Feeder mixup, ASF's by accident - too big! Solutions?

albertagirl · 06-07-16, 11:06 AM

I have a dilemma. My tricolored hognose is in one of those awkard stages where he's kind of between feeder sizes. He's about 20 grams. So pinkies are a little small for him but he can only handle the smallest of fuzzies. I have a bunch of pinkies left, but I hate to feed him two at a time because he's such a short little sausage, and one doesn't seem like enough food. But the fuzzies I have, though the right size, are somewhat old. I'm not sure exactly how old, but let's say they're starting to look a little freezer burned.

So I went to my supplier/dealer (who somehow managed to show me a ball python that I actually really liked. Suprise!! But that's a dilemma for another day.) and picked up a bunch of fresh fuzzies. However, this guy breeds both mice and ASFs, and I believe he gave me ASF fuzzies, which are like 5 grams rather than 3 grams. Nearly twice the size, and definitely too big for my hog.

So my question is this: other than going back and buying more fuzzies, and making sure they're mice this time, what is the best of the available options?
A) feed undersized meals until he's big enough for the ASF fuzzies? And if so, should I feed him more often? Should I feed him one and a half or two at a time?
B) feed slightly freezer-burned meals until he's big enough for the ASF fuzzies?
C) cut the ASF's up and feed him halves until he's big enough for whole ones? And if so, what's the best way to cut them? Lengthwise? (Now filed under 'questions I never thought I'd ask'.)

Thanks, any advice is great.

albertagirl · 06-09-16, 12:14 PM

I love a perfectly timed shed. I cleaned this guy's cage yesterday and added cypress mulch to his cage, per your advice. I also mixed in a little dry sphagnum moss to hopefully soak up a little of the excess moisture and then release it slowly later when things start to dry out. My humidity is sitting at 90% instead of the usual 100% with fresh substrate, so maybe that's working? Anyway, being blue, he'll enjoy the extra moisture, and he usually lives in his humid hide anyway, so high humidity seems to be what he likes.
Meanwhile, I also have more time to figure out what to feed him, AND he'll be stretchier after a fresh shed, so hopefully he'll be able to handle it better if I screw up and give him something too big.

But if anyone wants to chime in on what they would do with these feeder options...

**Andy_G** · 06-09-16, 12:19 PM

Fuzzie mice range from 4.5-7g in weight. You're probably using what's usually called a "peach" fuzzie most of the time, which are a little smaller. If you're certain they're ASF's, why not approach the supplier about this and get them exchanged? That'd probably be your best option. You know yourself that physically hognose snakes have trouble with larger prey in comparison to some of the other species out there. IMO 30% of it's weight is a bit too big.

You could always just get more fuzzies and feed the ASFs to your cali.

Edit: The following link has excellent benchmark references for feeder mouse sizes.

Buy Feeder Mice - Newborn, Pinkies, Adult Mice Sale Online

albertagirl · 06-09-16, 01:23 PM

I'm pretty sure they are ASF's, they're shorter and fatter than mouse babies, which also means that even for the same weight they are more of a mouthful. I did ask for the smallest fuzzies they had, but forget to use the word "peach". Ugh. I'm definitely not feeding anything 30% of his weight though! I agree that would be too big. I was feeding 3-3.5 gram peach fuzzies, so 15 to 18%, and to be honest the 3.5g took a while to get down. Yet another reason that babies kinda stress me out! Eek!

I'm not too worried about wasting the ASF's, somebody will eat them for sure! I was simply hoping to avoid driving across town again as well as bothering my mouse guy again so soon, when I had all these other options. Especially if it's my fault for not specifying the fruit type (peach)! LOL

albertagirl · 06-09-16, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

Edit: The following link has excellent benchmark references for feeder mouse sizes.

Buy Feeder Mice - Newborn, Pinkies, Adult Mice Sale Online

Wow, I just checked out that link, and you can even specify fur color?! That's intense.