Feeding Concerns....Please help me!

I am so lost. I have visited so many sites learning whatever I can (still) that I'm on info overload. My main concern right now is in regards to feeding. My first ball, Naga, which I purchased last April (I was told she was 3-6 mths old) eats 1 mouse every other week and seems satisfied with this. BUT some sites I've been to say she should be eating weekly. I was considering just trying to feed her weekly and see what happens, but I've also read that balls can easily become overweight. Do you see my dilemma? What do you guys/gals think I should do? I'm kind of taking a poll here? Now, onto my next ball, Neela. I received her through the passing of a relative so I don't have much background info on her. I just know she was being fed 2 mice every other week, but she definitely still seems hungry even after 2. I believe I'll move her up to 3 mice. I'm just curious about whether or not to feed these gals (that's what I was told anyway) weekly or bi-weekly. I sure hope I get some helpful info from you guys/gals and soon 'cause it's feeding time!:confuzd:

BP's don't easily become overweight as far as I've ever been told and have experienced in our own collection. Over feeding either in size of single prey or total prey volume can trigger a fast as these snakes will self-regulate their own weight gain. I have had one male that got a bit too chunky and wasn't a good breeder. When we adjusted his prey intake he took right off that way. I can't say though that I've ever seen a truly obese BP.

We have 23 BP's here from small 07's up to big mature 02's. Everybody gets either one or two appropriately sized prey items once per week. :) For me, an appropriately sized prey item doesn't exceed the biggest girth of the snake and doesn't leave a large, noticeable feeding lump. Even for our big females we only offer a small to small/medium rat once per week (occasionally two smalls) which is far smaller than their actual girth.

Hope that's of some help.

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Originally Posted by moonbeam

I am so lost. I have visited so many sites learning whatever I can (still) that I'm on info overload. My main concern right now is in regards to feeding. My first ball, Naga, which I purchased last April (I was told she was 3-6 mths old) eats 1 mouse every other week and seems satisfied with this. BUT some sites I've been to say she should be eating weekly. I was considering just trying to feed her weekly and see what happens, but I've also read that balls can easily become overweight. Do you see my dilemma? What do you guys/gals think I should do? I'm kind of taking a poll here? Now, onto my next ball, Neela. I received her through the passing of a relative so I don't have much background info on her. I just know she was being fed 2 mice every other week, but she definitely still seems hungry even after 2. I believe I'll move her up to 3 mice. I'm just curious about whether or not to feed these gals (that's what I was told anyway) weekly or bi-weekly. I sure hope I get some helpful info from you guys/gals and soon 'cause it's feeding time!:confuzd:

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I am sorry that you're feeling overwhelmed:weirdface The reason might be because there is not only one good way of keeping these snakes. That said, there is a way that a lot of keepers follow and that seems to work. I have 13 balls pythons and I feed them all once every 7 days (every Thursday night). I have read that some members feed prey that is 10% of their snakes weight; so if your snake weighs 200g, you'd feed a prey item weighing 20g. For my snakes, when they hit around 200g, I feed a 55g prey item. When my breeding girls get to the 400g mark, I feed an 80g prey.

I prefer to not feed multiple prey items, though some people do. Right now I have a little female who is almost at 200g and yet I am still feeding her 19g prey size because that is what she is taking. (I have no idea why; she's just a silly thing!) Anyway, I feed her her prey every 5 days until she gets up to the next prey size. This seems to work for her.

So, maybe you could think about feeding every 5 days and move your snake up to an appropriately sized rat prey; mice will become too small (I believe). In the end, you know your snake and will succeed in figuring this out. Asking others is a great way to get info, but sometimes it does feel like an information assault!!!!! Good luck and I hope this has helped you some. :)

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Originally Posted by starmom

I am sorry that you're feeling overwhelmed:weirdface The reason might be because there is not only one good way of keeping these snakes. That said, there is a way that a lot of keepers follow and that seems to work. I have 13 balls pythons and I feed them all once every 7 days (every Thursday night). I have read that some members feed prey that is 10% of their snakes weight; so if your snake weighs 200g, you'd feed a prey item weighing 20g. For my snakes, when they hit around 200g, I feed a 55g prey item. When my breeding girls get to the 400g mark, I feed an 80g prey.

