About a month ago I got a call from my uncle who lives next door that he had found a snake in his barn that was different than any he had seen before. He called me as he knew I always caught snakes as a kid and had majored in biology. When I got there I realized it was a released/escaped ball python. I brought it home without really knowing what to do with it. I had never kept any snakes other than a wild milk snake I found years back but released again after a week. The kids thought it was cool but they had seen me catch wild snakes lots of times before and then let them go. The wife is generally scared of snakes but actually held it for a little bit without being persuaded. After I explained to her that it had to have been someones pet and would never survive the winter she was on facebook saying we may have a new pet.

I have a hunch that it came from a family that lived just down the road. They were renting a dilapidated old farmhouse until they got busted for drugs and the house was condemned. They had to move out a couple weeks before we found the snake and a aquarium was among the things that sat on the porch during the move. I was glad to see them go as they had been nothing but trouble.

I was not ready at all for a BP and it had to spend the first few nights in a barrel in the basement while I got stuff together. Thanks to websites like this one I gave myself a crash course on python care. The snake had a few sores on it's body and had developed a respiratory infection due to all the cool outdoor temps. After a $125 trip to the vet and giving him antibiotic injections, chlorhex rinses, and cream for his sores he seems to be doing much better. I now have him in a 48"18"20" aquarium with astroturf substrate, ceramic heater, 2 hides, a paint pan of water to soak in, and a branch that spans the whole tank. I am using a wet towel draped across the branch to keep humidity 50+.

The snake is 3 ft, 700 grams and unknown sex. It looks like what you call normal coloration and has never tried to bite. It didn't eat for the first 4 weeks while recovering but has eaten 6 live mice in the past week. I realize now I will need to give it something bigger to eat.

My questions are
What size prey will it need? Small rats?
Does 700g seem thin for a 3 ft BP?