Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a couple of questions:

1. How big do you allow your retic to get before you feed him a small rat?

2. I am unable to find rat pups in Houston. Have any of you ordered frozen food from one of the vendors who ship?

i get mine on smalls pretty quick. usually after their 3rd shed. mine are on rabbits usually my 5 feet
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

Do you think a 3ft retic can swallow a small rat? The rats that I am referring to are close to 1.5-2x larger than a mouse.

They do eat large meals. And often. Without seeing your snake, I'd say yes. Maybe you should see how many of those mice it will eat at a time to answer your own question. I'll bet at least 3.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

He definitely acts like he still has an appetite. I just wonder if he can open his mouth wide enough. I am currently feeding him once every four days. He is 38 inches long.

Like I said, they do regularly eat LARGE meals and frequently. I think most people feed them as much as they'll eat to get rapid growth. They are VERY efficient at food digestion/assimilation.
Personally, I go with larger meals less often. Continual small meals seems to develop a "Pin Head" condition.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

just sayin, i get hatchlings on rats asap. as said, usually after the third shed, mine are on small rats. keep in mind also, that different manufacturers of feeders have a little variation of what they consider sizes to be. for instance, rodentpro small rats are just a slice smaller (the ones i have received) than my local reptile shop that i use as a backup for feeders.
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

You would be surprised at how large a meal your snake can take. I follow the guideline of feeding a meal (rat) that is just slightly larger in circumference than the belly of my snake. My female is a bit larger than yours and she takes 2-3 small rats per week.
I have used RodentPro and their service is good. Its a bit on the pricey side because they dry ice and overnight the package to you. But if its your only recourse, they are good.
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1.0 Albino American alligator, "Smoke"
1.1 American alligator,"Al Bite Ya & Molly"
1.1 Purple Albino Reticulated Pythons, "Gumbo & Abita"
0.1 Eastern Gaboon Viper, "Gabbie" Recently passed away at 24 years old
Help me find this snake!

The small retic is a string bean compared to most snakes his same length. The mice make a decent buldge. But it does not take long for him to break it down. I am going to try a small rat tomorrow.