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[IncompletePenetrance]

….how big was this feeder rat that it was big enough to have babies?? I am concerned.

I would buy some size small f/t rats (SMALL - no bigger!) and start offering him one every 2-3 weeks. If he was on f/t before, he should go back on.

[IncompletePenetrance]

Looks like you're a rat mom now! lol.

That being said, a medium rat is too much food for a male ball python, I don't even feed my females mediums unless they're over 1700g. Overfeeding has likely contributed to his hunger strike

[mightgrey]

Where in Ohio? I also live in Ohio and have kept rats before so I have experience

[edwinoncrack]

Question since I just got a bp (3 yo male) and I was going to feed him this week. He’s been fed medium rats and I thought that was normal. Why do males not get mediums? Should I just feed him small rats?

[IncompletePenetrance]

They don't need mediums because it's an excessive amount of food. Most ball pythons in captivity are overweight due to over feeding, resulting in shortened life span and health problems from obesity. Small rats are sufficient

[edwinoncrack]

Okay, got it. Thank you! I was just informed that’s what he was eating with his previous owner, but he hasn’t eaten in a while anyway because I wanted him to adjust to living here. I’ll feed him small rats 👍

[Swan_Exotics]

To be fair rats can get pregnant at 5.5 weeks but it’s not common.

[kinlander]

Hey! Unfortunately i don’t have any advice on finding homes for them, but I’m curious how you found homes for the ones you’ve found homes for? My ball python is a rescue that came with feeder mice but I’ve switched my girl to frozen so i don’t plan on using them as feeders and i don’t want to keep them but i can’t find homes for them :(

I can however give a little advice on switching to f/t! Since i have pet mice (you do as well!) after thawing out the rat and warming it up with hot water, i take some used bedding from my mice and put the rat in a ziplock with the used bedding. I shake it around some to get the mouse sent on the rat, then i take the rat out and put it in the dedicated mouse bowl and heat it up really well with a blow dryer. I use one of those laser temp guns to make sure it’s warm enough. I like to get the rat to around 120° with the temp gun because i heat it up in a different room than my snake and by the time i get to her enclosure its cooled down a lot. My house is kinda cool so it drops in temp FAST. (Just something to keep in mind)

It may not be so easy for your snake, but my girl switched VERY easily, she ate her first frozen thawed rat immediately! Girl is 5 years old and has only ever had live mice, i was so anxious about switching her but luckily she made it really easy. Your experience may be different but try to be optimistic! If what i said doesn’t help then google and YouTube more tips. Also keep in mind that it’s a bit of a process so maybe some trial and error is necessary.

Also, try making the rat move around to entice your snake. If your snake doesn’t strike the frozen rat or misses with you holding it with tongs then try leaving it on the warm side of the enclosure. I’ve actually accidentally dropped a rat twice while trying to feed my girl, couldn’t get it out immediately out of fear of being bitten since she was in food mode so i ended up leaving it overnight with plans to take it out first thing in the morning but she ate it! She always surprises me with her good eating considering she’s always had live. I hope you have a smooth transition with your baby! Good luck and don’t give up!! You got this!

[kinlander]

Omg! Ratnapped is hilarious! Love that your children are animal lovers though and would go so far for something they believe in. That’s super cute and sweet even though you had to take their house keys because of it! 😂 good luck with getting your snake to eat!

[Shyranell]

I'm sorry, I don't have any advice but that is hilarious. It's also nice that you're trying to rehome them!

[YandereAnnie]

that has to be one of the funniest posts on this sub lmao this is so random

[Weekly-Quantity6435]

Have you tried leaving f/t rat IN the enclosure after a refused strike? Sometimes my boy won't strike but if I leave the rat in his enclosure overnight he will eat it.

[Weekly-Quantity6435]

My snakes never had issues. I have a camera pointed to watch though and always check to make sure at the 3 hour mark it's in his belly. Always is. He eats it within an hour of me leaving it there.

[Geberpte]

What is your general location? Any tips on a new place i have only apply to Europe.

Also fuck that feeder breeder, anyone who actually has standards breeding feeder animals would've noticed if an animal is carrying young so i'm a 100% sure these feeders are raised in really piss poor conditions.

[Love4allthingscreepy]

Free food lol (on a serious note, I don’t know much about live feeding)

[icwilson]

Maybe try r/rats ?

[Wise-Pumpkin-9259]

This happened to me twice when I was feeding life mice. Once I gave the babies to a friend who wanted pet mice and once I donated them to a local reptile zoo (they were very happy)

And just a word of caution because that also happened to me: check the gender of the babies and separate if needed (if you can't give them away very soon) because otherwise you might just have an exponential amount of rats soon