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Is he big enough for small rats?

O

OrganicBoas

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I looked at small rats the other day and they just looked too big for him. Currently I'm feeding him 2 ft mice every 6 days. He's about 32 inches long and 10 months old. Here is a pic: what do you think?

IMG_1505-2.jpg


- Damian
 
No Problem!!!!

i was feeding my 10 month old boas Med. rats.. They were a little longer than yours, but not much... Small would be fine...
 
I go 1.5 times what their maximum girth is. In other words, if their thickest part is 3 inches then you could feed a rat that is 4.5 inches thick. Never failed me yet.

Griz
 
Cool. Thanks for the advice. I'll see how big 'round he is. I don' know... The small rats at PetCo just looked huge to me.

- Damian
 
snake feeding

just wanted to say that's a gorgeous snake you have there. what morph? is he?

I'm still pretty new at this, but I feed according to the girth of the snake - like they said. Also, I've heard it's better to feed 2 small sizes rather than 1 large size if you're not sure. I've done this when transitioning up to the next size (since I had ordered in bulk and didn't want to waste the smaller ones).

I get mine frozen from The Mouse Factory. they have a good guideline/pic of all the sizes.

As a tip for people who do mail order, instead of getting just one size in the mail, if you have a growing snake you can order the current size you want plus the next size up. Shipped together, will save you some $$. (why didn't I think of that sooner? ha ha) The bigger size will stay frozen in the freezer just fine. Last time I ordered I got the Rat Pups and the Rat Weanlings for my growing yearling...

Rat Sizes
 
Thanks! He's a dominant hypo orangetail, though technically speaking he's a probable dominant until he mates. Here's a couple nicer pics.


IMG_1446.jpg

IMG_1399.jpg



- Damian
 
He is gorgeous!!! I need to find a hypo like him.
 
Moving to Thailand is still in the works for fall Junkyard :) (assuming some woman doesn't get her claws into me). I think Bangkok's out though. Looking now at Chiang Mai in northern thailand. What I make with 2 days work will literally pay rent for a YEAR in Thailand. If someone has some good project for him and an agreement can be reached I'll be offering him up for loan.

- Damian
 
That would be cool, but the female I will use a hypo for will not be ready for another year. Also I need a male het to pair her up to.
 
the transition

might be a little off the subject but

i love it when you finally get them off mice and it seems like their growth rate doubles on rats
 
really? I should seriously move up to rats then. This guy I think was a bit undersized when I first got him. Not unhealthy by any means, just seemed small for 6 or 7 months. I've been feeding him a mouse every 5-7 days up until a few weeks ago I moved up to 2 mice.

0e950ca1.jpg


IMG_1264.jpg



- Damian
 
Rat's definately. It may just be My imagination playing tricks on Me, but I seem to have noticed they put more weight on from rats, than mice.

Nice Orange Hypo BTW. Hope it proves Dominant for You.
My Hypo DH is 10 months also, and about 32-34 inches long. He eats 2 each rat pups every meal damn near. I was wanting to move Him up a notch already, but wish to use up some of the pups I have to make room first. He was a little skinny when I got Him, (1st pic) but look at Him now after 5 months of rats (2nd pic).........

Sam11-27-05_1.jpg

3-21-06_3.jpg




The 16 day olds that I have right now are doing rat pinks from the word go. I figure mice to be too small. They don't have a problem so far. I would switch immediately if I were You. weanlings or maybe small.


Rick
 
So maybe he's not so small for his age. He's at about 32 right now. Thanks for the advice. I'll be switching over to weanlings or small then.

- Damian
 
Well, he's definetly ready for small or medium. Whoever put the rats away at PetCo put them in the wrong bag. Today I went and looked again and the rats in the "small" bag were 3x smaller than the ones in the "small" bag a couple weeks ago.

- Damian
 
That makes More sense. I have a redtail who is doing fine on small rats every 4-5 days. and he is around 32" also. Currently getting ready for his first shed with us since his purchase.
 
snake growing fast

since my last post, my yearling female boa has an appetite for 2 rat pups (instead of 1) and is really ready for weanlings and soon small rats. boy they grow fast at this age! I feed every 5 to 7 days...my girl is not fat, just right. I think she is about 3 feet long.
 
OrganicBoas said:
Cool... I actually am thinking about moving up to medium or 2 small rats every 5 or 6 days...

- Damian
Click to expand...

I was looking at the picture with Him in your hand as a size referrence, and I would go with a weanling and see how he fairs first. He just looks a little smallish to me for a medium rat. He may do a small though.

I guess My little guy is slightly bigger than I thought. I measured today and He's pushing 3 ft................

Sam_Measure_5-22-06.jpg


He hates going back too........

Sam_06-05-22.JPG



The snake Measurer is courtesy of Charles Pritzel, (Serpwidgets) I think He wrote the program. It is I suspect more acurate than a tape measure. LOL

Just My $0.025
Rick
 
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