BP food variety.

[ClarkT]

Alright, a few of you may have seen me ask these same types of questions in the redtail boa area, but it's gotten me thinking too much. I'm just too curious.

1. What variety of food have you fed your ball pythons? (rabbits, mice, asf, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds/chicks, prarie dogs, squirrels, chipmunks, etc....)

2. Has anybody tried feeding their BPs birds/chicks? If so, what type/size?

3. If a BP would eat birds/chicks, would they be sufficient to keep the snake growing and healthy?

4. What are the risks of feeding wild prey? (wild caught rodents)

5. If there are real risks of feeding wild prey, how likely are the risks to happen?

Sorry, I'm full of questions, and I know there may be a lot of speculation in the answers, along with a lot of pure opinion. I don't really expect that many people have actual data on these things, but again, I'm curious. Curious both to what you all think, and what data you all might have.

[ClarkT]

Mods, if this belongs in the General BP area, please move it for me. Sorry...not sure where it belongs.
Thanks.

[Mike.P]

I don't know if I can answer all of your questions, but I'll take a try at couple of them...

I would not feed wild prey. Wild caught rodents could be full of parasites, harmful bacteria, and other infectious agents, such as pesticides or any other chemicals in their environment. While a snake in the wild could of course feed on them, a captive bred and raised snake would not have the immunity needed to handle such infections, and could potentially contract a lethal disease. This is also the reason that snakes in the wild have shorter lifespans than their captive counterparts.

How likely is this to happen? I'm not sure that I can quantify it into odds, but it's definitely a risk to be avoided.

As far as variety goes, most rodents are the same. The one difference I do know of is that rat pups have a higher fat content versus mice. So if you're looking to put on weight, you could feed those.

I had a green tree python that I would feed chicks when they were in season. He would eat them like crazy. But GTP's are arboreal snakes, that are used to eating birds as part of their diet. I don't know if a ball would go for them. Never tried. But yes, they were sufficient to keep him happy and healthy.

Now, I did have a ball python at one point that ate fish. Once a month I would put a couple of large feeders in his water dish, and he would snap them right up. My vet said this was good for them, because of the Omegas and fatty acids present in fish. Also, pretty amusing to watch. lol.

Hope that helps.

[BallsUnlimited]

Alright, a few of you may have seen me ask these same types of questions in the redtail boa area, but it's gotten me thinking too much. I'm just too curious.

1. What variety of food have you fed your ball pythons? (rabbits, mice, asf, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds/chicks, prarie dogs, squirrels, chipmunks, etc....)
mice,rats,gerbils,hamsters have had some picky eaters over the years but generally after a few feedings or mice,gerbils,hamsters i could get them back on rats.
2. Has anybody tried feeding their BPs birds/chicks? If so, what type/size?
no. they do just fine on rodents
3. If a BP would eat birds/chicks, would they be sufficient to keep the snake growing and healthy?
cant give you an accurate answer bc one ive never done this and two i dont know of anyone else that has.
4. What are the risks of feeding wild prey? (wild caught rodents)
parasites
5. If there are real risks of feeding wild prey, how likely are the risks to happen?
it could happen on the first feeding.
Sorry, I'm full of questions, and I know there may be a lot of speculation in the answers, along with a lot of pure opinion. I don't really expect that many people have actual data on these things, but again, I'm curious. Curious both to what you all think, and what data you all might have.

[kitedemon]

Wild food items as everyone has stated parasites. They have been protected and isolated from most harmful bacteria for generations the ability to deal with real world prey items is unlikely.

Most wild snakes have internal parasites and shorter life spans so it is likely the same would happen.

Chicks there has been prey studies done in Africa the northern end of the royal range and in places Royals were found to be feeding on birds mostly sub adults. The study was done by an italian team at the moment their name escapes me. The end result is it is quite likely they will feed on chicks and quite likely do just fine doing so. They are a little low in calcium than rats and mice so if someone was feeding them exclusively a supplement might not be a bad idea. There is a member from south america I think whom is feeding chicks as there are no rodent breeders where he is. Can't recall his name either I think I need to find a coffee...

[Shadera]

The wild prey questions have been covered and I feel pretty much the same way, so I'll touch on the other questions.

I regularly feed mice, soft furs, and regular rats. I've also handed out a few mini rex rabbit crawlers and had no issues there either.

I've never tried to feed any sort of bird. From what I have gathered by reading online, they can cause some loose and incredibly stinky poops. No thanks!

[Dillons-Bp's]

ive had a friend a few years ago try to feed his adult female a baby chicken and she wouldnt touch it

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Sure you can feed chicks if you like smelly runny poop

As far as feeding wild caught rodent the risk is DEATH aside from parasite the danger here is that the rodent since you do not know where it has been could have got into rat poison which typically can take up to 3 days to kill a rodent, obviously not the kind of thing that is recommended.

With some feeder their is also a risk factor to keep in mind, while captive bred rats and mice are fairly docile (rats more than mice) other small animals are not, Hamster are VERY aggressive and have teeth that are longer than those find on other rodent.

Gerbils are like a drug to BP sure you can feed them but switching back from gerbils can be hard if not impossible and again not recommended unless of course you can guarantee that your animal will be with you for the next 30+ years and that for the next 30+ years you will be able to feed gerbils weekly which after a while might become very expensive.

Anyway in conclusion BP do not need variety they need a steady diet that works.

Ball Pythons are not like any other snakes, they are more picky than the average, and feeding variety is likely the best way for them to become even more picky and refuse food.

With BP you are best of feeding prey that are easily accepted and readily available to you and maybe the future owner should the animal change hands at some point.

Now Boas and many other snakes it's a all other different subject as many snakes are garbage disposal that would eat anything as long as it's warm enough.

[AZ_Equine]

I have a small flock of chickens and I let them brood their own chicks. Well this afternoon a 2 day old chick was trampled dead. It was freshly killed within 2 hours so I fed it to my BP. He is ready for Medium rats now but I am using up the small ones first so I fed him a small rat soon after he took the chick. (Today happened to be his feeding day anyway so I already had it thawed.) He accepted both quite quickly and when I peeked in to check on him he was acting like he was ready for more, came to the top of his enclosure ready to strike again! Guess I am just lucky he is such a good eater.
When I was just learning about how to feed frozen thawed I did as I seen in a you tube video where someone dried the mouse with a hair dryer after thawing it in a bucket of water, so that is what I had been doing. But one time I was in a hurry. After thawing in a baggie in the fridge all day I set the baggie in hot tap water for about 20 minutes or so as usual. The rat was wet as the baggie leaked but offered it that way as I didn't have time to dry it. He took it just fine and it didn't take as long for him to swallow it so after that I don't bother trying to dry the rat when the baggie leaks. I think the warm and wet rodent may give off more scent because since I have been doing it this way he just about comes out of his box to grab it. He knows it's out there when I have it outside of his enclosure. Before he even sees it he's hunting for it. Also I think because it is wet he can swallow it easier plus he gets more liquid that way too. Is there any reason I should dry the rodent? If the fur has too much water can he get water in his lungs from it? If that is a possibility would blot drying it be good enough?

[Rawbbeh]

@AZ_Equine:

I probably wouldnt feed a soaking wet f/t...but if you thaw it and then blot it dry with a paper towel then it should be fine. You dont have to DRY it out, damp is fine. But as far as being dripping wet...ehh, I dunno if I would want to transfer that rat smell into the snakes feeding tub or cage (wherever you feed)

After it dries..that smell would linger and your snake might still be looking for some yum yums.