm guessing she's not far off from it.

Currently I'm feeding her mice and hamsters - the hamsters are free (from the pet store, the ones that are nasty) but I'm seriously wondering if she could handle medium rats, which may be more economical given the quantity of mice she will consume if I let her - she's eaten six large adult at one setting, I usually feed her four plus whatever the kings don't eat.

She does have a nice sized cage with excellent thermal gradient - and she uses the entire cage.

I don't have any small rats, do you think she could handle a medium?
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I decided my old sig was too big.

she's eaten six large adult

refers to mice.

Hamsters, when she gets them, are usually only 1 or 2.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

I'd thinko she could given my experience with similar sized pac gophers but it would partly depend on how big your rodent sources medium rats are.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

She took one whiff of it and wanted nothing to do with it, reacted the same way she reacts to cats. Defensive striking, full blown hissing, body puffed up full of air.

Guess she has had a bad experience with rats in the wild.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

Just to test the theory/behavior I would save the rat and scent the next mouse you try to feed her with it. That way you get a better idea if it is actually the scent or the prey item size or some third factor affecting her behavior towards the meal.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

I fed it to my burm - but I have a couple rats that should be popping out their litters soon, so I will try a mouse size pup and see how she reacts.

It's also possible she's going into shed. It's been a little while.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

That will do the trick for the test also lol.

I wasn't trying to say you need to get it on rats or that you need to know why it didn't like the rat offered. It would just be helpfull for you in the future knowing what triggers that response.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

I'd like to get her on rats - I just started a rat breeding colony (for the life of me I can't get mice to breed - in the summer, they just perish) so to get her on rats would be swell.
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I decided my old sig was too big.