Weight vs. size

Hi everyone!

I just got a scale last night and weighed Milton- he's 254g post-poo and today is feeding day so he hasn't eaten in a full week... I suppose that's about as empty as he'll ever get!

First off- I have already searched, and didn't really find what I was looking for...

I know everyone does this, so forgive my newb-ness once again! Now that I finally have a good weight measurement, can some of the more experienced folk assure me that he's doing fine, size-wise?

He's about 27" long, and I got him in mid-June. He was ~16" then. I have been giving him an adult mouse and a hopper every week (two adults seemed a bit much), but I would like to do it more by weight. I seem to remember someone saying the prey item should be about 1/10 of the BP's total weight. Does that sound about right to everyone?

Here are a few pics showing his girth/length:

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...AL-length2.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...AL-length1.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../GAL-size2.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../GAL-size1.jpg


Sorry about the blur on that last one, but it just wouldn't come out any better!

I will weigh the mice when I feed, but I wanted to get some opinions on his size and what weight of prey to shoot for. There must be an optimal prey weight to put size/mass on without overfeeding, and I want to find it! :)

P.S. There are no rat suppliers around here that I know of, and I haven't tried to switch to f/t.

He looks like he's doing well. The weight doesn't seem off for the size he's at. If you follow the general rule of one prey size every seven days thats the same girth if not smaller than the thickest part of your snake you'll be just fine. They all grow at different rates and all have different body types; clean sheds and constant feedings are a good sign :)

Milton looks good and I'd say what you're feeding is probably just about right for him. I don't do a weight ratio type of feeding. We breed our own rats and quite honestly I just eyeball them and know which size rat fits which size snake. We feed a girth or slightly smaller than girth size prey every 7 days. Some of the bigger females are taking two a week as we approach breeding season.

Some feeding week I'll have to actually weigh prey but with 21 hungry mouths to feed...well there's just usually not enough time (plus chasing any escapee rats that hopped out of the scale bowl would not be so much fun LOL).

Thanks for the input!

And btw, Milton does read In Touch magazine! He said Nicole looks healthier with her baby bump! lol