Prey size...

[rabernet]

My little guy though, I wanna stuff him as full as I can 'cause he needs to put on some weight before the winter...

Why does he need to put on weight before the winter?

[rabernet]

Can someone please explain to me why a medium rat is not a good idea?

1) They don't get medium sized rats once a week in the wild, in fact, 1 small/small rat once a week (52 times a year) is much more than they'd ever eat in a year in the wild.

2) More likely to encounter extended fasts, especially in the winter.

3) More likely to encounter refusals throughout the year.

4) That's a lot of food to digest each week. More waste.

[Adam_Wysocki]

If it helps, here's what I do give or take. These numbers are off the top of my head ...

(also, this doesn't cover mousers)

Right now my 2006 hatchlings range approx 300 - 800 grams ... they are all eating fuzzy rats weekly.

My 2005 hatchlings are about 800 - 1200 grams (again this is all approx) ... they are eating weaned rats weekly.

My adults range 1200 - 4800 grams and eat "small small" rats weekly ... I don't feed mediums or full grown smalls to anyone.

Each person should do what works for them ... this works for me and for people that I have helped with their ball pythons that had feeding problems ... I have tremendous success feeding my ball pythons this way ... no fasting, no refusals, everyone grows at a predictable rate and is breedable when they are breedable. My collection is checked by my vet twice a year and is flawless.

I hope that this information is helpful to someone.

-adam

[CntrlF8]

Why does he need to put on weight before the winter?

Because I'm hoping he'll be able to breed this year, and at his current weight that's not possible. He's thin for his length, I think... The person I bought him from said he was on a fast from December up until the beginning of May.

[Kagez28]

4) That's a lot of food to digest each week. More waste.

not that i don't like cleaning poo every 2-3 weeks, but if i had to do it every week...

[Kagez28]

Because I'm hoping he'll be able to breed this year, and at his current weight that's not possible. He's thin for his length, I think... The person I bought him from said he was on a fast from December up until the beginning of May.

do you have a female for him?

[SnakieMom]

Thanks, everyone, for the indepth explanations.

My female I try to feed every week, she's so chunky, and for a wild caught she
eats like a horse!


The males, well, they're a little different. One's a WC (Merlin) and the other (as far as i know) is CB.
My next question...is it ok to feed a medium rat to a snake that eats on a totally random schedule? or, is it better to feed them small reats while trying to keep them on a schedule for health purposes?
Quite honestly, I don't know if they'd eat on a weekly basis...

[2kdime]

I was just wondering what everyone means by small small rats.

Just curious.

[dr del]

Hi,


I beleive Adam once said he thinks they are around 35-40 grammes.

Anyone who has a better memory feel free to jump in and correct me though.


dr del

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Can someone please explain to me why a medium rat is not a good idea?

In the long run your BP will fast to catch up.

When fed smaller preys BP are more consistent, doing so I do not experience fasting with my crew.

Just remember because they can eat a large prey does not mean they need to.