food size?

[viper99]

i bought a female ball python today at the reptile expo and the guy i bought it off of said she was eating pinkies does anyone know what ball pythons that are 1 month old should be eating. i just think that it should be eating somthing bigger

[piketpik]

Mine is 2 feet long and as big as my thumb.
I have been told to give fuzzies (5 gr)

[cedwards]

Did he say pinkie mice or rats? To me it would be pinkie to fuzzy rats that it was being fed.
Cheers
Chuck

[viper99]

he said large pinkie mice i dont know if he meant pinkie rats

[PDXErik]

When I first got my ball, it was 21" and about 150 grams. It was eating fuzzy mice. It took maybe a month or so and it was eating adult mice.

[mykee]

Pinkies are newborn rats and are about 5-10 grams. After that you're looking at fuzzies, roughly 10-20-ish grams. hoppers and then weanlings.
For a one month old ball python, pinkies are WAYYYYYY too small. I feed my hatchlings medium sized adult mice or medium fuzzy rats (~15g).

[piketpik]

I hope you do not mind me acking your thread viper99, but as it is the same subject I guessed it would be OK.

I was told mice fuzzies (5g) every 5-7 days.I still have 2 in the freezer...
How soon can i give another one?

Thanks

[RIBBIT]

feed it fuzzie rats because I was told that they should eat that as soon as they get out of the egg but rat pinkies also

for the other q feed an younger snake more older less how old is it

[Aaron_S]

I was told mice fuzzies (5g) every 5-7 days.I still have 2 in the freezer...
How soon can i give another one?

Thanks

Just feed both fuzzies to the snake at the next scheduled feeding.

[mykee]

"I was told that they should eat that as soon as they get out of the egg"

That right there is TERRIBLE advice!
I don't mean to be a dik (maybe I do, but I'm getting damn sick and tired of BAD advice being thrown around here, it's hurting the hobby big time!!!), but whomever you are getting your advice to feed a ball python right out of the egg is plain and simple an idiot and should NEVER give stupid information because those who don't know that it's terrible advice, believe it.

[ToddBecker]

NOt to respond for Ribbit but what I believe he was attempting to state was that even a newborn Ball can eat a pinkie rat, which is true. I think he might not have been clear in his response and maybe you might have been a little hasty. You are correct Mykee neonatals should not be even attempted to be fed until they have completely absorbed their yolk sac and have gone through there first shed. After tehir first shed then they should be fed shortly there after. I personally would start with pinkie rats. This will eliminate the need to make a switch from mice to rats later on in its life. Todd

[RIBBIT]

That right there is TERRIBLE advice!
I don't mean to be a dik (maybe I do, but I'm getting damn sick and tired of BAD advice being thrown around here, it's hurting the hobby big time!!!), but whomever you are getting your advice to feed a ball python right out of the egg is plain and simple an idiot and should NEVER give stupid information because those who don't know that it's terrible advice, believe it. im sorry (i am horrible at this but) i ment as soon as it eats feed it fuzzies. u should wait until the first shed before feeding but the first food it eats can be fuzzies

[mykee]

That's cool, my mistake. I jumped the gun. I've gotten over 300 hatchlings eating and Todd, have had very little to no luck with getting a single hatchling to take a live rat of any kind as a first meal. I find that if I feed two to three live mice, they'll happily accept live rats thereafter and it's a cinch after that to get them on F/T rats.

[TailsW/Scales]

Pinky /fuzzy mice have a lot of body fat unlike rats. Rats have more nutrients for growing babies.

Just my two cents

[mykee]

Rat eaters DEFINITELY grow better all throughout their lives when fed rats as opposed to mice.
True dat.

[PDXErik]

Rat eaters DEFINITELY grow better all throughout their lives when fed rats as opposed to mice.
True dat.

Will this be good for my ATB? It would pretty much be held at fuzzy rats for most of it's life, I guess that's not bad.

Interesting. He doesn't like f/t, he really wants to hunt and kill. Fuzzy rats won't pose much of a threat and would better?

[TailsW/Scales]

Will this be good for my ATB? It would pretty much be held at fuzzy rats for most of it's life, I guess that's not bad.

Interesting. He doesn't like f/t, he really wants to hunt and kill. Fuzzy rats won't pose much of a threat and would better?

Sure. Most fuzzy rats don't have the instinct to bite back yet so that's a great size for sensitive snakes like ATB's. Start out with a peachfuzz rat and then move up from there.

[mykee]

You may have an easier tim e finding a "peach fuzz" rat by asking for a fuzzy....lol..

[CHRIS]

I would have to agree with Mykee , I have been doing this for along time and once they hatch out and go through there shed I will also feed them a med size mouse and again as Mykee stated I prob do this for about 5 or 6 feedings and then right to fuzzy to eye just opening rat pups and the switch over is very easy. Man pinky mice????? way , way , way to small........
Thanks
Chris