What would you do?

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Originally Posted by djslurp1200

I've never weighed the rats myself but... I've been doing it for the last week and a half. After another couple weeks I'll go ahead and switch it back down to 1. but yeah that's what i'm feeding it at the moment. I just wanted to kick it up a notch for just a month to try to get her ready to breed. She obviously won't eat for a while once she becomes gravid so I want to get her not obese but a little bit of a build to her. My breeder friend whom I get all my feeders from and stuff said that she honostly could still put on a little more weight so I figured 2 or 3 weeks of that should be fine. Then I'll go back to just 1 rat...

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Well of course. Lets force a bunch of extra food into the snake so it'll breed sooner instead of taking it slow and doing it the right way. Makes perfect sense! :confuzd:

I'm sure she could breed just fine at the weight that she is. But for me I'd rather see just a tad more weight and girth on her before she starts doing the "kanye west workout" with my pastel.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Well of course. Lets force a bunch of extra food into the snake so it'll breed sooner instead of taking it slow and doing it the right way. Makes perfect sense! :confuzd:

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I'm not forcing it a bunch of extra food to breed sooner... That's not the case at all... and by all means if you saw how aggressive this snakes eats you'd see what I mean.

Skip this season...that's a nice big clutch she gave you, and her body just needs some extra time to come back up to what will be a healthy production weight.

Big girls that consistently give you big clutches are wonderful to have, and you know your snake better working with her in person than what any of us can tell from a couple of pics. If your gut instinct is telling you that she's just not there, listen to it & hold off.

Just my $.02...

K~

and honostly one large rat doesn't even put a lump or anything in her...Not saying that's what I'm going for at the end of a feeding. but I'm sure a 2 or 3 larger meals aren't going to hurt before she's sweating it off getting busy...Obviously it does take alot out of the animal to breed..right?

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Originally Posted by djslurp1200

I'm not forcing it a bunch of extra food to breed sooner... That's not the case at all... and by all means if you saw how aggressive this snakes eats you'd see what I mean.

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All my snakes eat aggressively every week. They get one small rat. I would hold off on the advice until you gain the experience necessary to dispense it.

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Originally Posted by KLG

Skip this season...that's a nice big clutch she gave you, and her body just needs some extra time to come back up to what will be a healthy production weight.

Big girls that consistently give you big clutches are wonderful to have, and you know your snake better working with her in person than what any of us can tell from a couple of pics. If your gut instinct is telling you that she's just not there, listen to it & hold off.

Just my $.02...

K~

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:rockon:

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Originally Posted by jglass38

All my snakes eat aggressively every week. They get one small rat. I would hold off on the advice until you gain the experience necessary to dispense it.

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Thank you for your input Jamie. It is greatly appreciated as always and your helpful information is always welcome. As far as not having the experience necessary I can't say I have the experience of breeding ball pythons but i've kept and fed enough of them over the years to say that a couple feeding sessions (2 or 3) of a little more food isn't going to harm the animal or create any adverse effects.

Aric, I'd go with your gut instinct as far as what you want to do. You do have a good point as far as waiting to breed her. Next year she'll have recovered and your male pastel will be ready to tango. It's obviously your call and I wish you the best of luck in breeding your female when you do.

:rockon:

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Originally Posted by djslurp1200

Thank you for your input Jamie. It is greatly appreciated as always and your helpful information is always welcome. As far as not having the experience necessary I can't say I have the experience of breeding ball pythons but i've kept and fed enough of them over the years to say that a couple feeding sessions (2 or 3) of a little more food isn't going to harm the animal or create any adverse effects.

Aric, I'd go with your gut instinct as far as what you want to do. You do have a good point as far as waiting to breed her. Next year she'll have recovered and your male pastel will be ready to tango. It's obviously your call and I wish you the best of luck in breeding your female when you do.

:rockon:

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Steven,

If I came off as harsh earlier, it wasn't my intention. In the end my point was, there is no benefit to feeding such a large amount of food and in the end you could wind up with a snake that goes off feed. It is very common for overfed Ball Pythons to stop feeding altogether to allow their bodies to catch up. Better to keep the meals small and consistent and keep those snakes feeding regularly.

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Originally Posted by djslurp1200

i've kept and fed enough of them over the years to say that a couple feeding sessions (2 or 3) of a little more food isn't going to harm the animal or create any adverse effects.

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I'd have to disagree with that, but to each their own. :rockon:

-adam