How much to feed?

[JustinGatCat]

Hey everybody!

Lily Dragon seems to be a very good eater! Takes frozen/thawed without a problem! But I’m not sure the size feeders she’s eating are right. She’s about 2 1/2 months old and eating fuzzy mice. Is that enough food for her? She weighed 80 grams last week. Even now she’s pacing her tank despite being fed this morning. Should I bump her up to two fuzzies per feed?


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[SDA]

I know this is often confused as a sign of hunger but pacing does not usually indicate being "on the hunt". Pacing more often than not is due to husbandry issues that need addressing, settling in issues with stress, or other forms of agitation.

Here is the agreed upon guidelines for feeding. 15% is the general percent of the total snake body weight that you should be feeding a 2 month old.

[JustinGatCat]

I know this is often confused as a sign of hunger but pacing does not usually indicate being "on the hunt". Pacing more often than not is due to husbandry issues that need addressing, settling in issues with stress, or other forms of agitation.

Here is the agreed upon guidelines for feeding. 15% is the general percent of the total snake body weight that you should be feeding a 2 month old.

I don’t know, husbandry is fine... for the most part. Hot spot is at 90 ambient is at 75. Humidity is around 60-70%. She’s in a 40 qt tub, but she has a hide and plenty of cover from plants and rocks. She ate well today. I can’t think of why she’s pacing. I haven’t held her since Sunday.....


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[Regius_049]

Yes, you should bump her up to two fuzzy mice per feed or a larger mouse / fuzzy rat. Your snake is 80g and 15% of that is about 12g. Looking at the chart, a hopper/small mouse is ~10-15g and a fuzzy rat is ~10-18g or so. Fuzzy mice are like 5-7g based on most F/T rodent weight charts. Thus two of those would put you in the right weight range.

Most ball pythons will go right to their hot spot after a meal for digestion. Yours is behaving more like a colubrid....which are never satisfied.

[JustinGatCat]

Yes, you should bump her up to two fuzzy mice per feed or a larger mouse / fuzzy rat. Your snake is 80g and 15% of that is about 12g. Looking at the chart, a hopper/small mouse is ~10-15g and a fuzzy rat is ~10-18g or so. Fuzzy mice are like 5-7g based on most F/T rodent weight charts. Thus two of those would put you in the right weight range.

Most ball pythons will go right to their hot spot after a meal for digestion. Yours is behaving more like a colubrid....which are never satisfied.

She’s....odd. She’s almost never balls up, comes out of her tub by herself...and paces about her tub. Pua my older boy is always up in his hide, almost never paces (occasionally on feed day) and balls up for a minute when I pick him up. Maybe it’s an age thing? Or Lily Dragon is just a weird snake


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[redshepherd]

The current meal is too small, she should be eating hopper mice. Ball python hatchlings start on hopper mice right out of the egg.

If you want to convert her to rats now, the appropriate size is fuzzy rats.

I also just eyeball the size. One appropriate sized prey's torso should be just as wide or even slightly wider than the widest part of her body.

[JustinGatCat]

The current meal is too small, she should be eating hopper mice. Ball python hatchlings start on hopper mice right out of the egg.

If you want to convert her to rats now, the appropriate size is fuzzy rats.

I also just eyeball the size. One appropriate sized prey's torso should be just as wide or even slightly wider than the widest part of her body.

Thanks! I offered her a second fuzzy just a couple minutes ago and she took it without a hitch. I’ll feed her two fuzzy pet feed day until I run out and I’ll go for something bigger after that.


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[cchardwick]

By that photo I'd say that rodent is way too small for that snake. He could easily take double that size.

[JustinGatCat]

By that photo I'd say that rodent is way too small for that snake. He could easily take double that size.

Definitely, I’ll feed her two of those for now until I run out


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[Regius_049]

Maybe it’s an age thing? Or Lily Dragon is just a weird snake

There is some variation in behavior between ball pythons, but in my experience usually not much. All of mine pretty consistently hide during the day, use their warm spot after food, and come out to explore at night.