First rat...

[jathoma]

Okay, I just got home with a small frozen rat....my ball has been eating adult mice for a few weeks now....

Are you sure he'll take this rat? It seems pretty darn big...

I keep reading balls can take it, but DAMN!

Please let me know your thoughts...

[HetForHuman]

small rats can vary in size man.

How big is the rat compared to the adult mice you been feeding?

[jathoma]

the rat is over twice the size.....but he was taking the mouse with no problem....

the bag says they average 40g....whereas the mouse was 19g...

I think he can take it, I'm just worried about him getting it in his mouth...

[mark129er]

He'll get it in his mouth no problem. Just might have to stretch out the inter feeding period abit.

[HetForHuman]

hell do it man go for it.

[jathoma]

Well, it's about thawed and then it's FEEDING time!

Wish me luck y'all!

:D

[Andy_G]

Good luck! :) I don't think he will have a problem.

[jathoma]

Grabbed it first strike....

Let them games begin....

I'll keep you posted!

[mark129er]

congrats

[jathoma]

well, so far, he's tried to eat it sideways for the last 10 minutes....

But he appears now to be looking for the head!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!

GO CAIN GO!!!

:grab:

[lilyskip]

i'm interested to see how this turns out...my ball is on adult mice, and i bought a rat for him to eat eventually. let me know if he can take it!

[jathoma]

Halfway down and goin strong!!

I knew he had it in him...

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[jathoma]

Well, that's one fat snake...

Man I wish I had had a camera for this one...

Maybe next time!

So, anyone worried about your 2ft ball taking a 40g rat....no problem!

[elevation24]

Wow that took him awhile, from start to finish your posts were almost an hour apart :p

[jathoma]

It was a pretty damn big rat!

And he spent a while trying to eat it sideways...

But he's a trooper!

[HetForHuman]

awesome man i knew he could do it. my ball is about 2 1/2 feet or maybe a bit bigger and he chomps down mediums like they are going out of style.

[imp_star]

congrats on the smooth transition jathoma..=)

[sapphire_moon]

I know what you mean, you might want to wait 2 weeks before offering food again. I offered my 2 ft female an adult mouse after feeding her a small rat (it was her last one) and she refused it.......Congrats! Glad he ate for you!!!!

[MontyPython]

40 grams is nothin, lol, a couple weeks ago, I fed my barely 2 1/2 ft. ball a 50 gram rat, took it down no problem. Their bodies are designed to swallow prey larger than they are, that is always why they can dislocate their jaw to accomidate the larger food item. Congrats though on getting it to eat rats after being on mice, I was worried when I had to make the switch, but mine did just fine!

[jathoma]

ok...my next question is this...

How long should I wait now for his next feeding?

He's still lookng pretty stuffed and I don't want to disturb his digestion...

As always, thanks for any advice!

Jason

[jwsporty]

jathoma,

Best laugh I have had all day..congrats man...love the play by play..Offer him another in 7-10 days. I have a KIng that took an hour and half to eat a similiar size rat. Funny thing was he spent 85 of those minutes making sure it was dead..I didn't have the heart to tell him it was frozen thawed

[Jazz6279]

Congrats! I bet your really happy. Wont be long before I offer my 4 month old bp a rat, gonna be a nerve wracking time when i do!

[jathoma]

funny thing is, he hasn't moved a whole lot since devouring that rat...

I'm guessing he's just weighed down

:D

For those who thought he took a while.....you try shoving something over twice as big as your mouth down your throat and see how long it takes you (again, he spent quite a while trying to eat it sideways, so, subtract that and it probably wasn't so long)!

At least he can unhinge his jaw...