I fed my ball a rat that was too large. Will he be okay?

He's a 2013 lemonblast and with the large rat in his belly he weighs 498 grams. Should I hold off on feeding him? Before the rat he was feeding on two large mice a week.

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While that rat certainly put a noticeable lump in your snake, it's going to be fine. I would avoid handling or disturbing him for a couple of days while he digests this larger than normal meal. Also make sure his warm side temp is in the proper range, since it will help with digestion.

For future reference, many keepers don't feed anything larger than a small rat, even to their adult Ball Pythons. Looks he has taken a liking to rats. I don't think I'd mess with mice anymore ;)

There is a chance he will regurgitate if his body can't handle the rat. Definitely don't handle him for several days, and give him a couple of weeks before feeding again, especially if he regurges.

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He will be fine, just leave him alone for a bit.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

There is a chance he will regurgitate if his body can't handle the rat. Definitely don't handle him for several days, and give him a couple of weeks before feeding again, especially if he regurges.

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I agree with Archimedes. I would skip a feeding before trying to feed again. Great advice posted on this topic. Also research shows that rats are more nutritional than mice so I would definitely stick with rats especially since he will take them readily. Great looking lemon blast by the way

I agree, he should be fine. Just give him four or five days before you handle him again. I would not give him mice again. You will get better growth with rats.

Don't handle for 3 or so days. As long as he keeps it down he'll be fine. Skip his next scheduled feeding, but I would stick to a ~50 gram rat if possible after that.