I fed Alice another medium rat today. Last weeks rat weighed in at 95g. This week I went up to 99g. Once she grabbed the previously frozen rodent, I held onto the tail and gave it a little wiggle. She threw a couple more coils around it and wrestled it to the floor of the feeding bin. Once she was sure she had “killed” it, she quickly started searching for the head and gulped it down. At her size, these smaller medium rats leave just a very slight bulge in her body. Next weeks will be over 100g.
Since I brought Alice home, I have always used ZooMed Aspen Snake Bedding as her substrate. I found a product called “Premier Pet Aspen Bedding” at Tractor Supply for $10 that expands to 4 cubic feet. The savings was good enough that I decided to give it a try. While the ZooMed product is almost like straw, this aspen bedding is more like shavings. The bag lists snakes as one of the small animals that this bedding is suitable for. I am a little unsure of what Alice thinks of this change. It does not seem to be as easy for her to burrow in and I will have to keep an eye on her to see how it goes. I am sure this would be great for a snake that is not as prone to burrow.