Do I decide when my baby ball eats, or do I let her decide?

[oculus_ignigena]

Is it better to feed a baby ball python as much as she will eat, or to restrict her to once per week (or however often I think she should be eating)?

[Slim]

I prefer to offer food every week on the same day. For me that happens to be Wednesday. If they eat, they eat. If they don't, they don't.

Having said that, I see nothing wrong with feeding young snakes every 5 days if your ultimate goal is to get weight on them quickly. I don't breed BPs so I have no issues with having them grow at a slower pace.

[LittleTreeGuy]

I think I would feed them only once a week. Maybe every 5 days for a young snake, then move that back to a little less often as the snake grows and gets older.

I say that, because i remember reading somewhere that snakes are opertunisitic feeders... meaning that if the oppurtunity is there, they are likely to take it, since in the wild, they never know how long it could be before their next meal. Now, having said that, some bp's will go through phases they just won't eat.

From everything I've read, feeding more often than 5 days can just be unhealthy for the snake.

[Kokorobosoi]

I fed every two weeks for larger animals and every week for younger. But I'm also not too intent on getting up to breeding weight quickly. My feeder source doesn't seem to plan ahead for her regular customers she overreached. My colony isn't ready yet so I space things out. Pythons get fed week a, boas week b. (Adults) younger animals get fed weekly if they will take it.

[EL-Ziggy]

I feed my young snakes 10-15% (sometimes a little more) of their body weight every 5 days until they turn 1. I feed them every 7-10 days from ages 1-2, and every 10-14 days thereafter.

[DennisM]

You decide when to offer food, she decides when to eat. Offer on a regular schedule, if she refuses, don't offer again for the same amount of time.

[oculus_ignigena]

I'm not planning to breed her but I want to get her as big and long as she can get without getting fat or compromising her health. I don't need it to happen fast but I'm a bit worried about stunting her growth by not feeding her enough. Can that happen..?

Thanks for all the help everyone

[EL-Ziggy]

I'm not planning to breed her but I want to get her as big and long as she can get without getting fat or compromising her health. I don't need it to happen fast but I'm a bit worried about stunting her growth by not feeding her enough. Can that happen..?

Thanks for all the help everyone

You won't stunt her growth at all with a healthy, consistent feeding schedule. I feed my young snakes somewhat liberally but I'd never power feed any of my animals. If you're feeding your girl a decent sized meal every 5-7 days she'll do just fine.

[DennisM]

I'm not planning to breed her but I want to get her as big and long as she can get without getting fat or compromising her health. I don't need it to happen fast but I'm a bit worried about stunting her growth by not feeding her enough. Can that happen..?

Thanks for all the help everyone

yes, if the animal is underfed it's growth will be stunted. there's nothing complex about properly feeding a ball python. feed it a prey item that is roughly the same girth as the widest point of the snake. For young/undersized snakes feed every 5-7 days. for larger snakes feed every 7-10 days. if the snake refuses a meal, do not offer again until the scheduled feed date.

[cchardwick]

Actually I think feeding a ball python can be a bit tricky. You have to know what kind of food the snake will eat. I have some that will only eat live, some will eat frozen thawed or live. I feed all my snakes once a week, but I do feed some several smaller feedings. Some won't take food the size of the thickest part of the snake, so I offer smaller food, come back in a half hour and offer another one, sometimes a third. The more you can get into them the faster they will grow. For my ball pythons I start with live and they usually all eat. Then I'll try one or two frozen thawed, most will refuse. My rodent breeding isn't to a point where I can offer several live yet, but that's the plan. Some top breeders will only offer live to female breeders to ensure they will eat and to get them as big as possible as fast as possible.