Feeding ??'s

[robmarli]

First of all I want to thank everyone for how helpful they have been so far. Okay, a couple of questions about Akesha. She ate two feeder mice (one last Fiday and one Sunday.) She has not pooped since and has spent almost all of her time in a hide box(she goes back and forth between the two. I peek in every couple of days just to make sure she looks ok, and she looks fine. I have had her out only once this week, as it appears she would like some private time. I picked up some weenling rats today and stuck them in the feezer (my wife did not realize they would be live when we got them, but that is another story.) I was planning on feeding tomorrow evening, but want to make sure it will be OK. Does she need to poop before I offer more food? It does not look like she is going into a shed cycle, but might be possible. Should I just warm up one of the rats tomorrow and see if she is interested. If she is not I can just throw it back in the feezer. How long can she go without pooping before I shoud start to get concerned? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

[rachel132002]

Quick question, is there anywhere you can buy frozen from because it's nicer than just sticking live rats in the freezer and probably cheaper too but if not then at least pre-killed is better than live feeding.

Anyways boa's & pythons don't poo much at all really my little ones go about once every 2-4weeks and older ones like once every 6-8weeksish? So you can still feed weekly with no problems at all.

With regards to re-freezing that's a no-no as humans we don't refreeze food because that's how you get food poisoning from bacteria growing then lying dormant then growing etc and the same will happen with your snakes porbably so i wouldn't chance it, it's better to waste a rat than lose a snake over it.

Rachel

[robmarli]

I have been been waiting on a shipment of frozen rats for three weeks. I went to the local (45 miles away) pet store and all they had was live. I killed them before I put them in the freezer. And the pet store owner said he would be stocking frozen after next week. If I cannot get the other guy to ship me what he is supposed to.

Thanks for the insight to the poo poo question. That sets my mind at ease some.

As for re-freezing I have read threads on here where people do it. I would not leave the rat in the feed tub for more than an hour before putting akesha back in her home and the rat back in the freezer. I don't know about you, but I have survived plenty off of left over food that has been refrozen(and yes I know my digestive track is not like a snake's). I would not re-freeze something that was left for more than an hour and would not re-freeze a second time.

[unluckyseventeen]

I think you're feeding too often. You said one every couple days right? Either that or you fed one on Friday (day 1) and one on Sunday (day 9)? If it's every couple days, then yeah, there's no wonder you've got a problem... that's too much! If it's every 7 or 8 days then you are doing just fine.

Chances are she's not hungry right now, and sometimes ball pythons are problematic eaters. Just offer one prey item every week and they will take it sooner or later. If you offer every couple of days they will get stressed out and that's no good. I wouldn't worry about actually getting food inside their bodies for a few weeks, unless they are already looking fraile or lethargic.

Just to make sure, are you feeding MICE or RATS? Has she been on one or the other her whole life? This could also cause some problems if it's been switched.

If you start to get worried or are ready to take desperate measures, we will let you know what else you can do.

And yes, I've kept records on my baby and he goes once every three weeks... sometimes to the exact day, it's kinda creepy. No reason to worry.

[robmarli]

She has been on rats her whole life at the breeders. When I got her I also ordered frozen rats. She went two weeks between feedings and I did not have my frozen rats yet. So I went to the pet store and all they had was mice. I got two baby feeder mice (I fugured about half the size of a normal meal for her.) So I fed one on the friday (1st feeding at my house and 15 days sice last feeding at the breeders.) and gave her the second two days later on Sunday. Tomorrow will be a week since the second, and I plan of feeding one of the rats I just picked up today.

[jjmetro]

sounds good, how old/big is the snake?? still a baby i assume?

[jojo6199]

Maybe I didn't read that right, but you had to wait weeks for the frozen rat order to come in? Wow, the place I order from I phone on Monday I have my order in my hands the next day or perhaps a couple of days tops!

Try to stick to a weekly feeding schedule if you can. Ball pythons are not as picky as a lot of folks say, but they are snakes that really do best with routines they can get adjusted to. If you wish to offer multiple prey just let your snake get the first one down well into it's body cavity then offer the second one. I've used multiple prey occasionally when I'm moving a snake up to a larger prey item as sort of a stepping stone or with my really big adult females as I prefer them to eat multiple smaller prey than one huge prey item (just my way not the only way).

Most of our ballsa aren't prey specific or picky about how they get their prey (f/t, p/k or live). Some are quite picky. Just depends really on that particular snake or what it is used to.

Our Balls don't poop weekly. More like every couple of weeks or even longer. If you ever get really worried that it's been way too long, often a warmish (tepid) bath will help them release but it's a messy procedure! LOL

[robmarli]

She is about 8 months old I think and a little over 20 inches. I need to measure her net time I have her out.

"Maybe I didn't read that right, but you had to wait weeks for the frozen rat order to come in? Wow, the place I order from I phone on Monday I have my order in my hands the next day or perhaps a couple of days tops!"

Yeah, I'm not happy about that. The breeder though he might be interested in going into the frozen rodent business. I have called him multiple times over the past few weeks. They will always be in the mail tomorrow for sure. Still waiting. I will probably end up getting feeders from another source.

I think if she does not poop be next feeding next Sunday I will giver her the warm bath. I'll let you know how she does tonight.

[unluckyseventeen]

By the way, switching from mice back to rats is hard. Or, either way. What I would do is put both mice and rats in the same bag so they can exchange their scents, then feed whichever one you need to.

The reason is, mice and rats smell different to snakes, as they are different animals. I've had mine on mice for a while and I am switching over to rats... man, it's been a pain. What I generally do is dethaw them together and he'll take whichever I offer.

Try that. I bet that's part of the reason she's not eating.

[robmarli]

Well, I talked to him quite a bit before I bought the snake from him and he was very informative and helpful. Shortly after I ordered the snake he was hit by a Hurricane. Plus his wife is pregnant and expecting any day. I will give him the benefit of the doubt for a couple more weeks before I resort to any ultamatums. As far as swithcing back to rats, I hope it is not a problem, as that is all I got from the pet store and have no mice to scent them with. I do not think it will be a problem, as last week was the first time she had ever had mice, and had no problems with it. I will let you know, tonight is feed night.

[SqueezeChamber]

my burm was eating full grown mice but i switched him to rats with no problem at all... he ate it the first time.. but i think its bc he will eat anything.. lol.. even me..lol

[robmarli]

Update:

She took the rat with no problems at all. Thanks for the help.