Feeding questions.

[twistedtails]

I have a large male who I normally feed weekly a large rat. He is 4+ pounds! I don't want him to get too big(altough he is huge already). Is it ok to feed him once ever other week? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Simpson Balls]

Well.... you made the commitment to own a snake and you should not be afraid of it getting to big. Balls can get up to 5 feet and if you don't want it to grow to big i suggest you give it away or sell it because a snakes gotta eat just like a human and starving it for 2 weeks almost will make it more aggressive (possibly) and it will probably lose weight and become sick and die and i know no one wants that.

~Daniel

ps: That's my opinion you do what you want to do with him.

[Brewster320]

A snake of his size and age would have no problem eating every other week. if fact it would probably be better for him seeing how big a boy he is. Also giving him a smaller prey item like a smaller rat might help alittle too.

[blackcrystal22]

Feed him a medium rat once a week.
Large rats are too big for even the largest of bps.

Are you sure it's a boy? Sounds like a female to me.. Males don't usually get that large. Also, 4 pounds is pretty inaccurate regarding snakes. Weigh him on a gram scale to give us a better idea of how much he weighs.

[waltah!]

Well.... you made the commitment to own a snake and you should not be afraid of it getting to big. Balls can get up to 5 feet and if you don't want it to grow to big i suggest you give it away or sell it because a snakes gotta eat just like a human and starving it for 2 weeks almost will make it more aggressive (possibly) and it will probably lose weight and become sick and die and i know no one wants that.

~Daniel

ps: That's my opinion you do what you want to do with him.

Whoa there, Daniel. The OP just asked a simple, legitimate question. No need to go overboard with your response. You will find your posts and advice better received if they are not hostile and if they are, in fact a correct response.
To answer the question: Your bp will continue to grow very very slowly once it is an adult. Many people don't feed anything larger than a medium rat every 7-10 days. Going 2 weeks will not starve your snake. Anyone who has made it through some breeding seasons will tell you that. Snake don't metabolize their food like you and I do. They metabolize much much slower. If it's already an adult, I don't personally see how dropping the prey size would hurt.

[Kaorte]

Sounds like your snake is full grown and can start eating a bit less. They usually top off around 2,000g so you are in good shape. There is no problem with moving to every 2 weeks. You will not be starving the snake, as it is full grown. It might gain a couple hundred more grams, but it will be doing so very slowly.

Feeding every 2 weeks will NOT starve your snake.

[twistedtails]

Well.... you made the commitment to own a snake and you should not be afraid of it getting to big. Balls can get up to 5 feet and if you don't want it to grow to big i suggest you give it away or sell it because a snakes gotta eat just like a human and starving it for 2 weeks almost will make it more aggressive (possibly) and it will probably lose weight and become sick and die and i know no one wants that.

~Daniel

ps: That's my opinion you do what you want to do with him.

I guess I worded that wrong....He is a very nice looking male and would like prove him out. I don't want him to out grow the females. Besides, I have seen people on here recommend feeding a blood python that is probably twice the weight a jumbo rat once every two weeks. Are bloods an exception???

[mrshawt]

Well.... you made the commitment to own a snake and you should not be afraid of it getting to big. Balls can get up to 5 feet and if you don't want it to grow to big i suggest you give it away or sell it because a snakes gotta eat just like a human and starving it for 2 weeks almost will make it more aggressive (possibly) and it will probably lose weight and become sick and die and i know no one wants that.

~Daniel

ps: That's my opinion you do what you want to do with him.

Well, I disagree. BP's do not have the same nutritional needs as humans, so comparing them is apples to oranges. Also, bp's can survive months without food, so 2 weeks isn't going to "starve" it. The rest of your post is exaggerated. My bp went over a month without food and only lost 10g.

To the OP, how much do large rats weigh? It would be ok to feed him every two weeks as long as the meals are big enough.

[mrshawt]

I guess I worded that wrong....He is a very nice looking male and would like prove him out. I don't want him to out grow the females. Besides, I have seen people on here recommend feeding a blood python that is probably twice the weight a jumbo rat once every two weeks. Are bloods an exception???

Bloods are a lot heavier bodied snakes than bp's, so a comparison would be harder to be accurate.

[waltah!]

I guess I worded that wrong....He is a very nice looking male and would like prove him out. I don't want him to out grow the females. Besides, I have seen people on here recommend feeding a blood python that is probably twice the weight a jumbo rat once every two weeks. Are bloods an exception???

Bloods metabolize slower than most snakes, and have slightly different requirements. If you fed a blood the same as a healthy ball you would end up with an obese blood.