what size rat?

[jlax786]

what size rat should i feed my ball....he/she don't really know, is almost 3 feet long, im guessing 2 or three yeras old?

[smeagel]

Give your snake a rat that will leave a slightly noticeable lump in its stomach.

[BP-R-US]

Do not feed it anything bigger then the girth of the snake, that is a little rule of thumb.

[smeagel]

A bal python is able to take a meal of up to 1.5 times bigger than it's girth. Not saying to feed it something that big by no means. I feed mine a rat that leaves a slightly noticeable lump so that the digestive system does not get overworked.

[nita]

I agree with Smeagle after your snake finishes his rat you should be able to tell he ate.

[jlax786]

thats pretty cool that they can eat something that much wider than them lol....i don't think im gona give him something that big though cuz im probably not going to kill it and just dangle it or something by tongs because i don't have it in me to kill a mouse :-p

[Princess Erica]

So does that mean you're going to feed live, or frozen/thawed?

I prefer to feed smaller meals more often. Just totally a personal choice though. I'll go for a large mouse/small rat for my juvenile every 5 days usually.

[paulsreef]

You might not have the heart to kill a mouse; but your mouse won't have the same feelings toward your snake. Don't feed live, and don't feed mice. Switch over to frozen/thawed rats as soon as possible.

[jlax786]

im planning on keeping a very close eye on the rat and im gona be ready to grab him....im thinking about dangling him by his tale with tongs too so that hopefully the snake will just strike right outa my tongs, anyway thanks for all the help

[YoungBuck]

Personally I would go F/T like everyone else has said...then you or your snake will not get bit by the rat. Chances are that the snake will take a F/T rat off of a pair of tongs just the same as a live rat. Just my $0.02 though.

[RB420]

listen, everyone here is telling you feed frozen thawed for a reason, it IS safer for your snake. However for the longest time i fed my BP live with out anyproblems. if this is how you want to go about it, be extremely careful, use tongs or something to restrain the rat. have something, like a pencil or something to stick in the rats mouth if your snake doesn't bite the head. otherwise in his last moments, the rat could bite your snake. As long as you are very responsible and very attentive then you will reduce the chances your snake will get hurt, but its never 100%. another thing, is when the are being constricted, the ras tend to kick and scratch alot. so you mite have to restrain his legs as well. overall, its more hassle then its worth IMO. just put the rat in a plastic bag and whack it really hard against a wall or desk or seomthing. and toss it in still warm :)

[nita]

Man I wish all of mine took frozen or dead as easy as you guys make it sound!! Took over a year to switch mine from Live to Dead to finally FT. If you feed live get a large pair of hemostats, they work better than tongs, and hold the rat directly behind the head with them. He will still scratch and wiggle a bit but can't actually go anywhere or hurt your snake, and your snake knows it is alive. He will come and eat it. This is the method that works best for Live feeding and I'm pretty sure I heard it first from Mykee, correct me if I'm wrong :) Live restrained is the best way to feed live. Also mice are fine to feed but more of a pain cause eventually you are feeding 4 or more mice per feeding rather than one rat. I know people that feed only mice, rats are a bit of a pain to get here, and their animals do fantastic and breed well.