I prefer to not feed multiple prey items, though some people do. Right now I have a little female who is almost at 200g and yet I am still feeding her 19g prey size because that is what she is taking. (I have no idea why; she's just a silly thing!) Anyway, I feed her her prey every 5 days until she gets up to the next prey size. This seems to work for her.

So, maybe you could think about feeding every 5 days and move your snake up to an appropriately sized rat prey; mice will become too small (I believe). In the end, you know your snake and will succeed in figuring this out. Asking others is a great way to get info, but sometimes it does feel like an information assault!!!!! Good luck and I hope this has helped you some. :)

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I agree with you 100%. It is hard to figure out what advice to follow when there is so much out there but it is safe to say that if your snakes are still hungry, well feed them.

My bp would sit in strike mode everyday between feedings when I was giving him 20g mice every 5 days. So hes up 30 gram rats every 5 days and hes only 165 grams. I don't think hes over eating, he is only putting on about 10 grams a week.

Anyway I would say that every 5-7 days is the common feeding schedule around here, but there may be exceptions. Don't be afraid to fatten em up a bit.

Mice will never become too small.. That is, unless you're feeding only hoppers to adult females.. That would just be a waste of their energy.

I feed all 45+ Ball Pythons live adult mice every week and they grow wonderfully. Sometimes faster than rat eaters :) Juvies get 1-2 medium adult mice depending on their size. Under 250g, they get 1 adult mouse, from 300-500 they get 1-2 adults, possibly a third if they are really wanting another.If they are over 500g, but less than 1000g, they generally get 2-3. If they are adult males, they get 2 good-sized adult mice, and if they are adult females, they get 3-4 adult mice.

All in all, gram for gram, rats and mice are the same thing. I would recommend moving up to at least a medium adult mouse. Pinkies and fuzzies are for corn snakes.

How often does your BP poop? My are just about clock work. Once a week for some, and others once every 2. If your BP is hardly pooping, he's using every little bit of food you give him to just live.

If your BP is sedated for 2 days digesting, I can happily say he's had a good meal.

I can see where the mentality comes from that they only need to eat once a few weeks, because that's what they do in the wild. What's left out is that these animals are eating all they can because they know that there is NO certainty that there will be a next meal.

Also, if you were to post a picture of your snake, I can bet you that many keepers here will tell you if your snake is too thin and emaciated, or looks to be well built and in good shape.

I can't see how feeding a BP once mouse every two weeks is beneficial at all for the snake, and I would tell you to up it to once every 5 or 7 days. Depending on age and size.

There are many very experienced keepers here that will tell you to feed a rat weanling or a few adult mice once a week. I tend to agree. Once you start feeding more, you will see the difference. You will see him grow from week to week, and probably have a better, healthier and well adjusted snake. :gj:

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Originally Posted by missi182

My bp would sit in strike mode everyday between feedings..

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I have had my BP for almost a month now and I have never seen "strike mode". When I offer F/T food he barely even pays attention to it. After taking of the screen and offering prey with tongs he is more interested in climbing up and out of the tank than what I am offering. It is getting very frustrating. The pet store I got him from said that they feed F/T, so I thought I would just stick with that, but should I offer live? I don't have a scale, but he seems to be losing weight..

If he's losing weight, then YES, feed him live. Leave him IN his enclosure, pre-scent with the mouse in a secure container next to the snake's enclosure for 30 minutes or so, and then place the mouse on the opposite side of the enclosure that the snake is on. I always feed with the lights off and a flashlight held in my mouth(yes, I look weird..) but the snakes feel more secure eating this way.

Feed live until he's happy about eating and on a consistent schedule, and then if you want, you can try to switch to f/t. Some switch and some don't.. but be prepared to feed live for the next 30 years if he decides he doesn't want to.

