First time bp owner and first time feed question

[Hines9905]

Apologies for the long post!

Got our first bp on 7/18 judging from how long the store had him (they show since 3/16/22) I think he may be around 5 months old? He weighed 164 grams on 7/18. Today was his first feed and he came right out, struck and started feeding. He went with the rear end first and seemed to struggle a bit and ended up letting go and hung out for a bit. We left the room (maybe 20 min?) came back and mouse was gone and he was stretching up and opening and closing his mouth. Lol I couldn’t see any lump in him but I think he ate it. Anyway, he sat like that for a few more minutes then went into his cool hide and kept poking his head out and flicking his tongue looking around. I guess my question is, how do I know if he’s looking for more? The feed was a f/t medium mouse which that is what the store fed him all through June and then last week they wrote that they fed him “2 fuzzies” I asked if they meant fuzzy mice or fuzzy rats and they said mice. I checked those at the store and they seemed smaller than a medium mouse. So that’s why we went medium. I’ll try to add a couple pics to show size (I hope they work!) lol I’m just so anxious to make sure I’m doing everything right so any tips/input is appreciated!



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[Bogertophis]

Hi, & welcome- congrats on your first BP & also your first successful feeding.

Here's a chart that may help you decide the proper size prey for your snake as he grows- & you'll notice it goes by weights- that helps a lot since not everyone (including vendors) describe rodent sizes the same way. Typically though, prey for newly-hatched BPs is one hopper mouse, unless they're unusually small, & prey is sized up as the snake grows. (Mouse "fuzzies" are too small for a BP- that's why they fed him 2, & even then it was a skimpy meal.)

My only criticism of this chart (which isn't mine but has been on the site for longer than I have) is that the meal spacing is closer together than what I'd do- but you can use your own judgement on that anyway- it's just a guideline.




BPs are naturally wider mid-body than many other kinds of snakes, so sometimes it is hard to "see a lump" from the meal just taken, but if it ain't there & you didn't eat it, chances are pretty good your snake did.

And please understand this: most snakes that have just eaten will keep looking for "more" even if they just ate a LARGE meal, lol. It's a lot like us humans- even when we're full, we often still want dessert, eh? That's because it takes time for the human brain to get the message from our stomach that it's full, & I assume snakes may have the same "design flaw"? Anyway, do not fall for it- you don't want your snake to regurgitate from excessive food & insufficient digestive enzymes- you just don't. And snakes that are slightly underfed are better off (health-wise) than those which are over-fed- much like us, hahaha.

[Hines9905]

Thank you, I appreciate the response! lol I guess I just thought it would take a little longer to get to the thicker part of his body since it took a bit for him to get his mouth all the way around it. I was worried at first maybe it was too big for him and that’s why he stopped and then waited but I don’t think it was bigger around than the widest part of his body. He’s all curled up in his cool hide now and poked his head out when I misted to bring the humidity back up (still working on getting that to stay where it needs to be and keeping it there.)

[Bogertophis]

Those little faces peeking out & asking "More?" can be hard to say "no" to, but snakes can stay "in feed mode" for anywhere from a few hours to more than a day, & you also want to avoid just reaching into their home to do something because they can easily misinterpret your warm & wiggling hand for something edible. So pay attention & learn your snake's body language, unless you like playing tag (ie. being tagged).