| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 05/06/2010 : 14:38:23
i think my snake needs to move onto bigger prey, any tips on getting them from rat pups to fuzzies? |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 14/06/2010 : 10:30:25
You are fine feeding rat pups, even double feeding them, they do not have the equivalent nutrient level as adult mice, they cant, they are not on solid food. Rat pups are fatter yes, but they are also quite a lot bigger than mouse pinkies, and have more goodness in them than mouse fuzzies, bear in mind the only real difference between a pinkie and a fuzzy is one has hair and a slightly more advanced bone structure.
The snake wont get fat from them, unless you start feeding every 3 or 4 days, constantly loading it, 2 every 7 days is fine, i did that with all my babies last year and the only thing they did was grow quickly, they never even started to get fat.
If a snake is going to get big enough to manage rats, then its a good idea to get them onto rats as soon as possible, some of my corns eat rat weaners, every 7 days, and they are not fat.
There is a lot of hype around feeding rats, but its all missplaced, if your snake can eat rats, then go for it. |
| n/a |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 18:54:48
yeah your probably right, i never thought snakes would be so fussy |
| headlow |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 18:14:10
quote:
Originally posted by mr taylor
he was fed on rat pups when i got him, but they are very small (he seems to eat them very quickly). ive just started moving him onto mice (small fuzzies) but he doesnt seem to like them as much. im guessing its because hes beginning to shed.
It may also be the case that the snake prefers rats. My Mexican Milk won't even go near a mouse. I've tried everything including braining the rat and smearing it over the mice, yet it's rats all the way for him.
There shouldn't be a problem if he just eats rats, you'll just need to space out the feeds a bit more. You could also try him with the next size up in rats. |
| n/a |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 15:50:50
hes about 7 months old,hes quite small for his age but seems to have grown alot in a month. i havnt had chance to weigh him but when i do i shall post it. He seems to be a healthy weight. |
| n/a |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 15:48:28
he was fed on rat pups when i got him, but they are very small (he seems to eat them very quickly). ive just started moving him onto mice (small fuzzies) but he doesnt seem to like them as much. im guessing its because hes beginning to shed. |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 15:24:31
quote:
Originally posted by mr taylor
p.s
i feed double rat pups every seven days
I would have thought that this was too often and may lead to your corn becoming overweight. Like Kellog i have no experience in feeding rats and im certainly not an expert so i would wait foor somebody more experienced to comment.
Have you thought about maybe changing the main diet to mice and then feeding rats every so often?
How big/old is your snake, and what was it fed on before you got him? |
| n/a |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 15:04:09
p.s
i feed double rat pups every seven days |
| n/a |
Posted - 13/06/2010 : 15:00:40
cheers for the advice, yes you can no longer see a bump after feeding him rat pups, the fuzzies im starting him on are only a fraction larger then the pups, but i think ive realised why he didnt go for them, i just picked him up today and hes beginning to shed so im guessing thats why he hasnt fancied eating the last few days. |
| Kellog |
Posted - 06/06/2010 : 04:23:21
I echo Danny's comment Marc....you say you have only had him 3 weeks, how often are you feeding him? Rats are thought to be more nutritious and have more calcium due to more solid bone structure than mice, but they are high in fat. Rats can be fed but should be fed less often than mice....which is why we are concerned as to how many times you have fed him in the last 3 weeks, especially if you are multiple feeding him....you dont want to land up with an over-weight corn.
You need to remember that snakes are opportunistic feeders...in the wild they will never know when or where they are getting their next meal and they can be the same in captivity, so given the chance they will overfeed and it is up to us to make sure this doesnt happen, no matter how hungry they may look!
How much does he weigh?
This is a VERY ROUGH guide you can use to give you a basic idea of what size food he should be on (actually just part of it that I think will probably apply to your corn)....but I know forum members whose snakes should supposedly be on a certain size cos of their weight but arent big enough for them yet, so you should only use it in conjunction with common sense and a knowledge of your snake, it should not be followed religiously.
Snake (51 – 90g) = fluff/hoppers (7 – 12g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Snake (91-170g) = Small Adult/Weaned (13-18g) - feed every 7 days
Snake (170g+) = Large (19 to 25g) - feed every 7 to x days
Snake (170+) = X large (30g +) - feed every 10 to x days
Am I right in saying that rat pups (21 - 30g) are probably equivalent to large mice?? I certainly wouldnt start him straight out on those but with something smaller, even try multiple feeds of fluffs/hoppers and see how it goes from there.
The best way to work out what your snake should be feeding on is as Sta~ple says, whether the 'dinner's' girth is 1.5 times the size of the widest part of the snake's body girth, if it is any bigger then it is too big.
You can work out if he needs to move up in size when there is no longer a bump once he has eaten his 'dinner'.
I am NO EXPERT Marc, and what I have just said is what I have learnt from my own experience and research....but I have NO experience in changing a corn from rats to mice. I do hope some of my advice has been helpful.
xxx
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| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 05/06/2010 : 16:09:01
quote:
Originally posted by mr taylor
ive only had him for 3 weeks, so i just been feeding him rat pups. Ive started double feeding him, but he seems to gobble the food down very quickly. so im guessing its time for mice?
How often do you feed the rat pups? |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 05/06/2010 : 15:38:39
I wouldn't doube feed with rat pups, they contain a lot more than anything than mice. Rat pups have the same nutrient apprently as large mice. http://www.frozenfeeder.com/sizing.html
To be hontest, I found making a stright switch between any foods without double feeding has always been fine with me. As long as the food is not any bigger than 1.5 times the size of the width of the snake. If you biy from the oetshop you could always ask them to pick out the smaller fuzzies that they can see and that should be fine for the swicth. Of course other snakes have a problem making a straight switch. I'm sure if you find the smallest fuzzie and make a swicth to them he will be fine. |
| n/a |
Posted - 05/06/2010 : 14:54:00
hes about 7 months old, but hes a little smaller than he should be for his age |
| n/a |
Posted - 05/06/2010 : 14:50:03
ive only had him for 3 weeks, so i just been feeding him rat pups. Ive started double feeding him, but he seems to gobble the food down very quickly. so im guessing its time for mice? |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 05/06/2010 : 14:45:53
With mice it is advised that you offer double prey items for a few weeks to get them accustomed to the bigger food and i would have thought the same applied for rats.
How often are you feeding rat pups? Is it part of a mixed diet or the only prey item you offer? |
