Feeding size

I know this has probably asked before, but what size of mouse is best for a 4 week old hatchling? I've been giving him mouse fuzzies, but some have told me that I need to go bigger. Then I've also been told it should be no bigger than the widest part of the snake. a fuzzy is exactly the width of Marshall. If I went any bigger I worry he might have trouble digesting it.

I'm wondering also about a feeding schedule? Is it necessary? I personally don't see why feeding on the same day at the same time every week is beneficial to the snake, since I doubt they know what day of the week it is. I'm sure a feeding schedule is really helpful and needed for people who own multiple snakes, but I only have one. Ideas?


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You should be feeding him Rat pups once every 4-5 days.


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Originally Posted by Reed12321

You should be feeding him Rat pups once every 4-5 days.


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Ok, but why? Could you please expand on this post?


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Your snake is growing. Mice don't provide as many nutrients as rats. And mice look a lot bigger than they are because their fur makes them look thicker. You should feed frozen or live (whichever he's already on) rat pups every 4-5 days until he hits about 300 grams, then jump up to small adult rats once a week for a while.


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juvenile ball pythons are fed rat pups..don't question it just do it!!

I don't agree with the small rat at 300 gram thing. My albino is just now at 300 grams, but still much to small for a small rat..so gonna keep him on weaned rats awhile longer...

Best thing to do is buy a kitchen digital scale from like Walmart. Then you feed them 10-20% of their weight. That will give you the size you need. My little girl who is about 10 weeks now(was 6 weeks when I got her) is eating 36g gram rat pups and she weighs 183g. When I got her, she was 102g and was eating rat fuzzies. I feed her every 3-4 days. So in a about a month, she has gained about 80g. So to sum it up, buy a $15 digital kitchen scale from Walmart.

And yes at 300g, a small rat is too big. You want to up to weanlings until probably around 500g, then possibly small rats.

Marshall weighs 74 grams only. A 36 gram rat pup is way more than 10-20% of his weight, in fact it's about half his weight.


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Originally Posted by gameonpython

Ok, but why? Could you please expand on this post?


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You confuse me. Does there have to be a reason? That's what is healthiest for them and there shouldn't have to be a reason for you to feed your snake on any given days. It takes them approximately that amount of time to fully digest and you don't want to feed them too often

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Originally Posted by Sammiebob

You confuse me. Does there have to be a reason? That's what is healthiest for them and there shouldn't have to be a reason for you to feed your snake on any given days. It takes them approximately that amount of time to fully digest and you don't want to feed them too often

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Yes, there does have to be a reason. I did not know rats were healthier, so I asked. I guess what I mean more by a schedule is if I always feed on Tuesdays, but one Tuesday I didn't and instead fed on a Wednesday, is that okay?


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Dont overthink it. He will be fine on rats or mice, preferably f/t offered every 4 to 7 days. For the sake of discussion, if he did not eat for a month, he is not going to starve. The desired result is sliw steady growth, ie. Healthy, not fat, jut my two cents worth.

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Originally Posted by gameonpython

I know this has probably asked before, but what size of mouse is best for a 4 week old hatchling? I've been giving him mouse fuzzies, but some have told me that I need to go bigger. Then I've also been told it should be no bigger than the widest part of the snake. a fuzzy is exactly the width of Marshall. If I went any bigger I worry he might have trouble digesting it.

I'm wondering also about a feeding schedule? Is it necessary? I personally don't see why feeding on the same day at the same time every week is beneficial to the snake, since I doubt they know what day of the week it is. I'm sure a feeding schedule is really helpful and needed for people who own multiple snakes, but I only have one. Ideas?


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I think I read it needs to be 15% of the bodyweight of the snake. With babies, they need feed schedules that are closer together so they can grow. (4-5 days) if you're afraid they won't be able to digest it, you could probably do one fuzzy and one pinky. But I think a hopper will digest fine. As long as you're not feeding them a full size rat, you'd be surprised what they can digest. Look for a member named KMG and pm them.

