Feeding your BP, girth vs weight.

I understand and have given the advice to feed one prey item slightly smaller than your snakes girth once a week. However, last night I was thinking... If I have 2 snakes that are from the same clutch, and both are 2.5 feet long. Let's say that they are both 1300 grams. Then one goes on a fast for a few months and the other one continues to gain weight.

Now one is 3 feet and 1500 grams and the other one is 3 feet and 1100 grams. The girth of the 1500 gram snake is larger than the 1100 gram snake, but don't they both have the same dietary needs? In this case I would think that feeding 2 smaller prey items that add up to the same amount as one larger one to the girthier snake would be acceptable, is this right or am I off?

I've also started measuring prey by weight as well as girth, so that I can compare sizes vs weights.... so far on snakes 250-900 grams I have been feeding prey by girth, that weighs 1/7th to 1/5th the amount of the snake.

IE I feed an 800 gram that is skinnier a 114 gram meal, thats 1/7th the weight of the snake. I feed a girthier snake that also weighs 800 grams a 160 gram meal and that is 1/5th the weight of the snake.

Anyone else done weight comparison in addition to girth?

I think you have finally lost it ;)


I feed mine small meals more often. They seem to grow longer(if that makes any sense) this way being able to more easily digest the food and still move around.

I think sometimes you can over analyze it too much. :) Keep it simple. I would rather feed smaller prey for 2 reasons. 1. IMO my snakes digest smaller meals easier. 2. I spend less money on food than I do raising rats to a larger size.

When you decide to feed 2 smaller prey, how are they in size in relation to your snake though :). I agree I am overanalyzing it, but if you feed 2 smaller items and they are "less in girth" than the snake, that is a large range of meal sizes.

I actually think by feeding based on weight of the snake it would be easier to give consistant, proper sized meals, but I really have no clue :mouse2:

Hey there Otto Overthinker! :)

I feed all my adults a small rat weekly. If they are larger females, sometimes they get 2 if they are still looking for food. I'm neurotic but this isn't somewhere that I overanalyze. You're doing great!

I find that if I feed a meal approx the girth size (of my larger snakes) the tend to want to skip a meal every once in awhile. Where if I feed a couple weanlings (40-50grams) instead, the snake will eat every week and not skip those meals. Which in turn makes a more consistent feeder. I am not saying that a meal of girth-size won't make a consistent feeder, this is just what I have experienced. In turn it costs me less to feed off weanlings, than to raise rats to small-mediums. So its a win-win for me. Now with hatchlings I do feed one prey item of girth-size, they seem to take these every week with no skipped meals. I switch the practice at the 600-700 gram range. Again this is all just my opinion. ;)

Being that I buy frozen, two weans would cost me quite a bit more than a single small. But I see your point!

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Being that I buy frozen, two weans would cost me quite a bit more than a single small. But I see your point!

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That definitely plays a role in the decision of each keeper, Right now I produce more rats than I need so feeding more doesn't cost me extra. Like I said I think it actually costs me less. Once the rats hit 70 grams or bigger they consume alot more food!! :)

What is the grow time between wean and small size? How much does a rat that size consume daily? I know NOTHING about breeding rats and hope never to have to know.. :)

I really haven't documented it to say for sure, I currently just let a few rats a week creep into small size. They are the ones that go to a local breeder in my area that does ball pythons, she asked for smalls. All the ones that I feed and sell to pet stores go at the weanling stage. Anything extra get frozen before getting any bigger than 60 grams. I do know that a tub with 6 small rats will eat more in one day than a tub with 4 huge breeders in it.

weanling ~ 3 weeks , small ~ 5 weeks, and medium ~ 8 weeks has been my experience, but like Wild Bill most dont get past weanling

Crazy! Thanks for the info!

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

I actually think by feeding based on weight of the snake it would be easier to give consistant, proper sized meals, but I really have no clue :mouse2:

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LOL ... I just got a mental picture of ball pythons crawling around West Africa with little scales on their backs looking for dinner ... HA!

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

LOL ... I just got a mental picture of ball pythons crawling around West Africa with little scales on their backs looking for dinner ... HA!

-adam

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Nah, my snakes leave their scales in the hide, and bring the food back there to weigh it :)

*re-reads* Wait a minute, they DO crawl around West Africa with scales on their backs :) ... scales.. :)



But seriously, being an opportunistic feeder, Im sure a lot of balls would eat way more than we would consider healthy for them, so it is hard to say if snakes know best :)

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

But seriously, being an opportunistic feeder, Im sure a lot of balls would eat way more than we would consider healthy for them, so it is hard to say if snakes know best :)

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Well, I'm not sure if I totally agree there...you could feed them twice a week all summer, and they'd be MUCH more likely to take a break over the winter months than a snake that is fed at a more appropriate interval. In practice, they DO actually manage their weight on their own.

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

But seriously, being an opportunistic feeder, Im sure a lot of balls would eat way more than we would consider healthy for them, so it is hard to say if snakes know best :)

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You're sure? :P

I have a feeling that catching a live rodent in the wild isn't as easy as you think. My guess is that ball pythons probably eat only a handful of times a year in the wild.

I've seen enough WC adults fresh off the boat to know that captive ball pythons are extremely overfed.

-adam