How big is too big?

We've all seen the amazing pics of huge pythons eating massive animals, and with a little bp eating a a big mouse, it can sometimes look the same! But i wondered after going and getting my girl some bigger feed, how much is too much? I know youre supposed to feed 15-25% of body weight, but my goodness it seems big! She weighs about 200-220g right now. Is a small rat too big?


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15-20% of body weight for juveniles/growing snakes - most people don't feed a 3,000 gram snake 300 grams of rat (for instance).


Trust me, they stretch a lot. 200-220 is about an average sized adult mouse or rat pup and she should have no problem with that. They basically have an elastic bag hanging off their spine for for a throat. *Don't* measure her prey by her neck, but by the bulk of her body/the widest part of it. BP are REALLY stretchy - even more so than some other snakes - and can take some big meals without trouble.

I keep this around for demonstration purposes:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3743/...7fd4f0d4_o.jpg
This was when my BP was about 400 grams. That's a 20-something gram mouse. It's WAY too small for her.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7407/...5a4f8798_o.jpg
This is about right - and in truth he could have handled bigger.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/...cc230b08_o.jpg
No problems at all. Seriously. They stretch.

It depends on your definition of small rat. I wouldn't feed something around 200 or so grams a "small rat"- I would feed them a fuzzy rat with eyes open or an adult mouse. Don't worry so much about the percent rule, just stick to what will fit your snake's individual girth. And if it seems a bit big, remember snakes have been taking down things a little bigger than they should have since the beginning. Slightly bigger is okay as long as temperatures are correct in the enclosure. Here is a picture of a fuzzy rat I would suggest:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._hausratte.jpg

EDIT: I didn't mention slightly bigger is okay for the occasional big fuzzy, but try to stick around the girth limit.