He Ate Already...Now I Have More Questions

[beaglegod]

Just 4 days after I got my BP from Alex Hue hes eaten his first meal with me, a nice size F/T mouse. I thought I would have to wait longer but Alex said not to, I guess he new my little guys history cause Plissken woofed it down. This leads me to a few questions I have. First after 2 days have passed should I give him a handling session, say for 5 minutes or should I wait till after the next feeding/digestion period is over?

Secondly should I try and feed him a small rat or wait till he gets bigger? He looks to be about 18-20 inches long right now, the mouse he ate was about 3-3 1/2 inches. I called my local petco and they said they had small rats about 4 inches long but Im not sure if that will be a bit too much for him. Id like to get rat pups for him but I dont think they have any and the shipping costs on a small order make it very uneconomical unless you buy in bulk.

If I dont use rats at all for now do you think it will be a real pain to switch him over after he gets a little bigger?

Again as always thanks for the advice.

Paul "beaglegod"

[mykee]

I would try to get him onto rats immediately. The longer you wait, the harder it'll be once you try. With regards to handling him, I would still err on the safe side and leave him alone for a week or so, only taking him out to clean. Just my opinion.

[rip_this_joint]

wow 3 1/2 inches or a 4 inch mouse sound really big for an 18 inch snake. The body girth of the mouse or baby rat should be nearly equal to the the thickest girth of your snake.

[snakehunter]

I really dont go by the girth thing, i do weights, my snake is 354g, and can take a 77g rat no prob, thats roughly 22% of her body weight, but im sure she could go 30%.

Get a weight on your snake and figure about 1/5 or 1/4 of her weight, and buy rats that big. my .02

[tHeGiNo]

I personally give my snakes three days after feeding before any interaction. Definitely do not try a small rat. As mentioned, you will want to get your bp on rats as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more likely he is to get stuck on mice. Now, snakehunter, I think you are wrong in feeding in weight. Give your ball python a prey item 1-2 times the size of the biggest part of the snakes girth.

[sapphire_moon]

the snake can easily take a meal1-1.5 times the biggest girth of it's body. I personally don't handle my snakes untill atleast 2 days after feeding, and I don't have "handling sessions" for new snakes until they have at successfully 4 times for me, in a row.

[beaglegod]

Point taken saphire, thanks.:)