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I have a 5-6 month-old BP that is feeding on live pinkies fairly well. Given that feeding BP can be challenging and I have only had "Sammy" for about 3 weeks, I am hesitant to try to transition him to frozen.
What what you recommend for making the transition? And is it really necessary to may the transition? One, final question, is there any seasonality to when BP's may fast?
Thanks!
...really too small a meal for a 5-6 month old BP unless it was a premee. I start my babies on a first meal of live large fuzzy mice (about 2 week old) then go to hoppers (18-21 day old mice).
It's not necessary to go to f/t unless you have difficulty obtaining live feeders. If transitioning to f/t and the snake doesn't accept the first offering, after thawing try warming the food item in hot water and then offering with forceps.
Fasting is more common in the colder months but with BPs it can occur any time of the year.
Scott J. Michaels DVM
Serpent City
Perhaps I am mistaken about the name of the food given. It was a live baby that was about 1 1/4 inches long, no hair, and not walking. Perhaps this was a [mouse] hopper. I am new to snakes and see that the names may be general.
Please respond back with a brief overview of what the progression of feeding live food should be under ideal circumstances. It would be very much appreciated. Sammy is a healthy BP and seems very content in its enclosure.
In addition, I see that you are a DVM. How soon should I take Sammy to a DVM, if at all? I am just concerned about his size and have no way to measure.
Thanks!
instead of a mouse pinkie? Rat pinkies are the size you mentioned and are appropriate for a baby ball the age of yours.
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The Voices have won!
jeff pfeifer
It was a rat pinkie based on me looking at pcis on the site given. Thanks for the information.
http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?prod=3
check out the about URL for sizes of mice
If a young snake will eat f/t, then by all means give it a try. If not, then move on up to live hoppers as soon as possible. Pinkies are too small a meal for a 5-6 month ball python. You can see by the charts on rodent pro.com the sizes of mice. A general rule of thumb is to feed a mouse the size of the largest part of the snake. Don't get too technical,just eyeball it.
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