Just making sure I am doing the right thing with my Male Ball Python

I received my Male Ball python almost exactly one year ago. he was about 15 inches fully extended and close to 100 grams. I was feeding him pinkies once a week for a short time then quickly switched over to fuzzies for approx. 2 months. then I moved him to hoppers.

Currently he seems to be VERY small for his age and i am concerned I am underfeeding him. I did Heaps of research (he was given to me without warning and was my first, although very desired, Ball python) and the most common answer I got was to feed him something close to the size of the fattest part of him.

He otherwise seems healthy but in the recent few weeks he has been very inactive and has not been taking initiative to be active unless I have him out and am handling him.

Currently he is 22 1/4 inches and weighs Approx. 180 grams I feed him two large(ish) hoppers a week (he won't eat anything larger).

I'm sure people come on here a lot and ask questions that have been asked before. I understand that not all pythons are the same. And if he is just a midget snake so-be-it (he comes across as dumb ALOT he tends to run into things and fall off of things), but I want to make sure he is well cared for.

He currently lives in a 15 gallon tank with a basking area and heating pad I watch his humidity and temperature very carefully. I am planning on building a larger caged enclosure for him fairly soon.

Any advice or affirmation that I am doing the right thing would be greatly appreciated.

Going from 100g to 180g in a year is very slow growth.

At 180g he should be able to take a rat pup easily. Definitely an adult mouse at the least. Feeding him the size of the fattest part of him was correct.

You can also up his feeding frequency. When they're young, you can feed them every 4 or 5 days without issue.

Short story, I'd start feeding him a rat pup every 5 days and increase the food size as needed. He should catch up in no time once he's on a better feeding regimen.

Thank you very much, I assumed as much with the size of his food but I had to be sure. Thanks for the advice I will change his feeding schedule and food in the next week.

I have tried feeding him an adult mouse once before with no luck, he may eat it. If I have any problems with him being interested in the rat pup do you have any advice?

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Originally Posted by indianajones

Thank you very much, I assumed as much with the size of his food but I had to be sure. Thanks for the advice I will change his feeding schedule and food in the next week.

I have tried feeding him an adult mouse once before with no luck, he may eat it. If I have any problems with him being interested in the rat pup do you have any advice?

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If he won't take the rat, just stick with mice. Most of them switch no problem, so hopefully this works out for you easily.

Most important thing is getting him some food and gaining weight consistently for now.

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Originally Posted by 200xth

If he won't take the rat, just stick with mice. Most of them switch no problem, so hopefully this works out for you easily.

Most important thing is getting him some food and gaining weight consistently for now.

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Noted. One last question, Is there a major difference between feeding him several smaller mice (that I have on hand) or a larger mouse or rat pup?

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Originally Posted by indianajones

Noted. One last question, Is there a major difference between feeding him several smaller mice (that I have on hand) or a larger mouse or rat pup?

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If they end up similar weights (ie, one 50g rat or two 25g mice), no, it shouldn't make a difference. It's easier for you to feed him one item, but it shouldn't make any difference to him.

If you have smaller ones you want to finish up and use, that's perfectly fine. I've done that before when I had rat pups I wanted to finish up. Lots of people have bigger ones that only eat mice and they get multiples all the time.

If you aren't sure how many to do since eyeballing for width is different with multiple items, weigh the food. Basic guideline is 10% to 15% of bodyweight. You can vary outside of that, but that's a safe, solid range. So if he weighs 180g you're looking at total food weight of 18g to 24g. Two 12g hoppers at once would work fine for him.

Ok thanks so much I'm glad I finally have a more solid guideline. you really helped me out.