What is best to feed Ball Pythons - Rats or Mice?

Question

Hi everyone,today i brought my first snake and I asked the assistant in the store what she had been feeding on and he told me they had been feeding her on small mice, when i was doing research it said the best food for them is rats as they seem to put more weight on but it is a debatable topic. So i was wondering if you experienced keepers could share some advice on what you feed your royal pythons. I plan on trying her with a small rat on her next feeding date although i had read that a snake who has been fed on mice can be tricky to convert to eat rats. Please share some advice

oh and can you tell which is better frozen or live

Answer 1

BALL PYTHONS + RODENT FEEDING

Ball pythons, especially babies, are notoriously difficult to get feeding.

You should really only buy a Python regius if it was guaranteed to be feeding already on defrosted rodents...ideally, see it feeding yourself.



I would not recommend that you ever use live rodents, they can do a lot of damage to a snake in a confined space.



Place the defrosted or fresh-killed food on newspaper or a plastic tray so as not to pick up any substrate. If the snake will just go to the rodent and start to eat it - FINE !

If it shows little or no interest in feeding use defrosted rodents held by the base of the tail with proper "feeding tongs" - move the mouse around the head of the snake and try and provoke it into striking at the mouse. It may take 30 minutes or more to get a new snake to strike.



WHAT SIZE RODENT TO FEED?

For snakes under 4 feet - measure the widest part of the head of the snake - - - the rodent should be twice as fat as that measurement.



For larger boas and pythons the rodent should be no fatter than widest part of the body of the snake.



You should ideally only feed ONE rodent every 7 days to a snake this size.

A "normal" meal for a snake should take about 10 minutes to ingest and swallow.

If the snake eats quicker than this then the rodent is too small.

If it takes longer than 30 minutes, or is obviously struggling with the size of food or regurgitates it within 48 hours in ingestion – then the rodent is too large.

Next feed offer the next size up or down as appropriate.

http://frozenreptile.co.uk/image/frozen-mice.jpg

http://torontoasf.ca/resources/frozen-feeder-mice-rats-natals-asf_4544473.jpg?timestamp=1333050505063

I suggest you offer a defrosted rodent, warmed naturally to room temperature.



Providing you supply the correct temperature gradient a snake will digest a meal in 5 days and then poop; you then let the gut rest for 48 hours and then offer the next meal.

Apart from replacing the snake in the vivarium, avoid handling for 48 hours after feeding or it may regurgitate a semi-digested rodent [not at all a pleasant experience to have for you - or the snake].

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Answer 2

Rat puppies are smaller or a similar length as great mice. i think of i'd supply her an grownup mouse for like 2 feedings so she is used to the scent and basically the dimensions is new. After you are able to attempt rubbing a mouse on a rat doggy so it smells like a mouse. Then see if she'll take a rat doggy devoid of problems. If she does then you certainly've a snake feeding on rats as a replace of mice. so a good distance as over feeding is going if she's not hungry she would have the capacity to not eat. one in each and every of my ball pythons is rather stupid and eats like an fool so he will possibly never be waiting to eat rats. suitable now he's ingesting 2 grownup mice a week... that's comparable to my corn snake. All of my snakes different than for one (with the aid of fact he has problems and refuses to eat) are a healthy weight and that i pump them packed with mice so as that they improve swifter. i think of if it extremely is a toddler it could be ingesting a pair of times a week. only make advantageous she poops between feedings. it rather is in many cases how I base my feeding schedule for my infants.

Answer 3

Most ball pythons can eat rats from the beginning. Rat pinkies and up. It might be difficult to get a ball python to go to rats but there are tips to get them on rats. Frozen is a lot better then live cause they will not bite.

Answer 4

Pre killed is better because it is safer. Live rodents can injure or kill snakes.



Rats are actually way better for snakes. More nutritious than mice.



My bps started on mice but since we switched them to rats they are growing like crazy.

Answer 5

I feed mine mice I have heard before that feeding it rats can make them sick. I would keep feeding it whatever they fed it at the pet store.

Answer 6

Feed them rats, they have more nutrition for the snake :) also use frozen (they can't hurt the snake)