Oversized Prey Leading to Off Feed?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I don't know of any breeder that starts their babies on fuzzy mice - most all of us start them on mouse hoppers at the bare minimum. Or rat fuzzies.

Yes, for nutrition's sake, only because a mouse fuzzy is more of an appetizer for them, than a hopper would be.

Why do you believe she should be on fuzzies?

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Because fuzzies are 4.50 - 7.00 grams.
10% of my snake's weight is 7.07 grams.
Hoppers are 8.00 - 12.00 grams.

After reading the link dr del posted, it's better to offer prey a bit smaller then the girth of your snake. these hoppers are creating that "lump" noted below.

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Feeding
All of my ball pythons are fed once a week ... age or size doesn't matter ... Monday is feeding day at my "shop". I like to feed whatever my ball pythons will eat. Mice or rats, it doesn't matter to me as long as they are eating regularly and not losing weight. Unlike many of the larger species of pythons, I have had success feeding my ball pythons smaller sized food items ... rodents that are slightly smaller than the animals girth. I feel that feeding ball pythons too large of a prey item (one that creates a lump) will cause them to become "back up" and end up refusing food later down the road. I personally prefer to have my snakes eat more consistently ... and it's worked for me so far.

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/caresheet.htm

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can babies go on off feed too? mine rejected todays feeding and my husbandry is within range. nothing new or removed from enclosure. however i have recently switched her to a 5 day feed cycle instead of 7. she had no problems the past 3 feeds till now. hopfully she will contine to eat on a 7 day cycle with these hoppers.

Generally the "smaller than the girth" suggestion is for animals with a bit more maturity on them.

I happen to be very good friends with Adam, he also has this article on getting hatchlings started:

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/...ingseating.htm

You notice, he either offers a rat pink or a mouse hopper (which are basically equivalently sized).

I feed my hatchlings once every five days. Hatchlings up to one year old generally feed every five days without fasting for me. They may miss one feeding here or there, but because they are "hard wired" to try to grow as quickly as possible as babies (because the smaller they are, the more predators they have), refusal of food is unusual.


I'm not sure what sized enclosure you house your baby in, but my babies are in six quart tubs, which offers them more security than a larger enclosure, and I feel produces a more confident and eager feeder.

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Originally Posted by eMonk

can babies go on off feed too?

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In my experience, it's rare for a baby of your size to go off feed if everything else is correct (husbandry, properly sized housing, etc). You always have an exception to the rule, of course, but in general terms, babies are generally very eager feeders and seldom refuse to feed.

i feed my baby every 7 dayz...works fine for me