How much / how often would you feed...?

[Krynos]

... a 21" long ball python. Current weight is 180gms (with 9 mice in her since her last poop).

We think we have it right, but I'd like confirmation from the pros

[Jeanne]

... a 21" long ball python. Current weight is 180gms (with 9 mice in her since her last poop).

We think we have it right, but I'd like confirmation from the pros

Once a week, prey the size that equal the thickest part of your snakes body.

[Adam_Wysocki]

One small adult mouse every 7 days.

-adam

[Johar]

im still alittle bit nervous about feeding it mice as the same size of her body thickness. maybe its just me! the 1st week she's getting used to the viv. so the next day im planning on feeding her one small mouse and see how it goes. but if it goes well, i'll probably feed her 2 small mices... what do you think? once i think she can handle it, then i'll give her big ones. i dont want no mouse harming my baby

[Krynos]

Okay thanks for the info!

Looks like we might be over feeding a little. Cleo is a bit of a pig, she's eaten everthing we've offered and is always on the look out for more mousie! After we feed her she goes on hunting patrol around her enclosure, sneeking around looking for food - entertaining to watch as she sneeks around her rocks, hides and branches setting ambushes, then moving on after a little while.

At the moment we are feeding what the local pet store call "hoppers" They look like regular mice to me. We always pick ones which are equal in girth to her at the her fatest point. But being as she is always so, well... hungry we've been feeding one of those twice a week (some times we've offered two in a sitting if they looked a bit small).

We'll cut back to the advised amounts listed above.

So if we feed her one mouse a week, it should be equal to her girth right? Or with only one a week a little larger?

[Adam_Wysocki]

So if we feed her one mouse a week, it should be equal to her girth right? Or with only one a week a little larger?

Personally, I feed all of my ball pythons prey items that are less than their girth. But that's just me.

-adam

[Krynos]

When we fed her for the first time we went to the local pet store and got a mouse for her, we were under the impression at the time that the size of the mouse should be a little larger than her girth (though the pet store said upto 2x her girth! Like... ow )

The first mouse was, once we compared mouse to snake, a little on the large side - say 130% of her girth. But she ate it with ease... looked painful to me though lol. Since then we have been getting smaller ones.

[Smulkin]

I feed mine weekly - pretty much same time of evening as well.

Girth-sized rat here.

[Regal Boids]

ha someone i know says feed up to 3x the girth now talk about a major ouc for the poor snake!