Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my ball and all my snakes are usually active right after eating i didnt realize that meant they were still hungry. my ball just started eating for me last week i have had her a month and she is eating one f/t crawler mouse a week she is almost 2 the petsstore says she was eating 2 till winter hit then she'd only eat one a week should i have her on rats? i have a friend who raises rats for food so this wouldnt be a big prob if i need alot of them soon.i have been told cali kings wont eat rats because of the smell is that true? id like to get them all on rats as i wouldnt have to go to the petstore and buy any my friend is very willing to supply them for me
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Erica
my zoo includes:
1 ball python "chloe"
1 sucata tort "tinkerbell"
1 C.A king "slinky"
1 x mas corn"penny"
2 cats "olivia and v"
4 monster kids Matt,Amber,Zach,Jake
1 on way

If you have your BP on a crawler mice you aren't going to get a rat small enough. As a rule of thumb, do you know how to determine what size food you need for BP? You can judge by the girth of the snake at its widest point, as a guesstimate.

Hope this helps

Is she almost 2 months or 2 years? If 2 years, a crawler mouse is waaaayyyy too small. If almost 2 months old that is probably still too small. You need to feed prey that is equal in width (or upt 10 1.5 times as wide) to the widest part of the snakes body.

Just for reference, just because they move after eating doesn't mean they are still hungry. Sometimes they are just still in hunt mode or checking things out.
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0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

she is almost 2 years old i thought that a crawler mouse was too small but i didnt want to change evrything all at once on her we have only had her a month so i wanted her to get used to her new home etc before changing her food too would say 3 crawlers at once be ok and slowly just increase the size? she is about 2 1/2 ft long and if her girth is i wanna say a silver dollor and a half wide should i just change all at once or go slowly? maybe a full size mouse ? help thanks
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Erica
my zoo includes:
1 ball python "chloe"
1 sucata tort "tinkerbell"
1 C.A king "slinky"
1 x mas corn"penny"
2 cats "olivia and v"
4 monster kids Matt,Amber,Zach,Jake
1 on way

My 02's are eating Large rats.
There girth is about the size of your fist.
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3 crawlers are not much difference in size than a single adult mouse - so I don't think it would matter. However, if she's the size of a silver dollar and a half she should be able to take larger than a single adult mouse. I can tell you that my vet says it is better to give them 2 smaller prey rather than one larger.
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1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
"Indigo"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

ok ill try 2 adult mice next feeding day thanks i guess she is supposed to be bigger than she is? she will be 2 in july she is about 2 ft long and like a said a silver dollor and then some wide that too small? when i feed her more will she catch up for growth?

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Erica
my zoo includes:
1 ball python "chloe"
1 sucata tort "tinkerbell"
1 C.A king "slinky"
1 x mas corn"penny"
2 cats "olivia and v"
4 monster kids Matt,Amber,Zach,Jake
1 on way

There really aren't any hard fast rules to it.

I'd personally try 2 adult mice the next feeding and may in the next feeding or two try 3 mice. You really want to go by the width rule as some will eat and eat and eat whatever you put in front of them. Don't want to overfeed.
-----
Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
"Indigo"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

There should also be a lump left by the prey after eating.
-----
Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
"Indigo"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

Erica, If you really want to see a difference in your BP's growth swithch to rats. Instead of 2 or 3 mice get one small rat. It makes a world of difference. Your 2 foot BP will easily eat a small rat. By the way, nice Ball.

thanks guys ill try it i really think ima switch her to rats ill let ya know
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Erica
my zoo includes:
1 ball python "chloe"
1 sucata tort "tinkerbell"
1 C.A king "slinky"
1 x mas corn"penny"
2 cats "olivia and v"
4 monster kids Matt,Amber,Zach,Jake
1 on way