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Originally Posted by robeyeshua

Dont overthink it. He will be fine on rats or mice, preferably f/t offered every 4 to 7 days. For the sake of discussion, if he did not eat for a month, he is not going to starve. The desired result is sliw steady growth, ie. Healthy, not fat, jut my two cents worth.

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Thank you, I probably am overthinking it. I've been feeding every 7 days. He was on f/t, but wouldn't accept it last feeding so I gave him live instead and he ate that.


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Originally Posted by gameonpython

Yes, there does have to be a reason. I did not know rats were healthier, so I asked. I guess what I mean more by a schedule is if I always feed on Tuesdays, but one Tuesday I didn't and instead fed on a Wednesday, is that okay?


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Ok that makes sense. No, it won't matter if you miss a day and do the next day instead.

If he is that young and weighs 74g, you should be feeding every 3-5 days. 7 days is kind of a stretch if you ask me, that is more when they are like 500g or so. And if he is 74g, then you should be feeding him rats/mice that are 8-11g. Also if you know his weight, does this mean you got a scale? If so, again just weigh the prey when you get home. Eyeball by his thickness the first time, then when you get the prey home, weigh it and then adjust next time as needed. Feeding a little larger prey once or twice wont hurt him. I've fed Dot stuff that was clearly too big but for some reason I didn't catch it and she ate it and afterwards it looked like she ate a football. She then went into a food coma and barely slithered into her warm hide. Two days later she was out and about looking for food again. So like I said, a little too big once in a while is fine, just don't make a habit of it.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

If he is that young and weighs 74g, you should be feeding every 3-5 days. 7 days is kind of a stretch if you ask me, that is more when they are like 500g or so. And if he is 74g, then you should be feeding him rats/mice that are 8-11g. Also if you know his weight, does this mean you got a scale? If so, again just weigh the prey when you get home. Eyeball by his thickness the first time, then when you get the prey home, weigh it and then adjust next time as needed. Feeding a little larger prey once or twice wont hurt him. I've fed Dot stuff that was clearly too big but for some reason I didn't catch it and she ate it and afterwards it looked like she ate a football. She then went into a food coma and barely slithered into her warm hide. Two days later she was out and about looking for food again. So like I said, a little too big once in a while is fine, just don't make a habit of it.

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Wow thanks for the detailed response:) yes I do have a scale. Planning on getting another fuzzy for Marshall tomorrow, will weigh it. I've read online that the average fuzzy mouse is 3-6 grams, so I'm not too far off, though I guess you are right in that I could go bigger.


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I have found sizes vary from store to store. One place I used to buy my medium rats for my red tail boa from were small to the reptile store I go to now. The reptile store I go to now sells me 36g rat "pups" which are 36g. If you look at charts, 36g is a weanling so like I said, it varies. That's why I say eyeball the first one you buy from a place by the thickness of it. Then weigh it when you get home and you will have an idea if you need to go up or down. I do this whenever I have to change petshops or rat sizes. My old place was great but they don't breed their own so the smallest they had were small rats which is too big for my BP. So now im stuck driving about an hour+ to get rats for my BP till she gets big enough to eat the small rats.

Personally I would switch to rats asap so your BP doesn't imprint on mice which can make switching later harder. Much easier feeding 1 small/medium rat a week than 3-4 mice per week, cheaper too.

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Originally Posted by Reed12321

Your snake is growing. Mice don't provide as many nutrients as rats. And mice look a lot bigger than they are because their fur makes them look thicker. You should feed frozen or live (whichever he's already on) rat pups every 4-5 days until he hits about 300 grams, then jump up to small adult rats once a week for a while.


