Feeding advice

brought my first BP home almost a month ago (October 23rdish), she had been brought to the reptile shop (locally owned and specialized) from the breeders on October 1 with one f/t feed and had not eaten since then (nor had any others from that hatch). Let her get comfy in her new home and tried various methods of F/T food for a few weeks with still no luck. Last Thursday I got ahold of a live pinky and threw it in her tank, she struck within a minute and it was gone within ten, yay!

So I guess because she has only had a two meals, about a month and a half apart, I'm looking for advice on how to get her on a regular feeding schedule, but I only have access to live feeders once a week, I'm in a fairly remote area and the store that gets them shipped in isn't in the interest of keeping them alive longer than it takes to do their feeds. My BP is about 20" long, I don't have access to weigh her but she's a fairly good size as far as I've compared to other pictures. I'd like to feed her every 4-5 days but like I said I can only get feeders on Thursday, so I guess my question is if anyone has any advice on how to keep the second pinkie alive, or how long I would need to do so for. Can I feed my BP two pinkies in one go to keep her healthy, or wait two days, or stick to feeding every 4-5, or is she okay for one feeding once a week? Or could she probably handle a fuzzie once a week instead? Any advice on a feeding schedule, or keeping the second rat pinkie alive, is appreciated :)

Well you could possibly breed mice and have them on hand quite easily (just a suggestion):)

A pinky rat or mouse is two small for most hatchlings right out of the egg... General rule of thumb is the size of widest point on the snake...I start baby's from the egg on week old rats if the they will take them If not mouse hoppers....once a week is fine. Most of mine get every 4 to 5 days for first month or two then I go to weekly..after you get it eating regularly you can try a frozen thawed again..

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Originally Posted by footballpythons

Well you could possibly breed mice and have them on hand quite easily (just a suggestion):)

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haha I have thought of this, especially as I am already considering another ball python... :)
however I live in an apartment and one of the things I like about my BP is the minimal smell! Breeding mice just seems like a lot of time and space, plus getting rid of all the ones she doesn't eat, though I'm really considering it...

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

A pinky rat or mouse is two small for most hatchlings right out of the egg... General rule of thumb is the size of widest point on the snake...I start baby's from the egg on week old rats if the they will take them If not mouse hoppers....once a week is fine. Most of mine get every 4 to 5 days for first month or two then I go to weekly..after you get it eating regularly you can try a frozen thawed again..

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Thank you for the advice. I have two rat pinkies coming in tomorrow, so from the sounds of it id be okay to feed those in two feeds over the next week and then do a small rat fuzzie once a week for the next bit?

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Originally Posted by nwright

brought my first BP home almost a month ago (October 23rdish), she had been brought to the reptile shop (locally owned and specialized) from the breeders on October 1 with one f/t feed and had not eaten since then (nor had any others from that hatch). Let her get comfy in her new home and tried various methods of F/T food for a few weeks with still no luck. Last Thursday I got ahold of a live pinky and threw it in her tank, she struck within a minute and it was gone within ten, yay!

So I guess because she has only had a two meals, about a month and a half apart, I'm looking for advice on how to get her on a regular feeding schedule, but I only have access to live feeders once a week, I'm in a fairly remote area and the store that gets them shipped in isn't in the interest of keeping them alive longer than it takes to do their feeds. My BP is about 20" long, I don't have access to weigh her but she's a fairly good size as far as I've compared to other pictures. I'd like to feed her every 4-5 days but like I said I can only get feeders on Thursday, so I guess my question is if anyone has any advice on how to keep the second pinkie alive, or how long I would need to do so for. Can I feed my BP two pinkies in one go to keep her healthy, or wait two days, or stick to feeding every 4-5, or is she okay for one feeding once a week? Or could she probably handle a fuzzie once a week instead? Any advice on a feeding schedule, or keeping the second rat pinkie alive, is appreciated :)

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No need to go through all that. If the meals are properly sized, once a week will be fine.