Am I overfeeding?

[Kinra]

First off my record keeping isn't prefect, I've been working on improving it.

The Story:
My normal female is entering the beginning stages of shed (pink belly, darker overall color). Her last shed was Apirl 18th and before that Feb 18th, so exactly two months in between. I've had her since October of last year and until about the start of February I wasn't feeding her correctly. The pet store told me she was eating one live mouse a week and I believed them. In February/end of January I managed to pull my head out of my *** and released I wasn't feeding her properly. She switched to f/t rats extremely easily and hasn't missed a feeding. I have decent record keeping going back March when I bought a scale. I'm just concerned that she's about to shed again so soon.

Here's what I have for details:
Weight (I weigh before the first feeding of the month):
March: 869
April: 963
May: 1271
Today: 1386

Feeding (in reverse order):
May 9th: 138g medium rat and a 28g rat pup one of my others refused
May 3rd: 127g medium rat and a 20g refused rat pup
April 27th: 157g medium rat
April 21st: Medium rat - failed to document weight
April 15th: 165g medium rat
April 10th: 141g medium rat
April 3rd: small rat and weanling mouse (failed to document weights)
March 27th: 41g small rat
March 21st: 49g small rat and 17g weanling mouse

I did upgrade the size of the rats I was feeding her last month. Am I over feeding or is she just getting caught up to where she should be after months of neglect?

[Simple Man]

Looks great to me! You have a healthy ball python that likes to eat. Nothing wrong with that...

Regards,

B

[VicShell]

sounds good to me they won't eat if they are not hungry

[snakesRkewl]

sounds good to me they won't eat if they are not hungry

No, but some of them can and will eat themselves into the shape of a sausage

[Simple Man]

No, but some of them can and will eat themselves into the shape of a sausage

Haha, I love my little sausage snakes. That usually means they are happy

Regards,

B

[King's Royal Pythons]

I was talking to a local herpitologist that stated:
"Do you really think a snake in the wild, when encountering a den of mice/rats/whatever, is going to stop at just one? No, it will eat until it is full. If a snake voluntarily eats (meaning no help from me), then it is not considered "power feeding". Yes, there are overweight snakes, but that is not the norm. When snakes are born, their metabolism is going at a higher rate than an adult. It is beneficial for a young wild snake to grow as fast as possible, thereby reducing the threat of predation."

My babies eat every 2-3 days; when they start refusing meals, they get offered every 4-5 days until adults, then I offer weekly of size appropriate rats.

[Kymberli]

sounds good to me they won't eat if they are not hungry

Not always. Some may know when to stop, but naturally they are opportunistic feeders and may just eat every time you offer! Some may not grasp the concept of self control. Lol.

As for the OP, seems like you have a healthy girl who loves to eat. As long as she has time to properly digest each meal before being offered the next, weight gain is something to be proud of! My two "rescues" are gaining weight like crazy on a steady 6day feeding schedule of properly-sized rats.