Feeding size

[shannan]

Hi all was just wondering what size rats i should be feeding my Murray Darling he was on adult mice and small rats but when i went to the shop i got him from to get more feed for him they told me to upsize his feed he is 16 months old and is about 3 feet long, they gave me adult rats they seem to be way to big for him, when i gave him his first one i thawed it out for to long in hot water so when he was trying to eat it its guts come out everywhere so he regurgitated it, ive tried him again yesterday but isnt interested. his head is about nearly the size of a 20c coin and his neck about a 10c coin his body about a 50c coin. thanks

 

[J-A-X]

If the rat exploded when he ate it i would suggest you maybe heated it too quickly or once it had thawed you reheated it too much,
i have thawed many rats in warm water and never had that happen.... if the water is too hot you poach the outside and the inside is so warm it deteriorates the internals..... i've had rats i've had to change the water for, because it goes cold before its thawed and warmed properly... never use HOT water....

 

[shannan]

Ok cool thanks ill use warm from now on, was just doing what the shop told me to do lol, what about the size do u think he would be able to eat them the rats look huge compared to him.

 

[JrFear]

Ewwww try not using hot water! i used boiling water once and the rat fell apart was quite disgusting learnt from that!
my MD is prob 6ft long and head is bout the same size as urs and he chomps down large rats he was on XL but i downsized his food as he was fat =P
give the adults a go u will be surprised what they can get down

 

[J-A-X]

Ok cool thanks ill use warm from now on, was just doing what the shop told me to do lol, what about the size do u think he would be able to eat them the rats look huge compared to him.

before accepting answers from petshop staff ask them if they own snakes, most will say no..... try another rat, just warm it gently, i use a ziploc bag so it doesn't get too waterlogged, don't think i'd be using large rats though, try a small adult until you know he will take them.... then gradually upsize.

 

[shannan]

Thanks JrFear the mess i had to clean up was disgusting lol, ill try feed him again in a couple of days when he gets over the foul taste and experiance he has had.

 

[shannan]

The shop i got him from is a reptile shop owned buy Roy Pails he breeds all the snakes in the shop, but i was served by another bloke who works there, i made him show me the sizes of all the snakes that they feed adult rats to, he was on small adults before and large mice but will try him again in a couple of days and see how he goes thanks for your advise cheers shannan.
if your interested in taking a look this is the website of the shop i got my boy from
www.pailsforscales.com.au/pythons.html

 

[TigerCoastal]

i get all my frozen rats from Roy and have got a few snakes off him too and have found that the size of feed that they recommend in there to be to small for the snakes. When i first got my female i was following the same feeding routine as they were and she was always hungry, up-sized her feed and she has been great. Also my hatchie was feeding on pinky mice when i got him, and he went strait on pinky rats first feed for me. Have you got a pair of kitchen scales? i weigh my snakes and feed 15-20% of their weight, occasionally up to 30%, but give longer between feeds the bigger they are.