Need a feeding plan.

My ball is about 150 grams, I have had him for 2 1/2 months. I don't know his exact age but he was 80 grams when I purchased him so I doubt he was more than a month to 6 weeks old when I bought him. Well anyway I bought a big bag of mice weanlings weighing 14-18 grams. I know these are a little too small so I try to feed him about every 4 days. My problem is that he is always moving around his cage about an hour or two after his feeding. so I would assume he was still hungry. Would feeding 2 of these at once (30ish grams) be too much? Should I feed him more often?

Hey There,

If the feeder prey you are feeding him is 15 grams and your feeding every 4 days your doing perfect. I wouldn't bump him up to multiples until he hits 200 grams. at 200 , 30 grams would be 15% of his body weight which is fine.

Cheers,
Chris

It's perfectly normal for him to be roaming after a meal; it can take snakes a while to snap out of "food mode". (Similarly to how we humans sometimes still feel hungry after a meal if we eat too quickly / don't give ourselves time to digest.) I don't have experience with hungry ball pythons (I wish mine were hungry lol), but I have two VERY hungry boas, and they usually stay in food mode for 24 hours after a meal (striking at the glass, prowling the enclosure, getting excited at any sign of movement). Yes, yours probably would eat if you offered him another, but the reason why he's in food mode is because he just ate, not because he's hungry. And doubling up on even medium-sized meals is just asking for regurgitation.

Feeding a smallish meal every 4 days is plenty of food for him. I prefer spreading feedings out a bit more, even with babies; it can take them up to 2 days for them to digest, and giving them another meal just 2 days after they finish digesting doesn't give their system much rest. I think I might do every 5-7 days if I were in your situation? But then again, since he's so young he definitely needs the protein. In any case, I think the schedule you have him on now is fine, just don't double up on meals or increase feeding frequency. Digestion is a bigger event for snakes than it is for humans, and we need to respect that and not push them to take more than they can handle.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by decensored

Hey There,

If the feeder prey you are feeding him is 15 grams and your feeding every 4 days your doing perfect. I wouldn't bump him up to multiples until he hits 200 grams. at 200 , 30 grams would be 15% of his body weight which is fine.

Cheers,
Chris

---

Ok, and also does he seem like he is growing at a healthy rate for his young age? 80 to 150 grams after 2 1/2 months.

I would say thats a good weigh gain. I feed my snakes 12-15% of body weight every 7 days this ranges from my pin female(150 grams) to my PH albino female(1800 grams). All snakes grow at different rates. i would say try to get him on rats. it will make it easier for you in the long run(one rat instead of 2-3 adult mice)