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  • 03-04-2013, 07:10 PM
    ceca2015
    Is my ball python too small?
    I have a female ball python, Gretel, and she looks smaller than a lot of BPs online. She's 21" long and 96 g. Before I rescued her, she was only eating 1 pinkie every 10 days. Now she is eating a small mouse every 5 days. I will show a picture of her compared to a penny and the mouse she eats, also compared to a penny. Is she eating enough now that I have her or should I bump her up a size on mice? Also, is it possible to estimate about how old she is? I was guessing 5-6 months because she wasn't taken proper care of before.

    http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8518/8...23bbe4f7_b.jpghttp://farm9.staticflickr.com/8384/8...233f6fca_b.jpg
  • 03-04-2013, 07:18 PM
    KMG
    A good guide is feeding 10-15% of the snakes weight.

    Meaning a mouse that weighs near 10-15% of your snakes weight.
  • 03-04-2013, 07:20 PM
    nimblykimbly
    She can eat whatever sized mouse is about the same girth as her widest point, no larger. That looks like a good sized mouse for her! You are probably pretty accurate on age, if she wasn't being fed properly... anywhere from 4-6 months. Poor hungry girl! Congrats on your new baby! :D
  • 03-04-2013, 07:33 PM
    LLLReptile
    Re: Is my ball python too small?
    She looks like she is putting on weight and starting to look good. If she is taking the small mouse without any problems, and you can't see a lump after she eats, you may want to increase her prey size to a regular or medium sized mouse.

    -Jen
  • 03-04-2013, 08:45 PM
    Kaorte
    I think that sized mouse every 5 days will be fine for another month or so, then I would consider upping the size or offering two smaller mice.
  • 03-04-2013, 10:46 PM
    SlitherinSisters
    I like the prey to be just slightly thicker than the snake. If you can't see the lump from the prey in their belly bump the size up a bit. It's hard for me to judge the size by your pictures, but that looks alright to me.

    Here is a size comparison picture I took for people that question the size of prey they are feeding. They can take down pretty good sized prey. He already has that size of baby rat in his belly (I did not feed him two, I just threw it in for the picture)
    http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...ostmojo018.jpg
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