food question

[Tripppysmurf]

Hey I was wondering if anyone knew when to tell if it is time to mvoe onto bigger food? Does it go by weight of the snake as if it does I am def going to want to get a scale then or does it go by size? I am worried feeding my snake onyl one mouse a week is nto enough. she took the one today in less then 5 minutes easy and hid in her hide,.

[evolutionrpm]

we use this rule...
feed prey thats a tiny bit latger than the widest part of body...then continue same size prey for about 4-6 weeks then go up to another thats slightly larger than largest part of body.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Feed a prey slightly smaller than the girth size and nothing ever larger than a small rat (4 weeks old 45-65 grams) or 2 to 3 mice once a week for an adult BP

Common mistake is to overfeed BP in captivity, or to power feed them and if you do that sooner or later they will fast to catch up.

Your goal is to have a BP that grows at is own pace and eat with consistency.

[Bright202]

what i notice is that if there is no lump showing in the snakes body, it should be alright for another mouse, maybe a little smaller. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Mitch

[Stewart_Reptiles]

The prey item does not need to leave a lump.

Here is what Adam posted in a previous post regarding feeding and prey sizes

If it helps, here's what I do give or take. These numbers are off the top of my head ...

(also, this doesn't cover mousers)

Right now my 2006 hatchlings range approx 300 - 800 grams ... they are all eating fuzzy rats weekly.

My 2005 hatchlings are about 800 - 1200 grams (again this is all approx) ... they are eating weaned rats weekly.

My adults range 1200 - 4800 grams and eat "small small" rats weekly ... I don't feed mediums or full grown smalls to anyone.

-adam

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ight=prey+size

[Jonny2184]

Yeah I usually decide by the girth of both the snake and the rat.
Never EVER bigger then or equal too the snakes fatest part of it body.

I always wait 7-10 days before I feed again

[Tripppysmurf]

Yeah I always wait 7 days betwene feedings. Then I leave alone for 2 days. So other then girth best way to look at it is the weight of the snake also? If that helps then