Quote Originally Posted by Bundu Boy View Post
Now that is the kind of answer I'm happy to see, thanks NR.

Naturally, stages of life will help to guide you in how much to feed. I'm not too concerned with the first 12-18 months of a Ball's life as this is when it grows the most. Although I think even my spider may have pushed the envelope a little in his early stages, which was 100% my fault.

My concern comes in once the ball reaches adulthood. Growth is no longer at the same rate as when it was younger and the animal's needs have changed. It is at this point that I am focusing my efforts regarding feeding.

The ball does not need the food energy to grow at a high rate anymore, so do we need to continue to pump food into them?
Shouldn't happen. But if you are breeding adults you will notice just how much it takes out of both boys & girls... and at that point your replacing lost body weight with a bit of minor growth. Girls can lose over 1/2 their weight laying eggs, males lose weight courting & breeding... males who are pulled from breeding still take their sweet time going back on feed, even though their weight fluctuates less than the girls.

Now, snakes that aren't being bred? Well, I've a few that are on break any given season- I do not breed an adult snake every year here. Again feeding for this is different. As long as you keep good records I still believe it's simple to do right by your animals.