First feed (successful) and a question

[SharkFan]

We have had a BP for about a week. It was eating live with the breeder/store, we successfully got it to eat a F/T today.
The BP weighs 175g and the store gave us a mouse that was 7g. It looked small for him. Also, after holding it in front of him for 3-4 mins he simply opened his mouth and grabbed it- no strike.
Does the mouse size seem small for him?
Any concern with no strike? Maybe he was just lazy.
Thx for any info.

[Bogertophis]

I'm not in the habit of weighing prey & all, so I can't speak to that, but it's just fine when a snake eats without striking- some get used to f/t that doesn't "fight back" and don't waste energy striking, while some snakes never do. I have plenty of snakes that eat off my tongs, though not always so politely, lol.

[Snagrio]

My own BP had a moment recently where he struck, missed completely yet somehow got a single coil around the rat and he started eating seconds later. So with that in mind, I wouldn't worry. Sometimes they just flat out don't care how the job is done and have a very "Hey as long as it works" attitude.

[dakski]

As long as he eats, I wouldn't care how he does it.

7G is way too small.

At 175G, he should be eating at least a small mouse (12-17G). You want something about his girth.

See below for a good feeding chart. I use it for food size, but don't recommend medium rats unless a BP gets huge, and feed every two weeks starting with small rats.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[JacksReptiles]

Hey if your ball pythons eating don't jinx it lol that means its happy