family ignores me and only gets my snake a mouse about once a month

ive had him for like 7 months and when we got him the guy at the store said he was about a year old he was like 20 ish inches then and hes about 3 feet now. the last time he ate was a month ago and before that was a few weeks. whenever they get him one I give it to him and he kills it instantly because hes so hungry. should I ask them to get him 2 mice instead? or maybe rats? since he gets so hungry. google tells me that they can last about 6 months without eating so hes technically fine but I want him to have a happy healthy life and grow properly, I'm not sure what to do.

Sell the snake... I'd say take the initiative yourself and go to the store once/week to get rats but I'm assuming you're fairly young from the way you wrote your post.

He should be eating about once/week. Feeding him once/six months is not by choice, that's how long you could theoretically wait before some intervention for snakes that refuse meals. Honestly, if you cant convince your parents to get food once/week and you can't get the food yourself for the sake of the animal sell it to someone who can take care of it.

Also, if possible try to feed it frozen rats because rats are more nutritious. I have no idea how big around he is so I can't help you with the sizing.


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Yes, you should switch to rats assuming it is a ball python. Just because they *can* go 6 months without food doesn't mean they should be kept on a minimal feed diet particularly when they are young.

That being said 20 inches to 3 feet in 7 months on only 7 mice is an insane amount of growth.

A picture would be worth a thousand words to see if the animal is actually under nourished.

That they can "last" doesn't mean you should do it. If you pig out on thanksgiving can you go a week without eating? You will last that week but it'll be very uncomfortable for you. Juveniles specially should be fed no less than once a week. I feed my 6 month one every 5 days.

Man, you're not feeding him enough. A single or 2 mice a month can't get him grow healthy . Ball pythons need to fed at least once a week. Aside from that, proper enclosure and the right setting of temperature and humidity is a must. Don't wait for that 6-month death toll to come before you notice that he's not gaining at all. Whatever reason you're not feeding him right, I'm sorry for that but you need to hustle out more effort for him.

it wasn't always once a month, just recently its been long periods of time inbetween that's prob why hes grown pretty big. I cant really get a picture of him because im on a laptop but ill try to. I mentioned they can last for 6 months because I was worried about people telling me 1 month wasn't ok. im really just wondering if I should get him a rat or 2 mice in one feeding. im not that young, im 15 I just don't put that much effort into my English sorry

Your BP should eat an appropriate size prey every 7 to 10 days, it is YOUR job to ensure that it does, if you cannot do so because of transportation or finances or because you need to rely on other people than you should consider re-homing the animal.

http://imgur.com/gallery/rCust here are the pictures of him (theyre pretty bad pictures but I think you can tell how big hes gotten) edit: you guys are right, I don't wanna lose him by selling him so im gonna put more effort into feeding him right

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Originally Posted by LimblessReptile

it wasn't always once a month, just recently its been long periods of time inbetween that's prob why hes grown pretty big. I cant really get a picture of him because im on a laptop but ill try to. I mentioned they can last for 6 months because I was worried about people telling me 1 month wasn't ok. im really just wondering if I should get him a rat or 2 mice in one feeding. im not that young, im 15 I just don't put that much effort into my English sorry

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Don't be sorry, it wasn't your English that made me assume your age it was the fact that you weren't taking the initiative to get the animal food.

Honestly, you sound like me when I was your age and if that's the case arguing with you won't solve anything. I understand the way you interpret the 6 months thing is it's ok for you to miss a few feedings without harming your animal which is probably true, but just think, you could survive a few days without any food or water right? Does that mean you should only eat/drink every 2-3 days?

I'll let someone else comment on whether 2 mice or one rat is better because I'm not sure.


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Originally Posted by kxr

the fact that you weren't taking the initiative to get the animal food.

Honestly, you sound like me when I was your age and if that's the case arguing with you won't solve anything. I understand the way you interpret the 6 months thing is it's ok for you to miss a few feedings without harming your animal which is probably true, but just think, you could survive a few days without any food or water right? Does that mean you should only eat/drink every 2-3 days?

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youre right, I just have to be more responsible about it. and I will

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Originally Posted by LimblessReptile

http://imgur.com/gallery/rCust here are the pictures of him (theyre pretty bad pictures but I think you can tell how big hes gotten) edit: you guys are right, I don't wanna lose him by selling him so im gonna put more effort into feeding him right

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Im new to the herp field myself so i may not be right but id say it looks healthy,id say its big enough for a rat..when you feed too small meals its basically a waste..it needs to be fed every week at that size and when full grown every 11 days..very pretty snake!btw what type/size of enclosure is it kept?has it shed and did it shed in a few pieces or many?do you feed live prey or frozen/thawed? (Fyi F/T is a little cheaper &you can store several for future feedings,i buy F/T from petsmart and my girl is small..she eats fuzzies and you can get a pack of 6 for $12,they also have packs of 2 rats and different sizes as well..from what "ive" heard and read is prey should be the size of the widest part of your snakes body,no bigger) somebody plz inform me as well if im wrong just trying to give you a little of my insight

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Originally Posted by Hlow87

Im new to the herp field myself so i may not be right but id say it looks healthy,id say its big enough for a rat..when you feed too small meals its basically a waste..it needs to be fed every week at that size and when full grown every 11 days..very pretty snake!btw what type/size of enclosure is it kept?has it shed and did it shed in a few pieces or many?do you feed live prey or frozen/thawed? (Fyi F/T is a little cheaper &you can store several for future feedings,i buy F/T from petsmart and my girl is small..she eats fuzzies and you can get a pack of 6 for $12,they also have packs of 2 rats and different sizes as well..from what "ive" heard and read is prey should be the size of the widest part of your snakes body,no bigger) somebody plz inform me as well if im wrong just trying to give you a little of my insight

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the enclosure is 30 x 12 x 14 it has aspen bedding on the left is the heating pad and also the light on top, inbetween those is a stick so he can get closer to the light if he wants then in the middle is his water bowl, and on the right is a log. hes shed like 5 times and its in pieces usually, but he gets it all off himself. only a couple times have I had to help him shed with baths and such. I feed him live ones. I'm not sure how big the rats are at the pet store so ill have to find out if theyre the right size for him. I'm thinking of getting packs of frozen ones so that I can stock up and feed him on schedule

Frozen would probably be best, it also cuts the chances of parasites getting transfered to your snake as well once frozen parasites in the rat die..id say your doing well as a beginner just make sure you feed her more regularly..good luck!

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Yes best if you buy 4 frozen rats each month. The pictured snake should be on smalls. See this chart: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...mparison-Chart

BUT! check with parents first about keeping rats in the freezer.

Small or weaned. Whichever is closer to what it's been eating.

I find it hard to believe an adult bp needs to eat every single week providing it's healthy and at a normal weight, but once a month on just mice is definitely nowhere near enough. I would sell the snake as others have mentioned, since you don't seem to have any control over the care of your snake. If/when you are able to move out, then I would consider getting another snake, that way you can provide for it to the extent it requires.

If you can convince your parents to buy in a way that would allow you to feed the snake properly, then that is also fine, but you will have to figure that out with your parents. If you go the f/t way, maybe see if your parents could get a cheap used chest freezer to store your snake food in if they're uncomfortable having the rodents in the main freezer. I've seen decent-sized chest freezers for well under $100 being sold used on various platforms, it just may take some looking around.

update: I got my snake a good size rat today, I talked to my mom and she can get them on her way home from work. so I can feed him on schedule now and I wont have to get him a new home :)