I think the rat pup I feed Fang may have been too big

The Rat pup he I gave him was a lil big it was maybe a couple of day from being a small rat. it had its fur and the eyes were open. I may be a protective (grandpa ) when it comes to this snake. FAng is around 170 - 185 grams I say it like this because when I went to way him a couple of days ago he wouldnt stay still but the scale went up to 185 and when he was partly off it went down to 172grm. The Rat wasnt much rounder then him but it was pretty big. Is there any concern for this since he did eat it like a champ? Also he will probly be going into a shed state in a couple of days if he stays with the monthly schedule like te last 2 months.

If he was able to eat it alright I wouldn't worry. Just leave him alone for a few days so he can digest.

Just double check basic stuff, make sure his warm side is at the proper temperature to aid in his digestion. Also you may want to make sure that his humidity is at least 50% since you suspect he'll be going into shed soon.

I check his temps 4 times daily and they are to be where they should. I told my son yesterday we need to give him 2 or 3 days before he is held again. He has a humidity hide which he loves and since we have a screen top I have been using a damp towel to help keep th humidity level good. I am just a over protective parent w my kids and my kids pets. My wife thinks we live in a zoo lol

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Originally Posted by KrazyKevin

I check his temps 4 times daily and they are to be where they should. I told my son yesterday we need to give him 2 or 3 days before he is held again. He has a humidity hide which he loves and since we have a screen top I have been using a damp towel to help keep th humidity level good. I am just a over protective parent w my kids and my kids pets. My wife thinks we live in a zoo lol

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Your wife should see my house....lol. If Fang got it down ok, just leave him be, make sure he is warm and he should be ok. As long as its not bigger around than his widest part, you should he fine. I don't do the whole weigh the rat thing. Just eyeball it. I'm sure the snakes don't weight them in the wild.... :D

Even if your temps were a little low, it is a proven fact that ball pythons can raise their body temps by about 2 degrees during the digestion process. Remember, if your little guy was in the wild he would eat whatever he can get his hands on. I'm not saying lets over feed our animals here, just that it will be ok.

Dr if I had to eyeball it I would say it was a lil bit rounder then his widest part and thats what scared me, I will keep him warm.

I'm going to go ahead and say it:

There is zero chance it was too big for your snake, and I bet your BP could have taken three times as much in a single meal.

That's not to say overfeeding is a good idea, especially regularly, but feeding a slightly large feeder for a single meal isn't anything to worry about.

If he didn't regurg it, it wasn't too big. You'd be surprised what these snakes can put down.

I just fed 3 ~170-190 girls small rats yesterday. The rats were bigger than the largest part of their bodies, but they all got the rats down fine. Now they all look like fat sausages.
nothing to worry about :)

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

I'm going to go ahead and say it:

There is zero chance it was too big for your snake, and I bet your BP could have taken three times as much in a single meal.

That's not to say overfeeding is a good idea, especially regularly, but feeding a slightly large feeder for a single meal isn't anything to worry about.

If he didn't regurg it, it wasn't too big. You'd be surprised what these snakes can put down.

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Yup, they are amazing creatures. My boy put down a rat that was on the verge of being a large, where he eats mediums. He just constricted it, and ate. And yes, agreed, if they were in the wild they would eat whatever they can sink their teeth into.

Well this is all good to know but I still will not feed him anything larger then a Rat pup yet.