food size for my ball python

hey guys, my female python is about a foot and half long but not too thick, maybe even a bit on the skinny side. I feed her a small mouse every week ... so Im wondering should I give her more than one a week or just give her a bigger mouse.

also, what are the names of the categorie sizes of the mice??

thanks guys!

As far as sizes go, you have pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers, weaned, small adult, medium adult, large adult, retired breeder. Pinks and fuzzies aren't used very often, if at all, with Ball Pythons. If a tiny premature hatchling needs to be assist fed, I've used pre-killed fuzzy mice. Since yours is eating fine, you don't have to worry about that though.

You could probably put her on a small adult every 5 days, that's what I have my 08 CH babies on and they are doing just fine. Everyone else gets medium adult mice(multiples usually) or larger every 7 days.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

As far as sizes go, you have pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers, weaned, small adult, medium adult, large adult, retired breeder. Pinks and fuzzies aren't used very often, if at all, with Ball Pythons. If a tiny premature hatchling needs to be assist fed, I've used pre-killed fuzzy mice. Since yours is eating fine, you don't have to worry about that though.

You could probably put her on a small adult every 5 days, that's what I have my 08 CH babies on and they are doing just fine. Everyone else gets medium adult mice(multiples usually) or larger every 7 days.

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thanks for the help... but if I were to tell you I want her to be as big as possible... then what would you recomend?

Then I would tell you that she will grow as big and as fast as she is genetically determined. If you want an obese Ball Python that will not live long and will die from fatty liver disease, then go ahead and power feed her.

Feed her an appropriate meal(adult mouse) every 5-7 days. When she gets around 350-400g, try two mice.

They are not meant to be overloaded with a ton of food, or they will stop eating. Feed regular small meals and she will reward you will rapid growth. Even adult females don't need anymore than 65-70g of food per week to grow and maintain their body weight. You can feed them more, but they will just process it as waste(ie poop), and you've just wasted your money on a huge rat that she didn't even use 1/4 of.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Then I would tell you that she will grow as big and as fast as she is genetically determined. If you want an obese Ball Python that will not live long and will die from fatty liver disease, then go ahead and power feed her.

Feed her an appropriate meal(adult mouse) every 5-7 days. When she gets around 350-400g, try two mice.

They are not meant to be overloaded with a ton of food, or they will stop eating. Feed regular small meals and she will reward you will rapid growth. Even adult females don't need anymore than 65-70g of food per week to grow and maintain their body weight. You can feed them more, but they will just process it as waste(ie poop), and you've just wasted your money on a huge rat that she didn't even use 1/4 of.

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I didn't know about the consicuences of overfeeding... looks like I still have alot to lurn lol, thanks for the advice

Hey I wanted to know a few things about feeding. My ball python was on rat pups and i couldnt get any so i was told to feed her the equivalent of 2-3 mice hoppers is that correct? I just dont want to over or under feed her. I understand the once a week and equivalent to girth size but i was curious as to when i should start giving her bigger food. What I mean is at what length or weight should she go from rat pup or hopper for that matter to regular size mouse. Is it specifically based on girth size? Also, when she does get on adult mouse size how do i know how many mice to feed. Im unclear on the grams of food per snake ratio lol. is there a chart i can see or general rule of thumb i should know. If this doesnt make sense i can clarify.

Hey guys do spider balls take longer to bulk out and grow? My spider ball is think and longish and is about a year old but here is the problem he only eats one medium mouse I.try to feed him every week but he won't eat so he is eating every other week only one medium mouse. I tried to get him a not a rat pup the one size up but I thunk it was to big or he dose not like the smell so ill try rat pups. I just don't want him to starve

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Originally Posted by strykerX

Hey guys do spider balls take longer to bulk out and grow? My spider ball is think and longish and is about a year old but here is the problem he only eats one medium mouse I.try to feed him every week but he won't eat so he is eating every other week only one medium mouse. I tried to get him a not a rat pup the one size up but I thunk it was to big or he dose not like the smell so ill try rat pups. I just don't want him to starve

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Instead of bumping a 5 year old thread you may want to create your own so it gets attention and that you get the answers you need.