My female calico have been a bad feeder from the start, she will only take mice , will not touch a rat or anything, .I still offer her rat every now and then but no joy. She is not going to be used for breeding so her weight is not important, long as she if healthy thats what counts.

 

When I had my Royal, before the internet days, my books advised to feed mice. No mention of rats or chicks etc, so that's what it got. It may come as a shock to some, but it did very well on them.
I'm not saying that a mouse only diet is preferable to rats, or any other variation, but your snake will certainly not come to any harm. : victory:

 

I've got a captive farmed male Royal here who we've had for nearly 10 years and he has only ever taken mice.

And a young 2014 male that I can get to take a weaner rat if I offer it very hot the second he's swallowed a mouse.

 

As with everyone else I have a mouser/ chick feeder - he does fine. : victory:

As long as they will take multiples as they get larger it shouldn't be a problem.

 

My royal is a bit like that. Won't touch a rat for love nor money.

So I offer her the biggest mouse I can find once a week and she will take it pretty much straight away every time. Been doing that for seven years now.

Unless I commit the heinous crime of offering one that is not completely white. One tuft of darker fur on it and she gives me a look of disgust and heads back into her hide to sulk. Until I feed the king snake in the viv next door then she's out rubbing her nose on the glass to see if his one is white.

Never had any issues with her refusing food for long periods since I gave up on rats and she seems happy and healthy. Some people have got into a right mess with royals constantly refusing food so if the snake is eating and seems fine then I wouldn't be too concerned. Although mines just a pet with no plans to breed.

 

I've got a 10 year old Royal and he's only ever fed on mice. Although they have to be white lab mice. (I think he might be racist) I tried him a few years back with rats but with no joy. He's at good weight and seems happy enough. I think with Royals as long as they are eating at all, it's all good.:2thumb:

 

Mine has never been bothered by rats, but loves gerbils and multimammates. If you can find them, jumbo multis are much bigger than mice.

 

Thank you so much for your replies!!

I will try the multis I think

But if no joy then I know she will eat mice. And yes she does seem to prefer the white ones!! Haha!!

Thanks again xxx

 

Actually, mines the same, It will take maybe one in 10 rats but will do 3 or 4 jumbo mice in a go.

C.F Ghana yellow belly. It arrived as a day or two old in the UK on the day that I picked it, it fed on 3 mice that first night has been a pig ever since.

Reptiles hey, no matter what you do for them, they are always full of surprises!

Multis are cool! if they will go on them. much more muscle

John,

 

So should I be offering her more than one feeder per feeding then?

 

That's entirely up to you.
I have always fed my snakes smaller food items than the "recommended" sizes you see bandied about. For that reason I probably feed my animals slightly more often than other people. The fact that they are all signed up to a regular exercise programme keeps them at a healthy size with good muscle tone.
You could feed multiple mice or you could feed more often. See what works for you and the snake.

 

if she will take 2 then feed her 2, jumbo mice, i have a female that will take mice every 5 or 6 days if offered but flat out refuses rats....

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with slow-growing on mice, without loading them up with several at a time. But equally, I think many people do 'power feed' without ill effects. Depends what you want from your snake and how it feeds. They're all different!

 

Both my royals seem to prefer mice!, Athena will eat 3 one after the other. Ive been getting jumbo mice that weigh 40g+ though.
Ive just bought a small pack of chicks to try them with too.

 

I think I'll source some jumbo mice or multis n try feeding every 5-6 days rather than more than one feeder every 7, see how she goes

Thanks for your help everyone

 

2 years old is still young but an xl mouse once a week should be fine.
I know I said I probably feed my snakes more often than most, but there is still a lot to be said for "less is more." It is better health wise to have a slightly leaner snake than a slightly porky one!
I think we are all in danger of over feeding our snakes because we are worried about neglecting them. I'm still happy to skip a meal every now and again even for my mouse feeders. :whistling2:

 

Thank you!

I'm in no hurry to breed so would rather she gradually gained weight and be healthy then just pile the fat on!

Now need to find a supplier of jumbo mice or multis

 

She ate then went off mice too!!

Multis are a success at the moment! Lets hope it continues, although she has never dropped weight during her fasting so not a worry

 

That's good. It seems that multis are becoming more widely available, which is good news too.