Thank you very much for providing that information Skiploder. It puts things into perspective. A snake kept in captivity will not be as active as one in the wild so it is only logical that we conclude that it will need to consume less calories. Also, as already stated ball pythons are not what you would consider an active species, so I think the 10-15% rule goes out the window for adults. Now what about growing baby/juvenile snakes, surely they would need to consume quite a bit more food(proportionately) than an adult since they are rapidly growing?

I personally am somewhat more interested in the requirements of young snakes over that of adults.