Average weight of 8 month old female??

[Kaorte]

There is no way a 200g snake could eat a small rat.

Feed the snake approximately 10-15% of its body weight once a week.

For reference, my 8 month old snakes around around 500-600g.

[itskrystle]

There is no way a 200g snake could eat a small rat.

Feed the snake approximately 10-15% of its body weight once a week.

For reference, my 8 month old snakes around around 500-600g.

I thought so too but she did. While watching her eat, I kept thinking I was going to have to go back to the store for something smaller because I didn't see any way for her to get it down. I also felt bad that she had killed a rat for no reason since she wouldn't be able to eat it. Surprisingly, she got it down.

I appreciate everyone's comments and helpfulness. I'll be feeding her a rat pup every 5-7 days and hope she continues to grow. She hasn't missed a meal yet but I want to make sure she's at a healthy weight. I'm not trying to beef her up to breed, although I would like to breed her eventually. I just want to her grow and be healthy.

[Darkice]

I feed all my ball pythons a rat every 4 days. And i pick a rat thats the same diameter as the widest part of the snake. Works out great. If your not breeding then slow down on the feedings when they get up to 1000 grams. Every 7 days will be fine then.

[Kaorte]

I thought so too but she did. While watching her eat, I kept thinking I was going to have to go back to the store for something smaller because I didn't see any way for her to get it down. I also felt bad that she had killed a rat for no reason since she wouldn't be able to eat it. Surprisingly, she got it down.

I appreciate everyone's comments and helpfulness. I'll be feeding her a rat pup every 5-7 days and hope she continues to grow. She hasn't missed a meal yet but I want to make sure she's at a healthy weight. I'm not trying to beef her up to breed, although I would like to breed her eventually. I just want to her grow and be healthy.

Oh, a rat pup is different then a small rat. A small rat weighs somewhere between 50-80g.

[greghall]

Feed every 3 to five days if you want them to grow. When sub adults every week is ok.

[itskrystle]

Oh, a rat pup is different then a small rat. A small rat weighs somewhere between 50-80g.

It was a small rat that I fed her last week and was afraid she wouldn't be able to eat. I'm thinking that I'll start feeding her rat pups as opposed to the mice she's been getting. I had a rat pup last week but the store only had one and we fed that to a smaller female that we have which left only a small rat for "the precious."

The biggest problem is that I feed live and have to go to the store to get them. Most of the time the store doesn't have what I need and it's hard to judge the diameter of the rat in comparison to the snake when I don't have both of them in front of me. I'm not sure if there is a way I can weigh the rat before purchasing it to make sure it is 10-15% of the snake's body weight. Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much. I'll try to buy rat pups when I can. I think the store gets their shipments in on Wednesday so I may have to gradually start trying to change feeding day from Saturday to Wednesday.

[kc261]

Different places have different definitions of what a "small rat" is. According to rodentpro, they range from 45-84g, but that's just their definition.

I do believe a 200g BP could probably swallow a 45g rat. It might not be the best for her though. Meals that are too big can cause them to regurge.

As far as whether rats or mice are better... we don't know. You can find very detailed information on rodentpro's website about protein content and a lot of other nutrition information on mice, rats, and other prey animals. However, as far as I know, there has never been a scientific study to determine what the dietary requirements of BPs are. Is more protein better, or worse? We don't know. But we do know that BPs seem to do very well on diets made purely of mice, purely of rats, or a mix of the 2. So feed what works for you & your snake.

[zantedeschia]

The small rats I've been getting are around 40g.

It won't hurt your snake to skip a meal if the shop doesn't have your prey size. I would rather skip or feed too small than feed too large.

[jjsnakedude]

My bp just turned 5 months and weighed 350 grams 2 weeks ago but has been off feed since then because she dosent want to take rat pups. Mice for an 8 month old is kind of small.

[itskrystle]

It won't hurt your snake to skip a meal if the shop doesn't have your prey size. I would rather skip or feed too small than feed too large.

I hadn't even considered this. I've just been too concerned with making sure she gets the adequate amount of nutrition. I'll keep this in mind next time the store is out of what I need. Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate your help.