Hello!

I'm a first time ball python owner, and I've had my Pastel, Virgil, for the last five months. He's a little over 6 months and weighs (as of yesterday) 184 grams. His humidity is generally balanced between 65-70%, but sometimes it dips below 60%, about once a week. I'm still perfecting it. The UTH temperature is kept at 91, and is regulated so it doesn't burn him. The ambient temperature is too low, about 70 (room temp) but I'm getting a heat lamp ASAP to solve this. He lives in a 10 gallon tank with aspen bedding, with a hot hide and a cold hide.

Everyone always seems to ask about the husbandry when I read the threads, so I started with that. I don't have any photos of Virgil or the tank on my computer, but I can get some tomorrow.

My question is, should I feed Virgil more? I fed him tonight two mice who together equaled 26 grams (14% of his body weight), but even after downing both of them (about an hour and a half between each one), he hasn't curled up into his hot hide, and is checking everything out half in, half out his hot hide. This is the second week in a row he's done that, and my question is, should I be feeding him more? I know he's young and growing.

I have about 15 of the mice he is currently eating. They're kind of between hoppers and weanlings, I think, about 13-14 grams each. I bought them from a local reptile breeder and seller. I don't want to waste them. I'm trying to save money for his 20 gallon, but if I have to make changes I will.

Should I feed Virgil 20% of his body weight (about 36 grams for now) instead of 15%? Could I potentially feed him a third, smaller mouse, like a fuzzy, without making him ill or overfeeding him? If so, should I give it to him after the second mouse, or should I give it to him a few days later? Should I even be feeding mice back-to-back, even with an hour and a half at least in between? I don't want to have a constantly digesting snake that I can't hold. I want him to be as used to me as possible so I'm not too stressful for him and he doesn't become aggressive. But his health and well-being comes first, always.