Pieds are not genetically prone to be poor eaters. We are not fanatical about stuffing food into our Pieds, hets, and combo’s, (feed once a week on average) but the vast majority of the males are over 800 grams and breeding by their 2nd winter and the females comfortably over 1500 grams and breeding in their 3rd. Pretty much like any other ball pythons. We have had a few females breed and produce at over 1700 grams when 2 years old, and the slowest was a female het that didn’t produce until she was 5, even though she reached breeding size by age of 3. We start our hatchlings on live fuzzy rats and switch to thawed fuzzy rats within a few meals. They eat consistently and are primarily raised on thawed rats. Once they start breeding and cycling, the feeding strategies change and they move back and forth between fresh-killed and thawed based on our convenience, their preference, and a multitude of circumstances.

About 10 years ago, we were trying to start our Pastel Pied project by purchasing some quality female Pastel hatchlings to raise for breeders. Bear in mind that a nice female Pastel hatchling was over $2,000 at that time. They were from different lines and purchased from different breeders and were the most frustrating and worst-feeding animals I have ever dealt with. We finally ended up getting a male Pastel Het Pied and moving out the female Pastels. The Pastel Het Pied was a great eater and so are the Pastel Pieds and Pastel Het Pieds he has sired. Based on that personal experience, I could claim that Pastels are horrible eaters and we needed to get the Pied gene mixed in to get them to eat!!! I understand that is not true. Some individual ball pythons and some lineages just eat and grow differently than others, regardless of the paint job.

-Paul