what size rat?

[brylecc1989]

I will be feeding my coastal for the first time tomorow (:)) and i just wanted to be sure and get the right size. She is between 1 and 2 years old and a little over 3 feet long probably about an inch around. What you guys think?

[sickvenom]

I usually feed about the same size diameter, or slightly larger, than the snake itself.

[Lankyrob]

Carpets can and will take 2, 3 or even 4 times the body width. My jcp eats medium to large rats that you wouldnt believe he could take, on the "profile: jim" thread there are some post feed pics trying to show the bulge, next time i will try to remember to take pics of the rat pre-feed also.

[Reptile_Reptile]

same size or 1.5 times larger is my usual preference.

[Max713]

I would error on the side of caution, that being said 2x the diameter would be plenty safe.

Are you sure of your carpets age? 3' at 1 year is a stretch, 3' at 2 years, thats just unheard of.
Anybody else catch that? I'd say a 3' (1" thick) coastal is no more than 9 months old...

[stephanbakir]

Its def either a tiny one or you may be mistaken regarding the age

[brylecc1989]

I am in no way sure of its age. The breeder said about a year old at the expo i bought her at, and i thought she was a little older based on her size but i am ill-informed. If she is onl about nine months im happy! The younger the better in my opinion when adopting an animall. :)

Its def either a tiny one or you may be mistaken regarding the age

[shaunyboy]

coastal's tend to get big fast as they are the largest of the carpet pythons she sounds closer to the year old mark than two years

if you could take some pictures with say a sky tv remote in them it will help us guage the size of the snake

its hard to suggest a proper food size without pictures

as rob said a carpet can take 2,3,4 times its girth no problem

that said with you just getting her and her still settling in i'd go with a smaller food size for the first couple of meals to get her eating regular it will also let you see how big a bulge that food size leaves after its swallowed

small or large rat weaner should be fine to start with then take it from there

cheers shaun

[brylecc1989]

Thanks a lot. I am trying to get pictures up but I only have the computer i use at work and no digi camera so i am finding it challenging. I am going to try and take some later on my phone and email them to myself but they will probably be of poor quality.