How often to feed female to help get them up to size?

I have 7 females currently. My 4 biggest girls are around 550g and 650g. I feed twice a week about every 5 days. they are all early 2012's too. I alternate between two adult mice(24-28g) at the first feeding to one wean rat(30-45g) for the second. Is the food size adequate, and am I feeding often enough? They're all still very interested in eating despite being at the so call feeding wall.

How often do you experienced breeders feed?

Skip the mice. Feed a small rat every 4-5 days or so.

If theyre hungry.. feed em!

after they taken the rodent the whole way down and you can see a noticeable lump. then that's a good size meal. I also offer twice a week. when they had enough, most will stop feeding for a little while. usually known as the 900 gram wall they hit. but some will go right threw that wall. if you think you're feeding too much, you will be able to tell just by looking at the snake. don't go by general guidelines, go by the condition of the snake (length to weight).

I don't think any of my three biggest girls will ever slow down eating. They just take everything! Thanks for the advice everyone

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Originally Posted by Webley

I don't think any of my three biggest girls will ever slow down eating. They just take everything! Thanks for the advice everyone

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just wait til they hit 1000 grams.

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Originally Posted by Webley

I don't think any of my three biggest girls will ever slow down eating. They just take everything! Thanks for the advice everyone

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGeek

just wait til they hit 1000 grams.

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Yeah just wait. They will eventually stop. Whether it's at 1k grams or 1500 grams.

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGeek

just wait til they hit 1000 grams.

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Exactly!

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Originally Posted by Webley

I have 7 females currently. My 4 biggest girls are around 550g and 650g. I feed twice a week about every 5 days. they are all early 2012's too. I alternate between two adult mice(24-28g) at the first feeding to one wean rat(30-45g) for the second. Is the food size adequate, and am I feeding often enough? They're all still very interested in eating despite being at the so call feeding wall.
How often do you experienced breeders feed?

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Looks like you have some slow growers!http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sad058.gif
This holdback phet spied girl hatched aug 27th last year. I see a possible wall soon.http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...aughing001.gifhttp://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...9/dscn6564.jpg

Goodness...I have a 900g girl that's quickly approaching the wall. I sure hope that she'll just fly right over it....

I only feed 1 small rat weekly. Some grow slower than others and it sounds like yours are just slow growers.

It's so female dependent. You will have better luck if you use rats, if you offer at least once every 10 days, and if you offer multiple food items.

But I have one 2010 girl that has been skating by on 1 mouse a month for two winters. She won't look at a rat sideways, and she's barely 900 grams at 3 years old. I also have one 2012 girl that is 600 grams and just polished off 4 rodents last night. FOUR. Rat pups AND adult mice. It wouldn't surprise me if I wind up breeding both of these girls for the first time in the same season.

What is a good length to weight ratio? Is there a chart somewhere?

Thanks

I don't think there's a chart out there for the ratios you want.
The best thing to look for is a nice muscular body in relation to length as all snakes grow at different rates and to different lengths.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

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Originally Posted by Elusive Dream

What is a good length to weight ratio? Is there a chart somewhere?

Thanks

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If it looks like a blood python it's too fat. If it looks like a corn snake it's too skinny.

I think somewhere I read that 500 grams / foot is a great measuring tool for ADULTS to determine if they're good body condition to breed. I don't know if there can ever be a rule like that for babies and sub-adults since the ratio changes a lot as they go through growth spurts. Think of the way humans change body condition as they shoot up in height then fill out in weight, etc. It's just too variable.

My hey albino girl hit the wall at 800. She has been off feed for about a month now. I offer her a rat and mouse and she will not take either. Hopefully she will get back on feed. She was the one that would eat anything I put in Front of her.