How to get a 900g female to 1500g in 6 months...???

[rj1204]

I have 3 normal BP females and 2 pastel females that are around 900-950 grams. They are all 08's and will be at least 2-3 years old by December. I would like to breed them in December, if they are a good weight, hopefully around 1500 grams or more.

I am currently feeding them small rats but I am about to move them up to medium rats (three of them ate 2 small rats last week). Would you recommend I feed them once a week or every 5 days? I would think one medium (80 gram rat) per 7 days should get them around 1500 grams by December right?

[stratus_020202]

Just once a week. You won't be able to force them to gain weight. You'll just have to wait and see. If they gain too quickly it will just be fat weight, which even if they weight 1500 g's that's not a healthy weight. I would do the medium every 7 days, and just hope they stay on a good feeding schedule.

[Wh00h0069]

I personally would not recommend feeding them medium rats, or every five days. IMO, that will most likely just put them off feed. Continue feeding them one small rat every seven days. They will eat more consistently on this diet. They will gain weight eventually. However, I am of the opinion that attempting to breed them small will not hurt them. I have successfully bred 1100 - 1200 gram females. Most will eat while breeding too, so they will continue to put weight on. Good luck either way.

[KMS]

I stand behind that Ball Pythons are opportunistic feeders, And if offered food will eat, As to breeding this fall Weight isnt the only factor in breeding. its a gage. Like others have stated Ive had 1200 gram females give me 5 good eggs and a 2000 gram female give me 4 eggs...But as to weight gain I would go with smaller is better..I'd feed smalls every 4 to 5 days to gain weight.
Just my 2 cents..
Kevin Stoltz

[rj1204]

I was originally thinking that, but I fed my normal girls a small rat and they sat at the front of the rack just waiting in strike position. The second I put the 2nd small rat in (all F/T by the way), they struck it and ate it. After that, they went to the back of the rack and layed on the heat.......very satisfied. I just figured one medium 80 gram rat would be better then 2 small 50-60 gram rats. They seem to have a good appetite, even though I have only had them for 2 weeks.

I just got my 2 pastel females 3 days prior to feeding. I did the zombie dance for my 1700 gram girl but she didnt care for the rat. My other pastel (from the same breeder), grabbed the small rat and ate it no problem (I was just happy to see her eat after just being with me for 3 days). After she ate the one small rat, she went back to the heat. So, I will probably try a medium rat for my 1700 gram girl and may just stay with the small rat for the 900 gram pastel. I agree, as long as they eat just 1 small rat per week would make me happy and put good weight on them, but my normal girls seem to have a larger appetite then my pastels. Thanks.

[Kaorte]

Ah, Our definitions of "small rat" seem to be different. I consider a small rat to be about 100g give or take.

I think it would be perfectly fine to feed an 80-100g rat once per week.

[Corrupter]

Ah, Our definitions of "small rat" seem to be different. I consider a small rat to be about 100g give or take.

I think it would be perfectly fine to feed an 80-100g rat once per week.

I agree. I think a medium is too big for a 900g ball but my mediums weigh in around 150g. A small every week is fine and should at least put them over 1200-1300 by then. If they never skip meals then 1500g is definitely possible. I have put on more than that in less time with the same starting size

[alan1]

easily - as long as they keep eating, simply keep feeding...
you'll probably find their food response will go through the roof in the latter part of the year

[Tyler_Royality]

ive never had a female stop eating until she ovulates. so I would expect to still be feeding her in thru february. so yes.. she will most likely make size.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I feed them as frequently as they will eat using rats that are as big around as the widest part of their body.
If they start refusing meals on a 5 day schedule, then I bump them to a 7 day schedule. They'll still put on tons of weight.

If small rats are the right size...they get smalls. If mediums are, then they get mediums. I have found that this time now is the 'feeding season'. Once the females have laid eggs, they become ravenous, and all the snakes that were off feed for the winter also get back their appetites and start chowing like there's no tomorrow.

I just had a 2008 female who refused anything except mice for her entire life suddenly start taking small rats, and eating them every 5 days.

Breeder and 'up and coming' females get fed up rapidly until they're at a healthy breeding weight, then they're put on a maintenance diet for slow gain until the breeding season starts.

I have found that some 800 to 1200 gram females will go off feed for the winter. If a snake doesn't make 1500 grams, I do not breed her. I would rather hold out one more year, and have larger clutches and a bigger female.

My two first-timer 1500 gram girls gave me clutches of 5 enormous and 7 regular eggs, respectively. (Honestly, I've never seen eggs so big, even my 3000 gram girls laid smaller eggs, lol).

Conversely, the undersized female I purchased from someone local had laid only 4 undersized eggs. We shall see how she does this coming season, as I'm feeding the heck out of her.