# Ball Pythons > General BP's >  what if I feed him a mouse that is too big?

## mm91187

i picked up a mouse today, and when i got home i noticed it is kinda big, bigger than his last mice he's been eating.  so im wondering if i feed it to him will he choke on it or will he throw it back out?  or is it nothing to worry about?

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## Evan Jamison

A little more info would be helpful to provide you with an answer worth reading.   How large is the your BP?  How large is the mouse?   :Smile:

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## Lucifers_Mommy

it shouldnt be very much thicker than the widest part of his body....the same size is ideal....if its just a tad bigger then i woudlnt worry about it and just leave him alone for an extra day than you normaly would after he eats.....he wont choke lol, i think its immposible for a snake to choke on there food because of that organ in there mouth...if im wrong correct me :Embarassed:   lol

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## mm91187

hmm.. well im not sure how old he is, maybe around 5-6 months? I got from him dixie reptile show in birmingham, from Big Al's or Big Daddy's wholesale, something like that. im taking pics right now with the mouse in a separate cage to compare their size

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## Evan Jamison

It's hard to tell exactly how large your BP from those pics, but if he has been eating well for 5-6 months, he should be fine.  Just make sure he has access to a basking area of around 90 degrees so he can digest, otherwise you may get a regurge.  If you thought mice smelled bad before they go down the hatch..... :Raspberries:

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## Colin Vestrand

people blow this out of proportion... it's a python - the one thing they do well is eat!  a regurge is more common with larger prey, but it's not a rule.

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## Evan Jamison

> people blow this out of proportion... it's a python - the one thing they do well is eat! a regurge is more common with larger prey, but it's not a rule.


Yeah, it's not common, but once you've had a couple regurge on you, you avoid it the best you can.

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## Adam_Wysocki

> people blow this out of proportion... it's a python - the one thing they do well is eat!  a regurge is more common with larger prey, but it's not a rule.


It's a *BALL* python ... be careful on the advice you give ... balls don't eat the same way burms, bloods, retics, etc do ... anyone with enough significant experience with these animals will say the same.

Smaller meals are better ... if for no other reason than to avoid a refusal later down the road.

-adam

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## adizziedoll

Personally, if you aren't sure and looks a lot bigger than his girth, I wouldn't do it.  To emphasize this, I'm going to share my personal horror story about when I didn't know... (*warning, kind of graphic*)

My friend gave me her 2 baby ball pythons when, who didn't know jack about them (we were like 15 at the time).  She told me to get a mouse to feed it.. i didnt know there were fuzzies and hoppers, so i got a normal adult mouse.  The male BP attacked it, and started swallowing.  It was then that i realized that it was too big, because his scales kept stretching, and stretching until I saw skin.  I tried to get the mouse out, but the python wasn't letting go! Then it all ripped open and there was a microcentimeter of skin left.... i could literally see the tail (it was going in backwards) and all the hairs on it...like a window. I still to this day cannot believe that he survived.

Just please be careful.  It's probably not that big where something like this would happen, but i felt the need to share this story to express the importance of smaller meals... 

Smaller meals are better for digestion anyways.  Which burns faster.. a log or a few sticks equal to the size of that log?

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## joepythons

> It's a *BALL* python ... be careful on the advice you give ... balls don't eat the same way burms, bloods, retics, etc do ... anyone with enough significant experience with these animals will say the same.
> 
> Smaller meals are better ... if for no other reason than to avoid a refusal later down the road.
> 
> -adam


Thank you Adam :Tip of the Hat:  .To many times i have seen people give the wrong advice when it comes to ball pythons.

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## Vomitore

Here's what you should do. Ask for the smallest pinkie/hopper/adult mouse ... If your snake seems hungry a few days later, give it a pinkie, a small one. That'll hold it over. However, don't over feed your pets. Meaning an obese snake is an unhealthy snake. Small meals for them and us in general is better. If you need seconds, get a really small second portion.

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## frankykeno

Ball pythons don't get obese or at least I've yet to hear or see one that is and everything I've read here by experienced breeders seems to confirm this.  They do tend to self-regulate by fasting if you overfeed them so huge prey or too many prey isn't a good idea for a number of reasons.  


When we were first new to feeding our first bp and had to go get a live prey from the pet store we would use our own fingers to get a girth width comparison and then relate that to the widest part of the mouse (usually the hips).  The pet store people thought we were nuts but we always came home with the right size prey LOL.  Or you can take a shoestring...put it around the snake...mark the girth and then check it against the mouse at it's widest girth.  Silly little tricks but until you get used to eyeing it, they maybe will help you when you have to pick prey out of a big feeder tank at the pet store.

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## mm91187

well, i fed it to him cause it actually wansnt that much bigger than the girth, or widesst part of his body is.  

and i wish i coould go back to look at the mice, but the store has all the mice and rats in a separate room with glass in front of it, so all they can do is pick it up and ask if its a good size through the window.  and it's hard to really look at it sometimes.. but next time ill just have to get a closer look

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