My ball python eats anything!

Last week Friday I my ball python ate a frozen-thawed adult mouse, and today(Tuesday) I decide to feed him since adult mice I thought are too small and that I will be leaving to San Diego on Thursday, and I do not want to feed him on Wednesday or have someone feed him on any other day. Well, I offered him this frozen-thawed small rat my brother's ball python wouldn't eat, and he took it!He did take a good 10 mins. to find the head but when he swallowed it he looked really content with his meal!Whenever he eats mice he downs them in like 2 mins and I thought that was the right size for him but this small rat was obviously the right size since he is 400 grams and this rat was 40-50 grams. I think my ball python is just like a garbage disposal and whatever is offered to him he would tear it right up!Looks like I do not have to worry about him switching from mice to rats, I am all set:) Time to go buy some f/t rats at the store!

Congrats in getting your snake to eat f/t rats. My boy only takes live prey. I have tried f/t with no success yet. I am not giving up hope just yet.

Just be persistent, and in the end, you'll get what you wanted:)
But my ball python hits anything with heat, so whenever he seems uninterested in the food item, I just dip it back into the warm water, and then he strikes, coils, and then eats.

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Originally Posted by guambomb832

I think my ball python is just like a garbage disposal and whatever is offered to him he would tear it right up!

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So good to hear a balance against the overwhelmingly negative thing said about BPs: Problem eaters. Finicky. Won't eat. Sometimes said as a good thing, i.e. it eats only once or twice a year, so you won't be spending much on food.

I read up a ton of BP info on the Web before getting ours, and became disheartened that the 30gal tank I found wasn't big enough, and that it's not a good snake for beginners due to its eating problem. Had almost resigned myself to a corn snake.

Glad I stuck with getting a BP and found this site. Thanks again for the encouraging news! :)

Congrats, my normal female is like that. She eats both mice and rats. I always like to switch it up so she doesn't get to fussy like some of my other snakes.

Yeah people who only feed their ball pythons like once a month is just animal cruelty, but not a lot of people care about snakes, so they are not a prime animal cruelty case. Ball pythons are not at all terrible feeders, its just that there is always a story behind why they are not eating, such as it is not comfortable, it is not hungry, and it is not feeling secure.

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Originally Posted by Patricia

So good to hear a balance against the overwhelmingly negative thing said about BPs: Problem eaters. Finicky. Won't eat. Sometimes said as a good thing, i.e. it eats only once or twice a year, so you won't be spending much on food.

I read up a ton of BP info on the Web before getting ours, and became disheartened that the 30gal tank I found wasn't big enough, and that it's not a good snake for beginners due to its eating problem. Had almost resigned myself to a corn snake.

Glad I stuck with getting a BP and found this site. Thanks again for the encouraging news! :)

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Wasnt big enough? A 30 gal is big enough for the entire life of a bp.

She probably got her information from some Pet Store Sell-Out.

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Originally Posted by guambomb832

Pet Store Sell-Out.

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:rofl:

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Originally Posted by guambomb832

She probably got her information from some Pet Store Sell-Out.

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I sure hope she didn't listen, Just another stressed out ball python because the all-to-knowledgeable employee suggested to start with with a 55 gallon.

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Originally Posted by joshn6805

Just another stressed out ball python because the all-to-knowledgeable employee suggested to start with with a 55 gallon.

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Yes, that's exactly what I came home from the pet store with: A 12" snake and a 55 gallon tank. That's not good?

JUST KIDDING! The prior owner was getting rid of snake+10 gal tank+everything else it came with. But before finally getting a snake, I read online extensively. When you google a question, much of what pops up seems to come from Yahoo Answers. :rolleyes:

After school ended last month, a teacher was getting rid of a 30 gal tank, which I happily picked up. Most of what I read online said that's not big enough for an adult BP (I even matched the dimensions to the gallon size of it to be sure), and they were recommending at least 40 gal. That, plus corn snakes being heartier eaters than BPs, made me think a corn snake should be my first snake. However, had I gotten one, I would forever wonder what a BP would've been like.

Glad I got a BP instead. I think they are beautiful! So anyway, posts like the OP here are really encouraging for newbies like me who have slogged through the snakey quagmire of the Web. :)

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Originally Posted by Patricia

Yes, that's exactly what I came home from the pet store with: A 12" snake and a 55 gallon tank. That's not good?

JUST KIDDING! The prior owner was getting rid of snake+10 gal tank+everything else it came with. But before finally getting a snake, I read online extensively. When you google a question, much of what pops up seems to come from Yahoo Answers. :rolleyes:

After school ended last month, a teacher was getting rid of a 30 gal tank, which I happily picked up. Most of what I read online said that's not big enough for an adult BP (I even matched the dimensions to the gallon size of it to be sure), and they were recommending at least 40 gal. That, plus corn snakes being heartier eaters than BPs, made me think a corn snake should be my first snake. However, had I gotten one, I would forever wonder what a BP would've been like.

Glad I got a BP instead. I think they are beautiful! So anyway, posts like the OP here are really encouraging for newbies like me who have slogged through the snakey quagmire of the Web. :)

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Great, im glad you did your research and decided with the ball, they are awesome little creatures. I have seen it way to many times people asking why there snake wont eat when its a hatchling in a 55 gal tank with one heat light and no hides when its what the genius at the pet store recommended.:rolleyes: Congrats on what I think was the right choice though:)

balls are awesome snakes..but ya can't go wrong with a corn...their just as beautiful and are wonderful snakes in themselves :0)

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Originally Posted by Maize411

balls are awesome snakes..but ya can't go wrong with a corn...their just as beautiful and are wonderful snakes in themselves :0)

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Oh no, I didn't mean anything negative against corn snakes. I held one last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Just that of the various snakes I've held, at least half of them were BPs. They've kind of "imprinted" themselves on me. And FWIW, from what I looked up online about corns and BPs, including YouTube videos, corns seem much more active. I wanted a chunky snake that'll just sit still on me.

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Originally Posted by Maize411

balls are awesome snakes..but ya can't go wrong with a corn...their just as beautiful and are wonderful snakes in themselves :0)

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I never could get into the corn snakes as much my balls though, they never impressed me as much as that first albino ball I saw. Different strokes for different folks I guess, but ill love my balls for life :P

Congrats on the good feeding! My pastel Toby is a garbage disposal too, and will eat anything I offer. So far he's had both mice and rats, in F/T and live form, and will even a variety in one feeding. Now my girls, on the other hand... :rolleyes:

Cool :)
Today is the 2nd day after he ate and I decided to take him out and he has much more muscle mass after that rat has been digested!He is much thicker, he gained like 50 grams, and he is much stronger, his tail wrapped around my fingers and I was like HOLY CRAP HE IS GOING TO KILL ME:)