I would like to pose a question in relationship to some of the thoughts posted on this thread. As humans if we are on a regular feeding schedule our bodies respond well, however if we are not our bodies tend to store fat not knowing when the next meal is. Might this be true with ball pythons? Does anyone have any idea? However the amount of food we need is based upon our activity level and metabolism. I might suggest that it would be better for a ball to be on a schedule (which could very depending on the snake) but the amount of food would be adjusted based upon the needed nutrients at the time. I have only had my ball since April so I have hardly any experince under my belt. I adopted her from a pet store and they told me to feed on a regular schedule every two weeks or after she defecates. I have fed her every two weeks since april and she has not yet skipped a meal. I don't know if she is under or overwieght, (I after reading this post feel the need to by a scale) however she seems to be at a healthy weight to me. This is just my hypothesis and any replies or suggestions are welcome!