This has probably been asked before....

[tuper]

...but how can I tell what my snake should be eating? We have had him almost two weeks now and he has eaten two mice. But he is also two feet long and kinda skinny. :( We think he's not quite two years old...18 months maybe.

When he ate the mice (three days apart) you couldn't even see a bulge after they passed his neck. I know they say to feed every 7-10 days....but feed how much? I honestly think he could handle a small (baby?) rat, but im not sure.....his head isn't as thick as some of the heads of the other snakes I've seen. I don't have a scale, so I don't know how much he weighs.

Advice? Allow me to suck your brains for knowlegde! ;)

:medlotsae <------- Just thought all the eye balls were funny! :D

Edited because I can't spell! :bugged:

[boa+python]

You should feed it food big enough to be noticeable. Usually a mouse/rat that is a little bigger than the widest part of your snake should be a good size. HOPE THIS HELPS!! :)

[Princess Erica]

2' at 18 months seems really small. My guy was a problem eater for the first few months I had him, and even then, he's about 18 months and over 3'. He can handle medium rats. I'd say you could definitely move up to small rats (rat pups, maybe) and you'll notice a big increase in his growth. Don't go too crazy with the size though, you'd be amazed with what they can take, but balls are also known for shying away from food if you attempt to feed food that's too large for them.

Also, for what it's worth, feeding every 3 days is very hard on their digestive system. A better idea is to feed bigger prey, or feed multiple mice at one sitting. Just a thought!

[zero&stich]

Hi, again! :)

It would be hard to gage if he might have something wrong internally without being able to wiegh him, to know if he's gaining wieght.

If it were me, and I was faced with this situation, I would try a small(baby) rat since he/she is eating. Then feed every 7 days. A gram scale is not hard to find. Most cooking or stores that specilize in homecooking should have food scales, which can be used in pounds or grams, depending on the cook. :)

I found my gram scale on the net, amazon.com. I typed in food scale on google and WHAM, lol, I got link and links of scales. Mine happaned ot be on Amazon.

The other thing you can do, is try calling some pet stores around you and see if you can wiegh your snake, and explain to the store your situation and you would like to come back later and wiegh you little guy to see if he's gaining anything. It might help to write the wieght down for records. If that's not possiable, as a last resort, a vet might have scale. But you mentioned there aren't any near you.

Reason why I'm stressing so much on a scale and wieght is IF he's not gaining any body mass if you feed apporiate sized meals at 7-10 days then, he could be suffering from internal parcites, in which case a fresh stool sample would be required and locate an experienced vet that deals with exotics, to get antibiotics.
Panacur active ingrediant (Fenbendazole) <- In case you wanted to research what I meant by anitbiotic :) However, I'm not very knowlegable about Panacur, and only know the basics. Someone on this board would be better assitance.

Other than that, don't panic just yet. :) That wasn't my intension if I did start to worry you. But if it were me, I would want someone to lay down the truth and prepare me for anything. Try a larger meal, a small rat, for starters and feed the same sized meal another 7 days. If the snake doesn't appear to be getting bulk, you may need to fetch that gram scale and start recording the snake's wieght and determine if it's losing or gaining body mass.

Best of luck Tuper. Your ball is quite beutiful. I loved its pattern! :)

[tuper]

I appreciate the advice, Z&S! I will look into getting a scale, maybe I can contact a small critter vet to see if they have one in the meantime. There are vets here, just none that deal with snakes!

I will start feeding him small rats every 7 days then.....that's kinda what I was thinking. I have other issues, though. :( My hubby refuses to let me get f/t, he wants to feed live. I REALLY don't want to do this after reading and seeing what can happen. I actually had a nightmare last night that the snake got torn up (by something falling on it in my dream, but I know it was because of my fear of him getting attacked.) :( I never thought I would get attached to a snake! He was the first one I ever talked myself into touching. My hubby is just being an @ss about the whole thing. :mad:

I would rather kill the rat first for the snake before he eats it, maybe hubby would go for that. (But I don't think I can.) Any good (for ME!) way to kill a rat? :dumb:

On a happier note, Sorin FINALLY lost his eye caps that he's had since we got him! YAY! I'm suprised the poor snake could see. It's quite a difference. I think it was two different sheds that was on him, because he lost two layers of skin when we started soaking him. His eyes underneath are dark and clear, not all cloudy and dented! Yay! Thanks for all the advice, guys!

[zero&stich]

There's a couple of ways. I just cervicaly snap the neck by placing somethin thick at the base of the neck to pin down the rat then pull the tail outwards. the pressure from the neck, will snap it...eventually. rat's necks are really thick. the other way is to place the rat in a paper bag and slam it against a rough service until you know its dead.

if you want, i can did up a picture to show to your husband of what a live animal can do. but its not for the weak stomach. i can pm it to you.

congrats on the eycap finally going off. :)
and you welcome on the advice, always glad to help.

[tuper]

I so would not be able to snap the neck of an animal.......*SIGH* I am definitely no PETA freak, but I am an all around animal lover, just couldn't do it!

I recently lost my pet guinea pig of nearly 6 years and bawled like a little baby. (How pathetic am I?)

Well, I THINK I might have gotten through to him last night......I told him it was cheaper than buying live......which it probably isn't, but this man is all about the money and thankfully he leaves buying for the animals up to me! :D

I definitely want to do what's best for my critters.......we have two horses, two dogs, 4 fish and now the snake. We had several more, but unfortunately, I have lost three pets all since June. My 5 year old Doberman Goku was the first to go.......he was shot by some @sshole three days after my birthday this past summer. And then my daughter's bird died, and most recently my guinea pig. (Although he was old, so I was expecting it.) I don't think I can handle any more death!

What are some good (cheapest?) websites to get frozen rats from?

[reptiles4me]

I hear ya tuper. When I had to switch my female to medium sized rats I saw that the medium rats were a lot nastier than the small ones. So I decided to go with F/T. To make the progression easier, I was told to try fresh killed first. I bought the rat and couldn't do it lol. So I brought it back to the pet store and after the guys there laughed at me for a bit, they offerred to kill it for me. I took them up on it but told them to make it a different rat 'cause I couldn't feed "Fred" to any of mine. And yes I could tell the difference because Fred was black and white lol. Happily, she has since switched over and is now taking F/T.

[zero&stich]

I hear ya also Tuper. I don't actually 'enjoy' doing what needs to be done. I'm an animal lover but I have grown used to to prekilling prey, kinda like a doctor that is used to seeing blood in surgery.

But this might cheer you up. B.P. do have a long life. It's not unsual to hear people have had their Ball Pythons for 30 years.

But if prekilling is too hard, try frozen. I'm not sure what sites are cheeper out there. I've only ordered from one site http://www.rodentpro.com

And like someone pointed out, some people will do the job for you, like at a pet store.

Best of luck, Tuper.