Feeding question

[Tcass100]

Hello,

Im a new BP owner, Ive never had a snake before, I bought him at the petco on the 8th of may, his sheet said he had last eaten on 1st of may, he didnt eat last week due to his shedding cycle, which btw was a very bad shed, I had to bath him alot and help him, because it was just comming off in raggedy peices around his belly scales and on his side, anyway the question is a feed him yesterday 2 hoppers, which he ate readily with no problem, but hes been hunting the cage since for more, will it hurt him if I feed him a third hopper tonight? Im not sure if its bad for him or if its over feeding, any input would be helpfull. I forgot to tell that the snake is approx 18in long, the pet store said it was about 3 monthes old, since i dont know much about snake sizes does this sound right?

[stratus_020202]

Can you give us a little information on his home? What are your temps/humidity?

The best way to tell how much to feed them, is to weigh them. The pet store should have a scale that you can weigh them on. You can also by one. I bought one on ebay for $15 and that included shipping.

They should be fed 10% of their body weight. If she weights 200 g's then feed her a 20g mouse. Most balls can eat hoppers as hatchlings. The prey should also be a little smaller than your balls largest circumfrance.

You can try a small mouse. Just watch her carefully. If she doesn't eat it take it out.

[gmcclurelssu]

The general rule is one prey item per week, the same size as the thickest part of your snake's body. For the shedding problem, you need to make sure the humidity in your inclosure is high enough- about 60% for shedding, 50% the rest of the time. If you have any questions about you enclosure, feel free to ask.
welcome!

[Tcass100]

ok, I have him in a 10 gallon tank with an undertank heater under his hide and a infared heat lamp on top, on the cool side i have his water bowl, the thermometer says its about 85 - 90 and the humidity is usally around 50% I had to mist the cage to bump it up to around 70% when he was trying to shed, I dont remember what his wieght was I want to say 40g but i may be wrong? the hoppers are about the right side to feed him I think based on his girth, i dont think hes ready for a full adult mouse yet, but I wasnt sure if he sould eat three hoppers in 2 days, I dont want his guts to explode or anything, but he keeps looking at the corners of the cage and searching around.

[stratus_020202]

Well, 40 grams is really small. He probably weighs a little more than that. I would put him on a 5 day feeding schedule of two hoppers. At least until you can find out how much he weighs.

Are you measuring from the hot side or the cool side? It should be a digital thermometer too.

What kind of hides are they?

[Tcass100]

Im sure hes more than that, I thought i just saw 40 on the scale when she weighed him at checkout...the miss's says it was 0.39lbs, so about 177g. I do use a digital thermometer, I measure on the warm side. I do not have one on the cool side, but the house temp is around 70F right now.

[gmcclurelssu]

how long have you had him? he may just be exploring the new enclosure still.

[Tcass100]

I have had him about 2 weeks, up untill just a few days ago all he did was stay in his hide, I thought maybe due to his shedding cycle, now he comes out and looks around alot and seems really alert and curious.