Looked like a murder site!

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

Woah, hold up. Medium rats are usually around 150g apiece. However, once the bp gets big enough for them, you shouldn't need to feed anything larger since they don't require as much nutrients when their growth slows.

Don't quote me on that, but I think rabernet or Deborah said something similar a little while ago.

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Hmmmm... I'll wait for a few others to chime in, but that sounds about right. :confused:

Ya I dont know what to say, No clue about already grown BPs :P

I want to know too!

I feed my adult (2200g) rats that weigh around 125-150g. I've offered some rats in the 200+ size but it's not guaranteed they will eat. I think the size may intimidate them a bit. I usually feed every 10 days unless he takes one of the 200's then I will wait 14 days...


Rob

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

P.S. She has eaten live rats for me before (3 times since I got her), and never left so much blood/guts behind.

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Mine does the same thing with his F/T's. He slams them in the water bowl, hits them against the glass. I seen him continually constrict them while swallowing them, apparently to make it easier... I don't know...

Remember that our captive ball pythons are often getting more meals in a year than their wild counterparts. A small medium for an adult ball python every 7 days is fine. The size "rule" is generally for growing ball pythons (babies and juvies). Once they're adults, I only feed more to the females I plan to breed in the months leading up to breeding.

Last year I offered two prey items every 7 days, this year I'm going to offer one prey item, every 5 days instead. More for me to see which method works better for me for consistent feeding and aids in pre-maternal bulking up. I'm not trying to make them fat, I'm trying to get them to have more reserves for their bodies to draw against when they stop feeding once gravid.

My adult females not in the breeding rotation will stay at one small medium every 7 days.

Thanks for the replies, and I guess we'll stick with one small/med rat weekly. She must have just gotten over-excited, and squeezed a little too hard... I've never seen her react so quickly either! I'm going to continue trying to switch her to F/T, and will try the tricks you suggested. :gj:

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Originally Posted by rabernet

The size "rule" is generally for growing ball pythons (babies and juvies).

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Ah, OK, I was wondering about that. Reading of adults sizes here in the 2,000g range being fed medium rats, that 10% body weight rule wasn't making sense when seeing the size of feeder rats online.

A 2000 gram snake, I would feed a small to medium rat to once a week--if I were breeding her! If not, then feed every other week. Otherwise, you will wind up with a FAT snake. ^_^

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

A 2000 gram snake, I would feed a small to medium rat to once a week--if I were breeding her! If not, then feed every other week. Otherwise, you will wind up with a FAT snake. ^_^

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Really? I thought they were okay with once a week! :oops: I am planning to breed her next season (to my pastel), so we'll stick with the weekly feedings - right?

Btw, she is a proven breeder, since she laid a clutch (or more) for her breeder... so I wonder if this is her "good weight" during the off-season?