Some feeding questions, need advice.

kiiarah · 09-25-14, 12:55 PM

Hi everyone. I have a few feeding questions. I have a little two month old (approx.) male bp who just weighed in last night at 92 grams. He had been eating pinky rats until now but I feel he needs to be bumped up to the fuzzies now. Based on his weight what would you say? How large of a supply of fuzzies should I pick up, and how quickly should I expect him to move up to rat pups?

I am going to be making a trip to stock up on food but the nearest vendor that offers small enough frozen rats is a two hour drive away so I want to make the most of it and get what I need for the next 3-4 months or so in advance. I just have no idea how quickly they grow on average. I know they all grow at a somewhat different rate, but if anyone can give me a good guess as to what to expect that would be very helpful.

Also, at 92 grams would he be considered underweight or normal for his age, he has some vertical wrinkling going on right now but is also getting ready to shed, so I would just like to know what a good weight would be. Thank you so much to anyone that can help, I am still very new to all this.

**millertime89** · 09-25-14, 04:03 PM

I think he should be on rat pups now and weaned soon. It is my opinion that BPs should be started on fuzzy rats. At the 150-200 gram weight move to weaned. and small at 300-400.

kiiarah · 09-25-14, 05:08 PM

Thanks for the input. I have read that bps should be fed 10-15% of their body weight. Since he is still only 92 grams wouldn't that be a feeding amount of between 9 and 14 grams. A chart I looked up shows rat pups starting at 20, so wouldn't those be too large? The chart I was looking at showed fuzzies at 10-19 grams so I figured those would be best. Am I missing something?

**millertime89** · 09-25-14, 05:58 PM

I go 15-25%, the larger the meal the less frequently you need to feed.

kiiarah · 09-25-14, 07:08 PM

So I guess I am just curious then if anyone has ever seen a snake refuse food if the size increase is too great. I guess I just figure he is used to such tiny meals, I am (probably irrationally) worried that too much bigger and he won't know how to eat it. Am I being ridiculous?

**millertime89** · 09-25-14, 07:29 PM

I've seen it but it's got to be huge. I've had a snake take 40%ish but she's a pig. I've had more issues with snakes refusing food that is too small. Then some are just garbage cans and will eat anything and everything.

**EL Ziggy** · 09-25-14, 08:00 PM

Welcome and best wishes with your new BP Kiiarah. You'll be amazed at the size of prey snakes can consume. It's always exciting when they move up prey sizes. We often dont think they can get the larger item down but most times they pleasantly surprise us. As long as the prey item isn't much more than 1-1.5x the widest part of the snake he should be fine. If the prey is too large the snake will more than likely just not eat it. I use the 10-15% of body weight feeding plan as well. I'll sometimes feed younger snakes up to 20% of their body weight. I'm pretty sure your BP can handle fuzzys but if you're buying for the next 3-4 months I'd buy a mixture of fuzzys and pups. Your snake is probably going to grow faster than you think and you don't want to be left with a bunch of undersized feeders. I don't have BP's but I'd say my young snakes moved up prey sizes every 2 months on average. Post a pic of your snake with feeder next to it and that'll give us a better idea.

kiiarah · 09-26-14, 02:44 PM

That is extremely helpful, thank you.

I am at work at the moment but could get a shot of a mouse and pinky rat both next to him for comparison when I get home. I had sort of planned on getting two months worth of both fuzzies and pups so sounds like that will work perfectly. He is 92 grams if that helps at all but I don't have a length. I would estimate that he is probably just shy of a foot and a half, maybe a foot and a quarter. I have waited so long to have him, I guess I am feeling pretty overprotective, they just seem so delicate sometimes. I will absolutely be pleasantly surprised when he takes an appropriate sized prey item. Those pinky rats are way too small and I am eager to get him eating more.

**EL Ziggy** · 09-26-14, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiiarah

That is extremely helpful, thank you.

I am at work at the moment but could get a shot of a mouse and pinky rat both next to him for comparison when I get home. I had sort of planned on getting two months worth of both fuzzies and pups so sounds like that will work perfectly. He is 92 grams if that helps at all but I don't have a length. I would estimate that he is probably just shy of a foot and a half, maybe a foot and a quarter. I have waited so long to have him, I guess I am feeling pretty overprotective, they just seem so delicate sometimes. I will absolutely be pleasantly surprised when he takes an appropriate sized prey item. Those pinky rats are way too small and I am eager to get him eating more.

K-My snow bull snake is almost the exact same age/size as your BP. He was hatched 7/11/14 and weighed 88g before his last feeding on 9/20. He usually gets 2-3 rat pinks every 5-6 days with a total weight of 12-18g. I've got some rat fuzzys that I know he can handle now but want to finish off the remaining 10 pinks I have before I move him up. It's not the length of the snake, it's the width or girth, that determines the appropriate prey size. As long as the prey item isn't much larger than 1-1.5x the widest part of the snakes body you should be ok. I might go ahead and try a rat fuzzy this weekend with Apollo. Keep us posted on your progress

kiiarah · 09-26-14, 05:46 PM

Thank you so much Ziggy! Sounds like rat fuzzies it is, at least for a bit. I was looking forward to seeing if he would take the small mouse I have in the freezer tonight (feeding day today) just to get a decent sized meal in him, but wouldn't you know I came home last night to find cloudy eyes. I may still try to put a F/T mouse in and see if he is interested, but I won't be at all surprised if he refuses it. Fingers crossed that he will eat, first couple of weeks are so stressful.