Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone I'm new to the forums and wanted to say hello as well as get an opinion from the experts.

I recently bought a baby bp. He's probably only 1-2 months old. I would like to get him on rats asap. The breeder I bought him from said that he just shed his skin for the first time and he ate his first meal (a mouse hopper) on 4/24. A mouse hopper seems kind of big for his girth though and it dosent really look like hes got anything in him for something being that big. I've been told not to underestimate the snake though.

Anyways, I guess my question is is there is anyone out there that has started their BP on rats from birth and did you go right to rat pups or pinkies? Someone told me that a baby bp can start right on rat pups/ crawlers. That just seems kind large to me though for a new born. Any advice?

Hi there.

You mention that "He's probably only 1-2 months old" but has "shed his skin for the first time and he ate his first meal (a mouse hopper) on 4/24" ... something here is wrong. Did you mean to write "1-2 weeks?" A healthy baby bp should shed very quickly after it hatches (within 2 weeks I believe) and eat shortly after that.

There's no reason why not to feed rats right from the start. A hatchling BP could definitely take pinky rats and almost certainly be on fuzzy or hopper rats by 1 month or so. Don't underestimate the size of the prey these guys can take.

Joel

Hey everyone I'm new to the forums and wanted to say hello as well as get an opinion from the experts.

I recently bought a baby bp. He's probably only 1-2 months old. I would like to get him on rats asap. The breeder I bought him from said that he just shed his skin for the first time and he ate his first meal (a mouse hopper) on 4/24. A mouse hopper seems kind of big for his girth though and it dosent really look like hes got anything in him for something being that big. I've been told not to underestimate the snake though.

Anyways, I guess my question is is there is anyone out there that has started their BP on rats from birth and did you go right to rat pups or pinkies? Someone told me that a baby bp can start right on rat pups/ crawlers. That just seems kind large to me though for a new born. Any advice?
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ya sorry 1-2 weeks old. He said he gave him a mouse hopper but I'm just not sure. If he did then I want to get him off mice fast so I dont have to worry about the frustration. I was told that they should be able to handle rat fuzzies/pups at birth but I just wasnt sure if they would be to big for him. I did get him a pinkie/pup that was about 1.5 inches long but he just examined it a little and then ignored it. Hopefully its because he ate 1 mouse hopper on 4/24. Atleast thats what the guy told me.

dont offer any mice to him/her for a few more feeding attempts with rats. that way it wont get used to mice and you will have to go through unnesecary stuff to switch him/her over.

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I feed fuzzy rats as the first few meals in most cases. That way they can build up some strength to tackle down a crawler rat. A crawler rat will usually try to fight back, and could inflict a nasty bite to a hatchling if grabbed wrong. The fuzzies give them some practice without the pain, and in my opinion it makes them stronger feeders. I hope this helps.

Jay Cassidy
cavemanreptiles.com

We have 5 new baby balls, 4 shed 5 days ago, yesterday we placed rat pinkies in their containers and within 10 minutes all 4 fed.