Help? I fed my BP a F/T Rat for the first time, too big?

[tomjones456]

If she took it, I personally wouldn't worry too much.
Eco Earth is a very natural substrate, more dirt like in texture, I wouldn't worry about a little ingested. I had mine on Eco Earth when she was in a tank and I fed in the enclosure all the time. They eat dirt and such in the wild.
She has definitely been underfed but consistent correct meals will have her catch up in no time.

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Will she be ok that i've been underfeeding her? A small rat every week ok or should I feed her more often than 7 days

[Crazymonkee]

She,ll be fine. I don't use the 10-15% rule, I go by the widest part of my snake and they prey should be equal to or a little bigger.
It should leave a small noticeable lump when in the stomach.
If you can't get anything smaller than the small rat... I'd stick to every 7 days

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[DMills]

It's hard to tell in that pic but she doesn't look skinny, just small, hence she looks fine. Not that you should ever compare, but my year old female is just over 700 grams and eating medium rats. I feed her weekly and generally stick to the 10-15% method.

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[tomjones456]

She,ll be fine. I don't use the 10-15% rule, I go by the widest part of my snake and they prey should be equal to or a little bigger.
It should leave a small noticeable lump when in the stomach.
If you can't get anything smaller than the small rat... I'd stick to every 7 days

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lol thanks ill feed her every 7 days then. I wonder how long it will take for her to get noticeably bigger in size? this sure is a huge step up for her from mice

[blk02ssmonte]

Another thing you might want to do is feed outside the enclosure. I don`t feed mine in the tank. I always remove them. That way they don`t think you have food everytime you open the tank.

[Daybreaker]

Another thing you might want to do is feed outside the enclosure. I don`t feed mine in the tank. I always remove them. That way they don`t think you have food everytime you open the tank.

I disagree: it's totally fine to feed in the enclosure. My snakes (even the food crazy boas, short tails, and retics) know when it's food time vs handle time and they're all fed in the enclosure/tub.

[tomjones456]

Another thing you might want to do is feed outside the enclosure. I don`t feed mine in the tank. I always remove them. That way they don`t think you have food everytime you open the tank.

I tried that a couple weeks ago, but she didn't want to eat. I guess she's used to eating in the tank, but she hasn't bit me yet

[satomi325]

She looks fine. You'll notice a significant growth spurt now that she's on rats.

Feed in the enclosure for all the reasons Daybreaker said. Not to mention, you have a higher chance at getting bitten when you try to handle a snake still in feeding mode.
Plus some ball pythons are not comfortable enough to eat out of their enclosure any way.

[tomjones456]

She looks fine. You'll notice a significant growth spurt now that she's on rats.

Feed in the enclosure for all the reasons Daybreaker said. Not to mention, you have a higher chance at getting bitten when you try to handle a snake still in feeding mode.
Plus some ball pythons are not comfortable enough to eat out of their enclosure any way.

how big of a growth spurt? i'm guessing she's gonna grow alot, i mean since i've got her she's only been on mice and she's already 1 year and 2 months old. Small rat might be 3-5x the size of what I was feeding her honestly

[PitOnTheProwl]

Another thing you might want to do is feed outside the enclosure. I don`t feed mine in the tank. I always remove them. That way they don`t think you have food everytime you open the tank.

Makes NO difference.

tomjones456, she looks fine but yes you have been under feeding her. Give her time and she will start growing. My general rule is that of the poo, I keep track of who ate what and how many. If there is a large poo then that is food going to waste so if they ate 2 or 3 of something then I cut it back to 1 or 2 on the next feeding.