Growing Balls and questions

[Phoenix Rising]

Update:
It's been some time since I posted here and gleamed the great advice you gave me regarding my new baby. I now have 4 balls. 3 are still under a year old. Nyah, Imani and Baloo are my babies and growing so fast. Nyah is a female and the other 2 are males. The 4th ball is a bit older one. Izzaball, Izzy for short, is over a year but I don't know how old exactly. They all seem happy and healthy. They shed well without any problems. They are sweet most of the time. They KNOW when it's feeding day and are used to my routine with them. They are beautiful!!!

I have a routine that I follow pretty religiously. Every Sunday I feed my snakes. The little ones are weighed each week before they eat so I can track their weight and growth. The 3 weigh 525g, 404g, and 532g. The little ones had been eating F/T mice but about a month ago I switched them to rats. They handled the transition without a hitch. They are now eating weaned rats weekly.

Izzy weighs 696g and is fed every other weak. She eats small rats. When we got Izzy she was being fed every 3 weeks but after observing her I just felt that she needed more so I increased her feeding schedule to every 2 weeks. She has really taken to the schedule I have her on and is gaining nicely.

I'm at a place that I need to order more food for them. I buy F/T and would like a bit of advice on what size and quantity to order. I would rather order a bit more and save on shipping. Buying at shows is a lot more expensive when buying for 4. So, questions: How long should I keep the 3 little ones on the current size and schedule? Will I be increasing Izzy's food size and/or frequency? How long do you think I should keep her on this schedule?

How big does a full grown female get? I have read on this forum that feeding a bit smaller prey and maybe a bit more frequently is the way to go with balls. She's a pet so I am not looking at her eating a big meal and sleeping for a long time then waking up ravished or anything. I let my snakes sleep till they rouse around Wednesday or Thursday and then look forward to some interaction time. Izzy has a longer sleep it off time. I did run out of her size rats a couple weeks ago and gave her the same feedings as the little ones and she did really well but the down size is it is more expensive too. But, if that would be better to give her weanlings every week, I would do that. I'm committed to my pets.

I'm at a place that I need to order more rats. In this order, I want to make sure I have the right sized food and enough of it for 6 months to a year.

Any way, sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for any replies and advice/feedback.

Thank you,
Maggie and the critters

[dakski]

Update:
It's been some time since I posted here and gleamed the great advice you gave me regarding my new baby. I now have 4 balls. 3 are still under a year old. Nyah, Imani and Baloo are my babies and growing so fast. Nyah is a female and the other 2 are males. The 4th ball is a bit older one. Izzaball, Izzy for short, is over a year but I don't know how old exactly. They all seem happy and healthy. They shed well without any problems. They are sweet most of the time. They KNOW when it's feeding day and are used to my routine with them. They are beautiful!!!

I have a routine that I follow pretty religiously. Every Sunday I feed my snakes. The little ones are weighed each week before they eat so I can track their weight and growth. The 3 weigh 525g, 404g, and 532g. The little ones had been eating F/T mice but about a month ago I switched them to rats. They handled the transition without a hitch. They are now eating weaned rats weekly.

​Awesome they switched easily and weekly is fine for them.

Izzy weighs 696g and is fed every other weak. She eats small rats. When we got Izzy she was being fed every 3 weeks but after observing her I just felt that she needed more so I increased her feeding schedule to every 2 weeks. She has really taken to the schedule I have her on and is gaining nicely.

​I would keep her on small rats every other week, if that's working for her, for a while. She's growing and doing well and that's what matters. They do not get food in the wild every 2 weeks and are very efficient. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I'm at a place that I need to order more food for them. I buy F/T and would like a bit of advice on what size and quantity to order. I would rather order a bit more and save on shipping. Buying at shows is a lot more expensive when buying for 4. So, questions: How long should I keep the 3 little ones on the current size and schedule? Will I be increasing Izzy's food size and/or frequency? How long do you think I should keep her on this schedule?

How big does a full grown female get? I have read on this forum that feeding a bit smaller prey and maybe a bit more frequently is the way to go with balls. She's a pet so I am not looking at her eating a big meal and sleeping for a long time then waking up ravished or anything. I let my snakes sleep till they rouse around Wednesday or Thursday and then look forward to some interaction time. Izzy has a longer sleep it off time. I did run out of her size rats a couple weeks ago and gave her the same feedings as the little ones and she did really well but the down size is it is more expensive too. But, if that would be better to give her weanlings every week, I would do that. I'm committed to my pets.

​Adult female size varies on genetics, the individual animal, and most importantly, food intake. BP's can slow down when getting to full size and may not eat as much, but this isn't guaranteed.

I'll let someone else weigh in on adult female size variance, but my 7 year old girl, Shayna, is about 4FT and 1,800G. I've heard she's a little small for a female, but not terribly. Again, I'll let someone else chime in here.

I'm at a place that I need to order more rats. In this order, I want to make sure I have the right sized food and enough of it for 6 months to a year.

If you order from a reputable place like Perfect Prey or Big Cheese, they will vacuum seal the prey and it should last, sealed for up to 2 years and 6 months after opening (assuming the prey stays frozen that whole time). I date my F/T rodents when they come in and go older to newer. If not used within 2 years, I dispose of them, but that doesn't happen often with 6 snakes. Once I open a sealed package, I keep it in a freezer ziplock bag, and dispose of anything I don't use within 6 months.

Look at the chart below. I would order a bunch of smalls, maybe a package of weaned, and even a pack of mediums (Izzy will get there soon enough, if she wants mediums, and the others aren't far behind). In most cases, the larger the prey item, the fewer that come in the package. So one package of weaned rats, which should be 20 or so, should last until the smaller ones can take small rats. Better to feed smaller for longer than force larger prey. Again, BP's, as with many snakes, especially larger constrictors like Pythons and Boas, are very efficient and make use of what they get.

Any way, sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for any replies and advice/feedback.

Thank you,
Maggie and the critters

See above in BLUE and the chart below. In general I agree with the sizes, but not with the duration, necessarily.

Shayna, by 7 year old Albino Spider BP weighs about 1,800G and is about 4FT long. I feed her small rats every other week and she gains during the summer and loses in the winter when she fasts. However, when feeding medium rats every two weeks, she would often refuse, even in the summer. She eats like clockwork in the summer on small rats and gains from about 1,650G to 1,800G+ during the spring, summer, and part of the fall. You will have to gauge your individual snakes and see what they like when they are older, or when they start to slow down and refuse food. BP's going on fasts is normal. However, when they want to eat, keep them eating by offering appropriate food for each snake.

[Phoenix Rising]

Thank you for the info. This is exactly what I needed.