Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the posts regarding mites. I treated him two days ago and (touch wood) I have not seen any mites since. I am going to be giving him his first meal in the next day or so. The guy in the pet shop said he should be fed adult mice. My little guy is about 2 and a half foot long and seems to be quite plump. Just wondered if you thought that this would be the right size meal for him? I have read a lot of stuff about people feeding two small animals at once instead of one big one to reduce the risk of injuring the snake and wondered what you guys usually do.

Thanks in advance.
Ben

...adult mouse is fine for a 2.5 foot snake, or a similar-sized rat. SJM

How do you thaw your mice / rats out? One thing I have read says to put it under a lamp for an hour or two and something else said it is better to leave it at room temp for 12 hrs.

Thanks
Ben

...food usually gets too overheated under a lamp and gets mushy. Adult mice take about 4-5 hours to thaw at low 70's room temp, and won't get mushy. Otherwise, if you're in a hurry you can put them in a baggy and immerse in hot (not boiling) water. You may have to replace the water with more warm water but it speeds the process and the feeders don't get soggy! SJM

I hot water thaw, I can thaw a small/medium rat in 20 - 30 minutes vs cooking them under the heat lamp.

My Ball is 37" sofar and is eating 70 - 95 gram (small/medium)rats. He was eating 3 mice, or 1 little rat & 1 mouse so i stepped up the size abit.