Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i recently ordered a bunch of large rats thinking they would be fine. but they seem almost too big for one of my balls. she got it down in ten minutes once she found the head and its been a few days now and she seems fine. but it seemed like a BIG stretch for her and she seemed uncomfortable until the next day, like she didnt want the stretched skin to touch the ground. is it ok to continue to feed them to her? i was thinking of feeding her every 2 weeks. i ordered them from the mouse factory, so the quality is good and they are all perfectly sized, so at least i dont have to worry about any oddball sized ones.
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Jake Barney

snakes
2.2. ball pythons
0.2 corns
1.0 bcc
0.0.1 garter
0.0.1 baby snapping turtle

Rodents shouldn't be bigger than the girth of the snake, so if you are seeing obvious bulges in your snake after feeding her this rat, then they are too big for her. I suggest ordering the next size down and fed those instead. If your snake is still growing, try the bigger ones after her next shed, if they show the same large bulge and stretching (once its down to its stomach of course) stick with the smaller size.

Most rodents can keep in the freezer for a few months up to a year, if vacuumed sealed (but not after the seal has been broken, then they keep for about as long as typically frozen...usually 3-8 months, depending how recent they were packaged before shipped to you).
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PHLdyPayne

actualy there was almost no visible bulge once she got it to her stomach. the stretching i was reffering to was in her neck.
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Jake Barney

snakes
2.2. ball pythons
0.2 corns
1.0 bcc
0.0.1 garter
0.0.1 baby snapping turtle

The neck is the smallest part of ball pythons (besides their tail) and definitely designed to stretch alot when swallowing prey. Once past the neck and into the stomach, if there isn't any bulge or just a slight lump, then the rats are fine. It certainly wouldn't hurt to feed every two weeks to give her plenty of time to digest.
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PHLdyPayne

I use TMFs larges on my over 2500 gram girls - you should see a noticable lump that should go away after 24 hours - if it doesn't it's too big and you need to make sure you keep her warm to help her digest it before it starts to rot.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
The Blog
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