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Do you have any scientific data to back up your statement that mice do not have as many nutrients as rats? I had a big male normal ball python that only ate mice and he grew just fine. As a matter of fact, he was one of the biggest ball pythons that I ever had. Are mice a pain in the butt to feed, yes but that does not mean that a ball python can't exclusively just live off of mice. Rats are the best way to go because it seems to be more cost effective then buying several mice.

I don't think there is any difference in the nutritional value of a rat or a mouse other than a rat seems to have a bit more mass based on a comparable size mouse. In other words if you took a mouse and a rat that appear to be the same size, you may find the rat is actually a little heavier which means your snake may recieve more calories from the rat. However, if you are using weights of the feeder prey, then equivelant weighing items (mouse or rat) should provide a similar caloric value. That being said I prefer rats because as the snake grows, I can still give him just a single feeder item to manage his needs weekly, where as it may take multiple mice to do the same as the snake reaches adulthood. Here is how I do it but do what you find works best for your animal.

Rat fuzzies up to 100 grams every 5 days
Rat pups up to 300 grams every 5 days
Rat Weanlings up to 700 grams every 5 days
Rat Smalls up to 1100 grams if female, once a week. If male, rat smalls once a week will suffice for the rest of their life.
Rat Mediums once a week for the rest of thier life if female

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Originally Posted by albinos_rule

I don't agree with the small rat at 300 gram thing. My albino is just now at 300 grams, but still much to small for a small rat..so gonna keep him on weaned rats awhile longer...

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The info I put I got from you in a pm. But I understand what you're saying.


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Originally Posted by rlditmars

I don't think there is any difference in the nutritional value of a rat or a mouse other than a rat seems to have a bit more mass based on a comparable size mouse. In other words if you took a mouse and a rat that appear to be the same size, you may find the rat is actually a little heavier which means your snake may recieve more calories from the rat. However, if you are using weights of the feeder prey, then equivelant weighing items (mouse or rat) should provide a similar caloric value. That being said I prefer rats because as the snake grows, I can still give him just a single feeder item to manage his needs weekly, where as it may take multiple mice to do the same as the snake reaches adulthood. Here is how I do it but do what you find works best for your animal.

Rat fuzzies up to 100 grams every 5 days
Rat pups up to 300 grams every 5 days
Rat Weanlings up to 700 grams every 5 days
Rat Smalls up to 1100 grams if female, once a week. If male, rat smalls once a week will suffice for the rest of their life.
Rat Mediums once a week for the rest of thier life if female

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This is what I meant when I said Rats are more nutritional than mice. They're denser and provide more calories. I learned this from my breeder. In terms of names and sizes, my pet store sells rat pups that are the size of adult mice, so rat pups are roughly 20-30 grams at this store. Their small rats are a step up from that and are closer to 50 grams.

So gameonpython, you're doing it right if you're going by the 15% rule. Just make sure when you are weighing your Marshall, weigh him after he poops because that is a more accurate and realistic weight of your snake. My Akeda weighed something like 265 grams, and then he pooped and dropped down to 237.


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Originally Posted by Reed12321

This is what I meant when I said Rats are more nutritional than mice. They're denser and provide more calories. I learned this from my breeder. In terms of names and sizes, my pet store sells rat pups that are the size of adult mice, so rat pups are roughly 20-30 grams at this store. Their small rats are a step up from that and are closer to 50 grams.

So gameonpython, you're doing it right if you're going by the 15% rule. Just make sure when you are weighing your Marshall, weigh him after he poops because that is a more accurate and realistic weight of your snake. My Akeda weighed something like 265 grams, and then he pooped and dropped down to 237.


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Good tip, thanks


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You'd be shocked at what these little guys can swallow sometimes. Don't be afraid!http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...1f1c643fa4.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...f18dca7dc1.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...15edab7922.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...b7444424fa.jpg


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Originally Posted by Manny

You'd be shocked at what these little guys can swallow sometimes. Don't be afraid!http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...1f1c643fa4.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...f18dca7dc1.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...15edab7922.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...b7444424fa.jpg


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O my gosh wow!


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