African rock python question

[CrotalusR#1]

I have a question for anyone who has extensive experience with large pythons and preferably African rock pythons.
My African rock python is about 13 feet and puppy dog tame. He is currently feeding on vary large roosters. My question is what would be the largest prey I could feed him? He is 13 feet and around 50 or more pounds. That's what my bathroom scale says at least. He has just resonantly appeared to started to gain more girth vs length or at least that's the way it appears. He sheds consistently once a month.
Any responses will be greatly appreciated
Best regards
Nathan.

[sharthun]

Hey and welcome.Wow,we would love to see pics!

[LiL Zap]

Pics please! I'm a huge fan of the rock pythons. As for your question, I don't have much experience with the giants so hopefully someone else will answer your question thoroughly for you.

[CrotalusR#1]

As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I will.
Nathan

[marvelfreak]

You could feed small piglets.

[toddnbecka]

Nice, I always heard African rock pythons were typically aggressive holy terrors. Upload pics from your PC to a site like photobucket, then copy/paste the link in your forum post/s here.

[Derek1]

Here is a pic for Nathan the OP.
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv223/Derekmeredith/4994D391-0923-40A4-926D-A3F23C123178_zpsum4x0c1u.jpg

[CrotalusR#1]

Thank you toddnbecka, like any animal your gunna get some aggressive ones and tame ones. When I got my African rock he was about 10 feet and did not put up with anything!.. After a few weeks of working with him, he is now extremely tame..in my experience it's not how much you Handel a snake to tame it, it's how you Handel it when your taming them down...if your scared or nervous your gunna make slight subconscious moments that the snake will pick up one and react to.... I only have been bitten once by him and it was a feeding response...I also have a 5 foot nile monitor that is absolutely puppy dog tame, anther supposed untamable animal.
Nathan

[David VB]

Nice afrock! I saw a video earlier this week about a retic getting a baby cow. So i guess that can take on pretty large prey.

Edit : https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1577767549112807&pnref=story

[dave himself]

That's a really nice A/rock Derek1 . To the OP we have a large burm and she can eat pretty big rabbits when we can get them for her, here's a pic to give you an idea of what size

http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j342/davy64/snakes/IMAG0576.jpg (http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/davy64/media/snakes/IMAG0576.jpg.html)

I'm around 5'6 :)

Hope this helps ya :)

[sharthun]

Here is a pic for Nathan the OP.
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv223/Derekmeredith/4994D391-0923-40A4-926D-A3F23C123178_zpsum4x0c1u.jpg

Wow! Cool Snake!!!

[CrotalusR#1]

Thank you all for the kind words.
Dave himself, thank you that's exactly what I was looking for! That rabbit is massive. What dose something like that cost?
Nathan

[dave himself]

Thank you all for the kind words.
Dave himself, thank you that's exactly what I was looking for! That rabbit is massive. What dose something like that cost?
Nathan

Glad I could help mate, most times we get this size of rabbit free from a few breeders we know. But if we have to pay its usually around £20 :)

[millertime89]

Rabbits, chickens, pigs, goats, and g-pigs are all reasonable food options. I would feed in the 5-10lb range depending on girth of the prey item. Feed less frequently with pigs if you go that route.

[Aaron_S]

Rabbits, chickens, pigs, goats, and g-pigs are all reasonable food options. I would feed in the 5-10lb range depending on girth of the prey item. Feed less frequently with pigs if you go that route.

I second the weight option. The prey item isn't too big of an issue compared to the size/weight.

[CrotalusR#1]

Thank you millertime89, when I first acquired the python I was told by the owner that 8 to 10 lbs a month is good, he wasn't exactly trying to grow a giant snake tho, more maintain it's current weight. It's just so tempting to feed him a goat! Although I don't think he can Handel one yet :(... I do want him to really excel in growth in a healthy method, that's why I asked the original question. As of now he is on a steady died of huge roosters..Pigs,goats and large rabbits are super expensive where I live so they are not a common option. A small piglet is around 200$ Goats are 160$
Nathan

[IW17]

A piglet is $200!? Holy crap, that's expensive. Man I'd be looking into breeding your own food.

[Tsubaki]

Wow i nearly fell out of my chair reading that, 200$!? wow.. I paid around 20,- for adult Flemish giant rabbits in the store, but i did not buy in the store very often. I would consider getting a couple of Flemish giants, or French floppy eared rabbits and breed them yourself (if you have the room).

What i personally did when i had a few giants, i build up a contact group. Contacted people selling goats and pigs (And giant rabbits) on public sites, asked if i could buy the animals. I always mentioned they would be purchased for 'consumption purposes', and that they will be put down as humanely as possible. Not everyone wanted to sell animals for that purpose, heck i even got scolded more than a few times (Some of those frigging vegetarians man, just a 'no' will suffice dammit) Some offered to call me when they had animals with birth defects, but did not want to sell me healthy animals. No problem with that, i get food and they don't have to pay for destruction. But eventually i found a few people that had no issues with it at all. Some hobby breeders saved my number, they call me if they had too many males.. Or even just animals that did not sell because of their age/looks/disposition.. Did not need to go to the store often anymore..

[amousley1]

The fact that your rock python is still so tame is a bit of a relief to me. Ours is coming up on 2 years of age, and I know that they don't always stay so nice and sweet.

