Day old chicks for ball pythons

I picked up a few day old chicks at the past expo since they were significantly cheaper than rats. They’re about the size of a weaned rat. I wasn’t sure if my ball pythons would eat them but thought it would be fun to try. Interestingly enough, both my smaller <500g balls took them right away but the adults >1000g were definitely not interested.

So what’s the verdict on chicks for ball pythons? Are they healthy as a meal? I’ve heard they’re quite nutritious but I’ll be sticking to mainly rats for now with the occasional chick as a treat.

I've been told that the post-digestive odor is a limiting factor: Probably not on a small collection though.

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

I've been told that the post-digestive odor is a limiting factor: Probably not on a small collection though.

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I haven't fed my collection birds but have experienced the after effects of a friend's retic eating whole chickens. The poop was really watery and made me gag and I've cleaned up some nasty stuff before. With something as picky as a BP, I'd be worried they'd get hooked and only want birds so that may be an issue if you don't have a steady supply. As for nutrition, I don't know the specifics so I can't speak on that.

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I will pass on the runny smelly poop ;), not to mention that while the size of a rat calcium wise because they are so young their bone is basically rubber), calcium deficiency could be a serious issue even more so is you decide to breed some of your animal.

So as a treat yes (also hopefully they will not imprint on it, as picky as BP are that could be a frustrating issue) as a staple diet I would not recommend it.

I was thinking about trying one out. Let me know how it goes op. Lol

I've given my male BPs chicks before. It does make the poop runny, but I never noticed any negative impact on the health of my snakes. I never fed them chicks for more than half of their meals, and only fed chicks for a period of 3-4 months total, so I can't attest to long term results. But as a short term treat they're fine.


Some balls are more eager to eat them than others. I only had a few take them without scenting, most needed me to rat scent them before they would accept them, but that was while feeding f/t. If you have live chicks they will probably take those a little more eagerly.

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Originally Posted by silverbill

I picked up a few day old chicks at the past expo since they were significantly cheaper than rats. They’re about the size of a weaned rat. I wasn’t sure if my ball pythons would eat them but thought it would be fun to try. Interestingly enough, both my smaller <500g balls took them right away but the adults >1000g were definitely not interested.

So what’s the verdict on chicks for ball pythons? Are they healthy as a meal? I’ve heard they’re quite nutritious but I’ll be sticking to mainly rats for now with the occasional chick as a treat.

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All I know is I took a couple of Royals as a favour then he said they only eat day old chicks .. I fed them the ones he gave me but they looked so beautiful :( ..
Sounds gruesome but I snipped all their heads and legs off and then it was just like feeding little balls of fluff ... then switched them to rats soon after


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I find it interesting that people say feeding bird gives snakes runny stool. I have a number of snakes (bredli, blackhead, chondro, kukri, beaked, hognose) that frequently eat chicks and quail and I have never noticed their stool to be runnier than my balls...

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Originally Posted by asplundii

I find it interesting that people say feeding bird gives snakes runny stool. I have a number of snakes (bredli, blackhead, chondro, kukri, beaked, hognose) that frequently eat chicks and quail and I have never noticed their stool to be runnier than my balls...

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I think it's just a case of when you suddenly and drastically swap someone's diet ..

I recall us feeding 180 dogs some tinned vegetarian dog food for the first few time ( the dog sanctuary had been given a free batch by Linda McCartney.) ..

It came out much quicker than it went in :)


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I've noticed the runny stools with day-old chicks, but not with quail. I was wondering if it was because the quail were more developed, but if the comments in this thread are anything to go by, it may just be chickens lol.