Worried about BP eating habits!

[bpbabie]

My ball python is 22 years old and has consistently weird eating habits. When we first got her (she was 20 at the time), she was totally uninterested in eating for a solid 8 or so months. Since then, she's been eating semi-regularly, but I haven't been too worried about it since she's old.

However, within the past couple weeks she's been hunting every night. We've given her 3 mice and she's still hunting. How much is too much to feed her? How often should I be feeding her? Should I just keep feeding her when she's hunting/acting hungry?

Any help is appreciated! I'm really stressed about it!

[Reptile$ 4 Life]

A bp that is 22 years old should be on appropriately sized rats. The thickness of the rat should be around the equivalent of the thickest part of your snake

[KMG]

If it were mine I would be offering appropriate sized rat every 14 days.

Smaller means probably every 7 days.

I then do not feed again until the next scheduled day. They can cruise all they want but they will not get a special meal.

[bpbabie]

Good to know! I'll get her rats next time. At first she wouldn't eat rats, just mice, so I kept giving her mice, but I'll get her rats. Thank you!

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you! I'll try giving her rats and put her on a more regular feeding schedule!

[KMG]

But it's eaten rats and you feel confident it will again?

If not you might try getting one mouse and one rat that equal one appropriate meal size. Then thaw and heat them together to blend the scents.

[Bogertophis]

... We've given her 3 mice and she's still hunting. How much is too much to feed her? How often should I be feeding her? Should I just keep feeding her when she's hunting/acting hungry? ...

Once you feed a snake, even if the meal is undersized & your snake acts ravenous, do NOT feed more items until that first meal is completely digested (a week or 2, depending on the size of prey eaten). If a snake is still digesting recently eaten prey & you add more to the "mix", your snake will likely barf up both, & that is to be avoided. Snakes may aspirate stomach contents into their lung when/if they regurgitate & that has even been known to kill them, so please do not risk that by interrupting what they're already in the process of digesting. And once a snake regurgitates, you need to wait at least a couple weeks for them to replenish their digestive enzymes...otherwise, it can happen again & again...& they can even die of dehydration this way. So easy does it on the meals...one at a time, ok? If you do feed multiple items, you need to only give them one right after another, at the same time (like within 30 minutes of each other) for best results. Even just waiting until later in the day to add more can be a problem for a snake's digestion, just want to caution you, ok?

[bpbabie]

Once you feed a snake, even if the meal is undersized & your snake acts ravenous, do NOT feed more items until that first meal is completely digested (a week or 2, depending on the size of prey eaten). If a snake is still digesting recently eaten prey & you add more to the "mix", your snake will likely barf up both, & that is to be avoided. Snakes may aspirate stomach contents into their lung when/if they regurgitate & that has even been known to kill them, so please do not risk that by interrupting what they're already in the process of digesting. And once a snake regurgitates, you need to wait at least a couple weeks for them to replenish their digestive enzymes...otherwise, it can happen again & again...& they can even die of dehydration this way. So easy does it on the meals...one at a time, ok? If you do feed multiple items, you need to only give them one right after another, at the same time (like within 30 minutes of each other) for best results. Even just waiting until later in the day to add more can be a problem for a snake's digestion, just want to caution you, ok?

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I'll make sure to get her on a regular schedule. I really appreciate your help

[bpbabie]

But it's eaten rats and you feel confident it will again?

If not you might try getting one mouse and one rat that equal one appropriate meal size. Then thaw and heat them together to blend the scents.

She ate rats before we had her, but since we got her she hasn't shown interest in rats. Maybe I'll give the mouse and rat together a try. Thank you!