Alright, we'll see what the girlfriend thinks about this... :D

I'm going to try to post two pics I have. Bare with me 'cause I don't really know what I'm doing here. I hope this works.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/IMG_0207.jpg

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/IMG_0293.jpg

Hun, for her to be over a year old, she is very small. :(

From the picture and the size reference next to the mouse, she looks to be a little over a few months old, when in fact if she was 6 months old LAST April. For her to be around a 1 1/2 old... I would expect her to weigh close to if not over 1000 grams. She looks to weigh about 250 grams...

I would slowly increase the rate she is eating, from once every two weeks, to once a week, to maybe even 5 days. Check and double check your husbandry, and most importantly take her to a qualified Snake vet for an exam and a fecal check for parasites.

An experienced reptile vet will be able to help you move her prey size up with recommendations without shocking her body and possibly hurting her.

I don't expect she will grow to a normal size, since she is well past her baby stage. I have no experience with snakes that old and so small, I'm just assuming. Please keep us updated!

I do have limited experience with chronically underfed ball pythons. The ones we've rehabbed so far have done extremely well on a program of slowly moving them up in weekly prey volume. So far everyone of them is well into the normal range for their gender and age. :)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Hun, for her to be over a year old, she is very small. :(

From the picture and the size reference next to the mouse, she looks to be a little over a few months old, when in fact if she was 6 months old LAST April. For her to be around a 1 1/2 old... I would expect her to weigh close to if not over 1000 grams. She looks to weigh about 250 grams.......

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Now I am VERY concerned! I posted 2 sep pics. Naga was the one w/out the mouse and Neela was the one with the mouse. Naga is the youngest of the 2. She is the one who is supposed to be approx 15-18 mths. Are you trying to tell me that Neela (the one eating the mouse) looks to be only a few months old? If that's the case, pictures are deceiving! Neela is def older than a few months and much bigger than Naga.

As for Naga (the youngest, w/out the mouse), she has def grown in the year that I've had her. BUT if you're telling me she should be larger than I must be doing something wrong. She was eating weekly for what seemed like forever. Then she lost interest and went down to every other week. I'm the concerned one who wants to urge her to eat more often. I hope I can, especially if I'm being told she is too small!

It's very difficult to tell from pictures unless there is something to verify the size, like a pop can, dollar bill etc. To better give us an idea, you could buy a scale. A kitchen scale, mail scale, it should weigh in grams, since this is what we use when we discuss snake weights.

You can buy them from walmart, target etc. It doesnt have to be expensive, just measure in grams. It will help us to narrow down exactly the build and size of this snake much better than pictures and let you know what is normal for certain ages. At least for me it's easier.

Also, I did not know they were two different animals. I had no size reference in the first pic.

Is there any particular scale you would recommend, or are they all pretty much the same?

Meh, I got my scale off of Ebay. I dont even know what brand it is, cost like 20$. Works pretty good.

I would say avoid starfrit, I bought two and both crapped out. Try to avoid scales that use 9v batteries (the square ones) because the connections quit easily in the wires connected to the battery. Taylor kitchen scales are pretty good, they weigh up to 11lbs and I bought one from walmart, and use cell batteries that last a long time:)

My scale is a digiweigh or something of that sort. Weighs up to 35lbs in 5g increments. Love it :) It uses a 9V battery but I've had it for 2-3 years and it's still on the same battery.

Ive always had bad luck with those batteries...both of the starfrits I bought had that kind of battery, but they could work just fine for others and I just have terrible luck!!

Becky,

If you don't mind me asking, why do you choose to feed only mice?

Mike

We have the 7001DX scale and just love it. I've had it awhile now and have never had to replace the batteries (so don't bother to pay extra for the AC cord thingy). You can find it here...

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/in...PROD&ProdID=12

Check ebay, this company often has sales of this type of scale on ebay for very reduced prices.

Alternately, you can check out any large department store for a good digital kitchen scale or any major office supply store for a good digital postal scale. Just make sure you know the specs you want so you end up with the right scale that will work for you.