Determining proper prey size...

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Originally Posted by WifeOfSlasher

He's slimmed down a bit during our switch from live mice to f/t mice and then rats. Lol. He also just grew. He was getting pretty chunky ;)

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Lol I bet. Sometimes I think they just grow over night. But then again they practically do.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I go by 15% of the snakes body weight.

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I am curious how many 375 to 480 grams rats have you fed to your BP unless of course you do not have 2500 grams - 3500 grams BP.

Ideally feeding smaller preys to adults is recommended for safety reasons as well as allowing them to feed with more constancy.

Large animals including 3500 grams animals do not need large preys to thrive.

In general I feed hatchlings and juvies a prey = their girth size without ever feeding anything larger than 120 grams rat even to my largest adults.

Can they take down larger preys? Yes, do they need to? No

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Originally Posted by Deborah

I am curious how many 375 to 480 grams rats have you fed to your BP unless of course you do not have 2500 grams - 3500 grams BP.

Ideally feeding smaller preys to adults is recommended for safety reasons as well as allowing them to feed with more constancy.

Large animals including 3500 grams animals do not need large preys to thrive.

In general I feed hatchlings and juvies a prey = their girth size without ever feeding anything larger than 120 grams rat even to my largest adults.

Can they take down larger preys? Yes, do they need to? No

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Well said as always. I always assumed around 100g but if you say 120g then knowing your knowledge my opinion has just changed on max feeding by 20g.

I feed by girth, and have never had any inclination to feed by body weight percentage. With any larger females, the only thing I use girth for is a maximum prey size. They feed well on anything from 125ish to 250+ grams, depending on what I have available, with no issues regarding safety or consistency.

Well... a small, medium sized rat weighs in a 114 g. A large rat is probably pretty darn heavy ;) My sister's 5 1/2' fem bp eats two adult male rats every two weeks and still looks around for more :O

In my opinion, your BP looks fine as far as weight goes. BPs are supposed to be more "rounded" bodied snakes.

I've never heard of this skull size thing...feeding between 10-15% of the snake's weight or a prey item approximately as big around as the snake is, is an excellent way to judge prey size. It doesn't have to be exact, and if the prey is a little big bigger around or smaller around than the snake, no problem. They were made for this kind of thing.

I, too, max my feeders out at around 100-120 grams. Every now and then someone gets a bigger one when one comes along.

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Originally Posted by KatStoverReptiles

In my opinion, your BP looks fine as far as weight goes. BPs are supposed to be more "rounded" bodied snakes.

I've never heard of this skull size thing...feeding between 10-15% of the snake's weight or a prey item approximately as big around as the snake is, is an excellent way to judge prey size. It doesn't have to be exact, and if the prey is a little big bigger around or smaller around than the snake, no problem. They were made for this kind of thing.

I, too, max my feeders out at around 100-120 grams. Every now and then someone gets a bigger one when one comes along.

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Agreed. I just don't understand people desire to feed any more than that. It is not neccesary can can only do more bad then good. Just because a ball can eat more doesn't mean it should.

Quick question for those that say 100-120 g is the max prey size... How big is your biggest BP? I have a hard time believing that a 5+ foot BP is going to thrive on one 120 gram rat given every 7-10 days.

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Originally Posted by WifeOfSlasher

Quick question for those that say 100-120 g is the max prey size... How big is your biggest BP? I have a hard time believing that a 5+ foot BP is going to thrive on one 120 gram rat given every 7-10 days.

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Once they reach their adult size, their metabolism slows down quite a bit and they need considerably less. As is the case with most animals.

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Originally Posted by WifeOfSlasher

Quick question for those that say 100-120 g is the max prey size... How big is your biggest BP? I have a hard time believing that a 5+ foot BP is going to thrive on one 120 gram rat given every 7-10 days.

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I don't but from what I've heard from plenty who do that it is plenty for a snake that size that is no longer growing.