Let's Discuss Dietary Requirements for Ball Pythons

[Skiploder]

While I do not know if anyone has done a study on the metabolisms of ball pythons (have they??) . . . Based on my own observations, having kept temperate snakes, honestly, the opposite appears to be true.

Ball pythons appear, to me, to have a slower metabolism than the temperate snakes I've kept when using rate of pooping as a measure. I'm mostly out of temperate snakes now, but I still have my old rosy boa -- even eating sparingly, she poops more than the balls. They also poop less frequently than Angolan and carpet pythons. My BPs poop about once a month; Angolans and the rosy (other than in winter), once a week to just over a week; my carpet poops about 2-3 weeks, but is on a 4-week feeding shedule. Carpet python poop, is a lot more BP poop in relation to their body size than what the Angolans and the rosy leave. I don't have any now, but as an example of a really high metabolism, temperate snake, garters I swear go daily.

I know that's not scientific, but digestion is something I can observe at home. Maybe someone else can chime in.

I have beaked snakes and dispholidines that will process a prey item in less than 30 hours. Same with psammophylax and philodryas spp. But these area active, quick moving snakes - even in captivity.

Drymarchon, if offered a thermoregulation zone will poop within a few days of feeding.

Ball pythons poop slow...they move slow and once their husbandry needs are met, move very rarely. I'd argue that even without a study, we can say they have at least a slower metabolism than many other species.

What I'd like to see if a study regarding the efficiency of the metabolism of ball pythons. In south american colubrids, that efficiency is about 50%. In some african colubrids, that number goes up a few points. Never seen one on ball pythons...