Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm expecting my first two clutches to hatch in about two weeks; needless to say I'm real excited. I want to start them on rats and I'm not sure what size to give the hatcthlings? What size - rat fuzzies or rat pups - or will either be ok? Any advice will be most welcomed.

Jim

I just had a Clutch a while back. I wanted to do the same. I tried rat pinks first and out of nine babies not one would eat rat pinks. I notice that the feeding response on the baby balls was non existent with the rat pinks. When I put in Mice hoppers in they acted like deadly assassins on a mission. After about 3 mice most ate rat pups with a little fuzz on the rat. I would say the rats where right around 1 week. Every baby ball was a little different on time lines so just be patient with them.

Good Luck,
Bill Rubin
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2.1 Tripple Het Caramel, Orange Ghost, Genetic Stripe
1.0 Honeybee
1.1 Het Lavenders
1.1 Het Caramel Albino
0.1 Het Albino
0.1 Spider Het Albino
0.1 Het Pied
1,1 Pastel Het for Orange Ghost
1.0 Albino
0.1 Spinner
1.1 Super Pastel
0.1 Jungle Pastel
1.0 Pied 50 percent White
0.1 Clown
0.3 Normal
1.1 Kids (9) and (16)
0.1 Spouse (22 Years Married)
1.0 Chocolate Lab

We usually start by offering ours a few day old rat pink. After the hatchling's first shed of course.

Susan

First off, I leave all my hatchlings in the incubator until they have had their first shed,

I wait a good 7 to 10 days after their first shed, by then, they've absorbed all of their yolk and are very hungry, I give them a 2-4 day old rat pup at night before lights out and by the next morning, 19 out of 20 will have eaten their first rat pup...

No frigin mice as a first meal here, never did and never will, can't understand these keepers giving them the chance to get imprinted on mice, why!!!

Mine get rat pups - unless they are really tiny babies then they'll get a rat fuzzy. Occasionally I will get a hold out mouser but after a meal or two they usually switch to rats fairly readily.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
The Blog
nihil facimus sed id bene facimus

I feeded my first clutch with rat pink after their first shed. I offered them again 2 days later. Then I moved to rat pup.

All with Frozen/Thawned in hot warm water (no boil). Work like a charm.

I don't want to give them a chance on eating live mice NEVER ! No mice even FT. and No live rats ! I want them to eat well, and ever ! I don't want mice addict in my collection .

I don't want to purchase any either anymore ! After a few, you learn your lesson !
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love this world, don't hate it.

Thanks to all for your responses, suggestions and advice. I really appreciate all of them. 10 days and counting to the projected hatch date for my first clutches - I can hardly wait.

Thanks again,
Jim

I start off on rat pups as well. I have a good friend who is a bigger breeder than me and he uses mice on the first few meals. I really do think that there is a better feeding response from neonates using mice over rat pups. Mice do carry more of an odor...perhaps thats the reason...I can only speculate. When We are feeding the first time eaters...it does tend to take a few offerings before some neonates accept the rat pups.

In my friends collection, once he has established the neonates on a good feeding schedule, he then puts them on rats.

To me, hatchlings are forgiving for some time. I really think that once they get the feeding down and know what they are supposed to do, it does not seem hard at all to switch them from mice to rat OR from live to FT.