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Thread: feeding

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    feeding

    i have a 10 mth ball and a two year old ball what size food should i be feeding?

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    BPnet Veteran lord jackel's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by daveyboy
    i have a 10 mth ball and a two year old ball what size food should i be feeding?
    As a rule of thumb about 1-1.5 times the thickest part of the snake. So it actually depends on the sankes size not its age.

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    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by daveyboy
    i have a 10 mth ball and a two year old ball what size food should i be feeding?
    Actually I will contradict the previous poster

    By feeding a prey slightly smaller then the girth size once a week , this will allow your BP to eat with more consistency.


    And a Small Rat (4 weeks old) or 2 to 3 mice (depending on their size) once a week, will be sufficient an adult BP.
    Deborah Stewart


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    Re: feeding

    what about feeding size for a 10 mth old?

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    BPnet Veteran lord jackel's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons
    Actually I will contradict the previous poster

    By feeding a prey slightly smaller then the girth size once a week , this will allow your BP to eat with more consistency.


    And a Small Rat (4 weeks old) or 2 to 3 mice (depending on their size) once a week, will be sufficient an adult BP.
    How do you know it will eat more consistently? Is this your opinion or is it documented somewhere?

    Also you shouldn't quote what size to feed since you don't know how big "girth" his snake is.

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    BPnet Veteran frankykeno's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Actually feeding less than girth is documented over and over here by a good number of our members some with small collection, some with quite large collections and some very experienced breeders that recommend this feeding style. It seems pretty well proven that feeding less than girth on a weekly basis encourages a more consistent, stronger feeding response from ball pythons. As well when feeding live, choosing a smaller prey item may well help ensure the safety of the live feeding experience. Of course if the snake is a mouse eater you may well be feeding multiple mice and on occasion multiple rats depending on your particular snake's size and requirement for prey volume.
    ~~Joanna~~

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    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by lord jackel
    How do you know it will eat more consistently? Is this your opinion or is it documented somewhere?

    Also you shouldn't quote what size to feed since you don't know how big "girth" his snake is.
    It has been documented by many owners and reputable breeders, BP that are fed large prey will fast to catch up and as far as quoting a size if you would please re-read I said

    To feed a prey slithly smaller then the girth size did not name any specific there, and then I added that as an adult a BP does not need anything more than a small rat.
    Deborah Stewart


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    BPnet Veteran Ginevive's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    I feed my BPs on rats that are a tad smaller than the snake's widest girth width.
    -Jen. Back in the hobby after a hiatus!
    Ball pythons:
    0.1 normal; 1.1 albino. 1.0 pied; 0.1 het pied; 1.0 banana.

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    BPnet Veteran lord jackel's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons
    It has been documented by many owners and reputable breeders, BP that are fed large prey will fast to catch up and as far as quoting a size if you would please re-read I said

    To feed a prey slithly smaller then the girth size did not name any specific there, and then I added that as an adult a BP does not need anything more than a small rat.
    Then the caresheet on this site should be updated to say that. It says feed a single item equal to the fattest "girth" of the snake. If we are going to advocate a different direction then (smaller or small/multiple rodents) then we should change the caresheet...just so we are consistent.

    Also, above you are saying fasting is if it is a bad thing and is to be avoided. Why, they do it in nature, most of my breeding boys and girls do it during the winter months (as do a lot of other "big" breeders snakes)?

    Finally I did reread your post and you said to feed a small rat or 2-3 small mice...again you don't know how big the snake is to recommend this...I still believe the best answer is to feed one no bigger then the fattest "girth" of the snake (or as you say and Joanna have pointed out one slightly smaller )

    Peace

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    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    Re: feeding

    Quote Originally Posted by lord jackel
    Then the caresheet on this site should be updated to say that. It says feed a single item equal to the fattest "girth" of the snake. If we are going to advocate a different direction then (smaller or small/multiple rodents) then we should change the caresheet...just so we are consistent.

    Also, above you are saying fasting is if it is a bad thing and is to be avoided. Why, they do it in nature, most of my breeding boys and girls do it during the winter months (as do a lot of other "big" breeders snakes)?

    Finally I did reread your post and you said to feed a small rat or 2-3 small mice...again you don't know how big the snake is to recommend this...I still believe the best answer is to feed one no bigger then the fattest "girth" of the snake (or as you say and Joanna have pointed out one slightly smaller )

    Peace
    well I am not in charge of this forum so for the caresheet there is not much I can do.

    I do not say fasting is a bad thing I say it can have a specific cause and as an owner if my BP show a certain behavior I will try to find out why.

    Fasting for adult that are breeding is a whole other topic and he did not mention he was breeding.

    I did say FEED A PREY SLITGHLY SMALLER

    and again added that an ADULT WOULD NEVER NEED ANYTHING BIGGER THEN A SMALL RAT nowhere did I say to feed a small rat.

    The reason I added this information is so people understand that as they become adult they do not need anything bigger than a small rat.

    It is just an additonal information (Free of charge) didn't not know I was not suppose to give supplemental info.
    Deborah Stewart


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