[millertime89]

Wow i nearly fell out of my chair reading that, 200$!? wow.. I paid around 20,- for adult Flemish giant rabbits in the store, but i did not buy in the store very often. I would consider getting a couple of Flemish giants, or French floppy eared rabbits and breed them yourself (if you have the room).

What i personally did when i had a few giants, i build up a contact group. Contacted people selling goats and pigs (And giant rabbits) on public sites, asked if i could buy the animals. I always mentioned they would be purchased for 'consumption purposes', and that they will be put down as humanely as possible. Not everyone wanted to sell animals for that purpose, heck i even got scolded more than a few times (Some of those frigging vegetarians man, just a 'no' will suffice dammit) Some offered to call me when they had animals with birth defects, but did not want to sell me healthy animals. No problem with that, i get food and they don't have to pay for destruction. But eventually i found a few people that had no issues with it at all. Some hobby breeders saved my number, they call me if they had too many males.. Or even just animals that did not sell because of their age/looks/disposition.. Did not need to go to the store often anymore..

All of this. Still borns, defects, whatever, the snakes don't care so neither do I as long as the prey comes form a healthy environment.

I can't believe how expensive feeders are for you. I get rabbits, goats, and chickens for $1-$2 per lb and pibs for $2-$3/lb.

The fact that your rock python is still so tame is a bit of a relief to me. Ours is coming up on 2 years of age, and I know that they don't always stay so nice and sweet.

They can be great, CB animals are best but with some work and patience even WC ones can calm down.

[CrotalusR#1]

millertime89 thank you for the great feedback! And rabbits around where I live are 45$ for an 5lb one which sucks.
I have been looking around and the cheapest I have found piglets for are around 100$ which is still way to much for something that weighs a couple lbs. it's crazy he will literally pool out a huge rooster in 4 days and sheds every 30 days on the dot which is a lot for a bigger snake. I have a huge western diamond back rattlesnake that sheds ones a year! So I have a feeling my African rock is going to be a monster!.

amousley1, African rocks can make great pets, as a snake person I prefer them
over most other giants ANY day.... I know with green anacondas and a couple other species once they hit 10 to 12 feet that can change attitudes on a dime, of corse there are exceptions. It really depends on how you Handel the snake not as much how often although that is still very important.
Nathan.

[Aaron_S]

You should begin to breed your own feeder rabbits. Sounds like you could have a nice side business.

[CrotalusR#1]

I think your write Aaron_S!

[millertime89]

Where are you located? You can order piglets online from monsterfeeders.com for the prices I mentioned. They're shipped packed in dry ice.

[CrotalusR#1]

Thank you millertime89, I will defiantly check out the link!
Do you have to order a certain amount of weight when ordering pigs? In your experience how long do they usually take to ship a piglet?

[millertime89]

Thank you millertime89, I will defiantly check out the link!
Do you have to order a certain amount of weight when ordering pigs? In your experience how long do they usually take to ship a piglet?

Two days, I don't think there's a limit but it's a flat rate shipping so the more you stuff in a box the better. Might want to call Matt and see what he can get in a box. We got quite a bit the last time we ordered.

[CrotalusR#1]

i tried finding away other than email to contact them. is this number for Matt on there website? whats the cost of there flat rate shipping? this is all new to me i have never ordered my food ofline, sorry for so many questions lol.

[millertime89]

I honestly don't remember shipping cost. It's been a while since I ordered. I would email him first. I can give you his phone number but I'm not sure if he want's it out there. PM me if you haven't heard from him in a few days. He's still recovering from cancer surgery so he's taking it slow right now.

[CrotalusR#1]

OK thank you much appreciated!!
i will get in touch if he doesn't reply to my email in a few days.

[millertime89]

OK thank you much appreciated!!
i will get in touch if he doesn't reply to my email in a few days.

Try Facebook too, he's on there quite a bit. Search for Monster Feeders.

[CrotalusR#1]

i tried searching it on Facebook and nothing showed up.
i will just give him a day or 2. i really want to feed him with in a week.Try Facebook too, he's on there quite a bit. Search for Monster Feeders.

[millertime89]

It's a group, not a business page. Sorry had to check.

[CrotalusR#1]

millertime89

I was going to pm this but I thought I would do this publicly incase there is anyone fallowing along and interested to know any of the info about monster feeders.
He just emailed me saying that there actually is a minimum weight limit when ordering piglets, its 50lbs which is a little difficult when your going to use maybe an 8lb a month.
I guess one way to deal with that is have a few friends go in on an order.

[millertime89]

millertime89

I was going to pm this but I thought I would do this publicly incase there is anyone fallowing along and interested to know any of the info about monster feeders.
He just emailed me saying that there actually is a minimum weight limit when ordering piglets, its 50lbs which is a little difficult when your going to use maybe an 8lb a month.
I guess one way to deal with that is have a few friends go in on an order.

He wraps them in freezer paper so they keep for a while. We stored some for over 6 months and they kept quite nicely.

[CrotalusR#1]

He wraps them in freezer paper so they keep for a while. We stored some for over 6 months and they kept quite nicely.


That's very good to know!.. I just fed him so I will try again next time.

[millertime89]

Actually on second thought I think I might still have one buried in the ice in the bottom of the freezer... If I do I'm chucking it though.