Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased a 4.5-foot female JCP who's 3 years old: do you think that she can eat medium rats? I'm getting ready to place an order with Rodentpro. Thanks, Scott

>>I recently purchased a 4.5-foot female JCP who's 3 years old: do you think that she can eat medium rats? I'm getting ready to place an order with Rodentpro. Thanks, Scott

I feed mine small/med rats regularly.
-----
Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
Visit kingsnake on Facebook!
Follow Kingsnake on Twitter!

Do you mean that your JCP eats medium rats that are on the smaller end of the spectrum or that it eats both small and medium rats? Can it handle medium rats that are on the larger end of "medium"?

Thanks,
Scott

>>Do you mean that your JCP eats medium rats that are on the smaller end of the spectrum or that it eats both small and medium rats? Can it handle medium rats that are on the larger end of "medium"?
>>
Both.

It can handle larger mediums and even a large. I accidentally gave him the wrong sized rat (a large) this summer and he did just fine.
-----
Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
Visit kingsnake on Facebook!
Follow Kingsnake on Twitter!

Over the years and keeping pythons and boas they can handle and seem to do better on food items 1 1/2 to 2 times their largest diameter. There is a reason nature gave them the ability to unhinge their jaws to swallow. The exception to this was when I kept bloods and I would have had to feed piglets. My morelias I regularly feed items of this size and more often than not they will eat two sometimes 3 of that size. They then go into their warm hide for 2-3 days and when they come back out you can't tell they've eaten recently. If I fed them smaller food items I would either have to feed so many at a time or feed them at least 2 times a week. Especially with younger snakes as so much of their food intake goes into their growth. Adult full grown snakes I keep on larger items but cut down on the frequency of feeding. In nearly 40 years of keeping pythons and boas I have never had a case of regurgitation from feeding too large. This however is not true of all of the colubrids I've kept.

Just my experience take it for what it's worth. Maybe 2 cents.
-----
BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
0.0.3 M. f. flagellum Eastern Coachwhips
1.2 G. m. bottegoi Western Plated lizards

Hi there, I am really new to this so feel free to tell me to go fly a kite. But after all I have been reading I would make sure that the snake WILL eat rats before you place an order. From what I understand a lot of them really get hooked on mice.

I'm sure you know this or you already have it eating rats but just thought I would put it out there.

Take care,
Carole
-----
----------------------
www.reptilecare.com

the prey item should be no larger then the thickest part of the snakes body. its difficult to answer your question without seeing the snake really.

"the prey item should be no larger then the thickest part of the snakes body. its difficult to answer your question without seeing the snake really."

That's absolute nonesense especially when talking about carpet pythons! They can EASILY eat something double their girth. Where these feeding guideline myths come from confounds me.