I've never followed the 10-15% rule because I don't have time to weigh all the rodents out before feeding them and weigh all the snakes out to figure what they need.
A full grown ASF (which is supposedly the natural food source they see in the wild) is smaller than a medium rat. And obviously in the wild they're not ONLY eating full grown ASFs lol. So these people that feed medium or even large rats to their females weekly amaze me lol. I'm happy if my females eat 3 small rats a month and males eat 2 a month. That is considered a great month for me haha. Meanwhile there are some breeders I know who get like 6 mediums or larger into their girls a month. That's sooooooo much food imo. Haha
Like pit said, about monitoring their bowl movements too. I agree with that heavily. Compared to other snakes I've worked with, balls seem to be more proficient at converting meals to weight. I'd assume fat storage for going through the breeding process, they need energy for that. Males obviously don't need that at all, so it's unnecessary to pack them with food. Anyways, like I was saying, if my females are eating well and not taking these huge craps, then I consider that a win because to me that means they're putting it to good use and it's not a waste.
Really, it's a constant learning process for me while working with these snakes. What doesn't work one year gets adjusted the next year. What works one year may still get adjusted, just for fun to see what else works. I like to experiment with them and try different methods for every aspect of keeping them. It's fun learning more and more about them that way.
Reply With Quote