How much should I be feeding my BP?

[Ashleibby613]

I am relatively new at owning a snake, I have had my girl for about a year and she was a few months old when I got her. That means she is about a year and a half and weighs approximately 350 grams. I have been feeding her an adult live mouse about every 7 days or so (I would wait until she would have a bowel movement or would act as if she is hungry to get her another mouse). Lately she seems like she is hungry a lot. I fed her one day and 3 days later I was trying to change out her water bowl and she snapped at me. I went to get her another mouse that day and she barely even let the mouse hit the ground before she attacked it.

I was wondering if I should feed her more often or try to switch to rats. The pet stores in my town do not carry juvenile rats, they only have full grown small rats and I do not believe my BP is big enough for those yet. Please help!

[tttaylorrr]

a snappy snake is a hungry snake.

the older they get, the harder it can be to switch over to rats. you want to try and switch over to rats because as the snake gets older, even the biggest mouse won't fill them up, and offering multiple prey items is expensive and taxing on the snake's digestive system.

here's a feeding chart we all use as a guide:


by your measurement of weight, the snake should be on weaned rats OR a jumbo mouse. again, it's more beneficial to make the switch to rats asap.

[JodanOrNoDan]

350 is small for a year and a half female. bump up the food intake.

[Ashleibby613]

Okay thank you. I will try to find somewhere with weaned rats. The pet store I get the smallest rat is a small rat. And like I said I just don't think she is ready for that. I am going to call around and see if anyone around sells them.

Also I'm not sure she is exactly that old. I purchased her from a pet store and of course they did not know how old she was. But I assume about a month or 2 and I have had her for 13 months. How big should she be? I did not want to feed her too much because I read that could be just as bad.

[JodanOrNoDan]

I personally would say at a year I wouldn't expect a female to be under 500 grams. A male is a different story. Most of my holdback girls are over 1000 grams at a year. I have big snakes though. Maybe another breeder with smaller lines can chime in.

It is somewhat normal for breeders to "maintenance feed" snakes that are going to be sold, which basically means feed them enough to remain healthy, but even a maintenance fed animal i would expect to be a little larger than what you are experiencing.

In any case, the animal will rapidly catch up to "normal" on a good schedule.

[Craiga 01453]

Okay thank you. I will try to find somewhere with weaned rats. The pet store I get the smallest rat is a small rat. And like I said I just don't think she is ready for that. I am going to call around and see if anyone around sells them.

Also I'm not sure she is exactly that old. I purchased her from a pet store and of course they did not know how old she was. But I assume about a month or 2 and I have had her for 13 months. How big should she be? I did not want to feed her too much because I read that could be just as bad.

If you can afford the upfront cost and have some freezer space buying in bulk is the way to go. Whether it be at an expo if one comes to a town near you, or you order online it's way cheaper. The shipping costs are steep, but in the long run it is a lot cheaper.

[Ashleibby613]

If you can afford the upfront cost and have some freezer space buying in bulk is the way to go. Whether it be at an expo if one comes to a town near you, or you order online it's way cheaper. The shipping costs are steep, but in the long run it is a lot cheaper.

I would love to feed f/t but Every time I try she will not eat them. The first 2 months I had her I kept trying to feed f/t and she would not eat. The pet store said that is what she was eating there but there is no way. She started to drop some weight so I tried live and she gobbled it up right away.

Do you have any suggestions on how to switch her to f/t?

[tttaylorrr]

I would love to feed f/t but Every time I try she will not eat them. The first 2 months I had her I kept trying to feed f/t and she would not eat. The pet store said that is what she was eating there but there is no way. She started to drop some weight so I tried live and she gobbled it up right away.

Do you have any suggestions on how to switch her to f/t?

i think when people are trying to make that switch they pre-kill the live prey and offer it; if that's accepted for a while they then try f/t. i have never done PK so hopefully someone can explain the process.

[JodanOrNoDan]

I generally wait them out. This animal is a little small though so maybe a couple more good meals before you try.

[Craiga 01453]

I haven't had to switch one over...yet.

I did read in a thread somewhere that somebody had success switching over to F/T by waiting to offer until after the snake shed. Then offering F/T after a few weeks off food and freshly shed.

Wasn't me though, and I only saw it in one place, so unless somebody chimes in with more about this technique take it for what it is...