Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My snakes)texas rat) eating 2 small rats once a week. Should I go ahead and move him up to 1 medium or 2 mediums a feeding? He's about 5.5 feet long.

Also, is it better for them to eat f/t rats or freshly killed rats. Does it matter at all?

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1 crested gecko
1 RES
1 leucistic texas ratsnake
3 bullfrogs
1 dusky conure
4 australian shepherds
3 cats

I'd go ahead and move up to a medium rat for a feeding and see how the snake does. It may take the snake a little longer to process one larger prey item compared with a couple of smaller ones. With full grown adults eating rats, I sometimes feed them every 10-14 days so they don't get too "chunky". I find rats put weight on a snake faster than mice (which is usually a good thing). As far as feeding f/t vs. freshly killed- freezing for at least a week will kill some parasites so I prefer to feed f/t.
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Lora

I share Lora's concern. Two small Rats once-a-week is a lot of food for even an adult Texas Rat. Snakes can suffer from all of the obesity-related issues that can plague mammals. Just becasue the snake will eat that much doesn't mean it should. I have snakes that would eat anything I gave them. Look at your animal. If he looks a little thick, he probably is overweight and you should cut back his feeding schedule or size of meals.