Amount of Food

[L.West]

Hello,

Well, I've had my BP for two months now - when I bought her from a Reptile Show I was told she was an '07 hatchling so I assume she is a year old at this point.

I weighed her this past Saturday and she weighed 349grams and about 26" long. Is this a good weight??

Also, I was wondering if I am feeding her enough - I give her one adult mouse f/t every 7th day - she always eats good but I wanted to make sure I was feeding her enough.

Any help would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

[Wh00h0069]

She sounds like a good weight to me. I would start her on rats. The reason I feed rats over mice is mice stay too small. I would have to feed multiple mice instead of one rat. I feed all of my sub-adult and adult ball pythons one small rat every seven days.

Hope this helps.

[Freakie_frog]

This is going to depend mostly on the animal. I have an 08 that eats an adult mouse every 5 days and hes only 180-200 grams. If she will eat an adult mouse then she will eat a small rat. I'd say move her up to small rats and see how she goes.

[PigsnPythons]

It sounds a little small to me. I have 6 '07s and they are all over 700 grams.

[mainbutter]

I was thinking that sounded a bit small, theoretically females can get up to breeding weight after their 2nd or 3rd winter. Her weight would need to quadruple in the for her to be up to breeding size for next year.

But I'm not all that experienced, just a bit of reasoning on what I've read about ball python growth rates, so don't take my thought too seriously! Also, even if she is small for her age, that doesn't meen she is undernourished. I'm sure some snakes grow slow compared to others, just as some have a smaller adult size than others.

[L.West]

When I first got her I went a little overboard and ordered too many adult mice from an online dealer - I have them all individually packed in the freezer - in order not to have to waste them could I give her two feedings a week or offer her two mice on her weekly feeding day????

Thanks.

[Wh00h0069]

When I first got her I went a little overboard and ordered too many adult mice from an online dealer - I have them all individually packed in the freezer - in order not to have to waste them could I give her two feedings a week or offer her two mice on her weekly feeding day????

Thanks.

Yes you can give her mulitple mice.

[Wh00h0069]

I was thinking that sounded a bit small, theoretically females can get up to breeding weight after their 2nd or 3rd winter. Her weight would need to quadruple in the for her to be up to breeding size for next year.

But I'm not all that experienced, just a bit of reasoning on what I've read about ball python growth rates, so don't take my thought too seriously! Also, even if she is small for her age, that doesn't meen she is undernourished. I'm sure some snakes grow slow compared to others, just as some have a smaller adult size than others.

I have 07's girls that range from 300 - 1000 grams. This also depends on their feeding habits and what time of the year they were born.

[L.West]

This may be a stupid question - but keep in mind I am totally new to all this.

When I offer multiple mice for a meal - do I wait until she swallows the first one and the immediately offer the second or what???

[Wh00h0069]

This may be a stupid question - but keep in mind I am totally new to all this.

When I offer multiple mice for a meal - do I wait until she swallows the first one and the immediately offer the second or what???

Not a stupid question at all. Yes, you wait until your snake has swallowed the first one. You will most likely notice that she is looking around for another meal a few minutes after she finishes the first one.