Ball Python Feeding Guidelines

[Eric Alan]

I'ts interesting to look at such a feeding chart and consider the pro's the con's. As an evolutionary biologist, herpetologist, and herpetoculturist, I try to absorb as much information regarding the effects of feeding schedules on the snakes physiology. Combine that with dissections of numerous "pet/breeder and wild" boids and pythonids over the years, I get to see the effects of feeding first hand. I posted this before, but I think its relevant.

"The frequency of feeding is something that interests me greatly, due to the dramatic physiological changes that occur rapidly upon feeding. Based on work carried out on Burmese pythons, it was shown that within 48 hours of feeding metabolic rate increases 44 fold, and the plasma triglyceride content increases 160 fold (thus the blood becomes thicker). Within 72 hours major organ specific changes also occur. For example, the small intestines, pancreas, liver, kidneys, and heart, increase in mass by between 40 and 100 fold. These changes last 10 to 14 days before returning to pre-feeding conditions. Physiologically, that is a massive amount of stress on organs. So, the question arises, if we feed on a 5 to 7 day routine, are we maintaining our snakes in a constant state of physiological stress (which may explain the short life span of many pythons and boas in captivity)? Furthermore, if we are feeding on a 5 to 7 day schedule, are the animals effectively utilizing all of the available meal, or are we simply pushing this through their systems with a reduced amount of processing?"

Would love to hear others opinions. Personally, I could not disagree more with a feeding regime of every 3-4 days for snakes up to 200 grams. But that is just me basing it off what we currently know about pythonid physiology.

Warren

Thank you for your insight, Dr. Booth. It's always welcome to hear feedback beyond the hobbyist's perspective. I would be interested in learning about how these physiological changes change throughout a snake's lifetime. How many hatchling snakes were included in the Burmese python research? From my own observations, and through conversations and reading what others have written on this topic, I have found that the actions and growth pattern of hatchling ball pythons indicate that they benefit from being fed more frequently than older snakes.

I think you could easily go with feeding most adults every second week.

Yes - a non-breeding adult could certainly be offered food every other week. Offering once weekly with the occasional skipped meal works as well. As I said on the chart - find what works best for you and your animals.