Live Feed

[jessicav]

When i fed my ball, Monty, for the first time, the breeder gave me 3 fuzzies and told me to feed them all to him because he was hungry. The first two went down fine. They were more active. He successfully killed them and swallowed them.

But the third and smallest fuzzy was the issue. The mouse was not as active and just kinda sat there. Then to my surprise, Monty ate this fuzzy without killing it! Even when the fuzzy started to squirm when he was biting it, he continued. He finished and locked his jaws back into place and the small mouse only visibly squirmed for about a minute longer. He seems fine, then and now.

But I'm honestly worried about when the mouse i feed him next is bigger (and not 3 fuzzies) if it will hurt him. If he rushes and fails to kill before he eats, couldn't that potentially be harmful?

Thanks!

Jessica

[_Venom_]

I don't think fuzzys can do anything.
Do they not lack claws or teeth?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Fuzzies are way too small for a BP, most hatchling are started on hopper mice.

The fact that the prey is too small makes it harder if not impossible for a snake to constrict. (Which is likely why the last fuzzy was ate alive)

When it come to feeding, feed a prey slightly than the girth size (widest part of your BP’s body) once a week.

Live feeding can be safe when done responsibly; most horror stories you will read or hear about are due to irresponsible owners.

Always feed an appropriate size prey, and always supervise feeding.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Ga ball... have a question for you. I always read that you should only feed a rodent as big around as the snake, or smaller. But then at the same time I see most say you should not feed a ball python larger than a small rat. Why is this? If a larger females girth is much larger then a small rat, wouldn't it make sence to feed a medium, or even a large rat?

Mike

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Ga ball... Have a question for you. I always read that you should only feed a rodent as big around as the snake, or smaller. But then at the same time I see most say you should not feed a ball python larger than a small rat. Why is this? If a larger females girth is much larger then a small rat, wouldn't it make sence to feed a medium, or even a large rat?

The rule I go by is the following, I feed young BP a prey slightly smaller than the girth size, and I feed adults a prey no larger than a small rat (45/65 grams)

Feeding small preys works for me my snakes are healthy, eat with consistency and do not fast.

I do not feel that because they can eat large prey, they need to eat large prey to thrive.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Thanks for the reply. I was just curious why so many don't go larger than a small rat. I undestand that you only feed small rats. In your opinion, is it bad for them to eat larger than a small rat as long as it is not fatter then them?

mike

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I personally don't find it necessary to feed large preys, in the end it is up to the owner to find what works for their animals and themselves.

I have animals that are healthy, thrive and eat with consistency, so to me that is all that matter.

[frankykeno]

For me, when feeding our largest female ball pythons, they might have a small/medium or a couple of smalls, never bigger than that. If they are hungry enough and want a couple of that size rat, no problem but I'd rather they ate that way then deal with a too big live rat in a confined area.

Remember these are snakes that don't eat every 7 days like clockwork in the wild. If you added up all the prey volume they end up eating over a year being fed weekly, it's likely far more than they would ever manage to catch in the wild.

[jessicav]

Thanks for that. i was kinda worried at first. After all, it's what the breeder told me to do! Monty is doing well and he comes out of his tunnel at night time. I have looked into getting a different hide for him though. So as long as i supervise the feeding, Monty will be safe. Thanks!

[twh]

if your concerned about live prey you could stun (wack the mouse) the mouse just before feeding it.

Thanks for that. i was kinda worried at first. After all, it's what the breeder told me to do! Monty is doing well and he comes out of his tunnel at night time. I have looked into getting a different hide for him though. So as long as i supervise the feeding, Monty will be safe. Thanks!