Ball Python striking

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I would like to know though, as my snakes are still small, how does their weight effect the size of the meal they should get? If they are heavier they can handle larger potentially?

As they get heavier yes they can handle larger preys however one thing to keep in mind is that in captivity they are overfed, and because they can handle large preys does not mean they should.

Generally speaking smaller is better especially once their metabolism start changing. Am hatchling or Juvy can definitely eat something as big as the widest part of their body but as they grow they will never need anything larger than a medium rats.

My largest females 2800+ grams all they way to 4000 grams never get anything bigger than a 180 grams for example. They could handle something much larger however you than end up with a very sluggish animal that take days to digest and that usually will not eat with consistency.

Males even the largest ones get even less food something more along the lines of a small rats 80 grams max.