Ball python overfed

[John chandor]

So I have a ball python who is around 2700 grams. Yesterday I decided to feed her a medium size rat. The next morning I wake up and discover that my brother fed her another rat. Is it ok that she ain't to rats it seems like a lot for her but I assume that she was hungry otherwise she wouldn't take it.

thanks

[Coluber42]

She already ate it, so there's not much you can do about it now.

But I wouldn't worry. Give her plenty of quiet time to digest all that dinner, and maybe skip the next otherwise-scheduled feeding.

Just don't make a habit of feeding her twice what she should be eating, or you will have a real porker of a snake.

[chrid16371]

All should be good. Just give her a little bit to digest like said above. How long have you been feeding mediums? How often do you feed a medium rat? Are they frozen or live?

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[John chandor]

I have been feeding medium frozen/ fresh killed rats once a week for a good amount of time now. But she is a big girl.

[chrid16371]

If your going to be feeding mediums you may want to extend the time you feed or switch to small. Usually very large 4000g + plus snakes I hear getting fed mediums. Adult Bps don't need as much food as young bps so waiting longer to feed or feeding smalls weekly is all that is needed. This is just what I gathered from members on this forum. Bps are often overfed in captivity.

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[bcr229]

She should be fine. Just don't feed her again for about four weeks.

At that size you can feed a medium rat every other week if you want.

[John chandor]

Ok thanks. I am trying to build her for breeding.

[DennisM]

Ok thanks. I am trying to build her for breeding.

she's 2700 grams. She doesn't require any building.

[Sauzo]

I feed my girl a medium rat every 2 weeks. I don't know her weight off hand as my scales battery died and I haven't replaced it. But at last weight about 6 months ago, she was tipping the scales at 1000g or so. The mediums I feed her leave a noticeable lump but nothing huge. BPs will regulate their own food intake unlike boas. My boas will eat themselves to death I'm sure if I let them. My BP goes off food for about 5 months a year, usually around Oct/Nov to March. Then she is back with a vengeance for her rats lol.

[Freakie_frog]

99.9999954% of the time if they aren't hungry they wont eat, or if the prey item is to big they wont eat or even try. Take babies for instance I feed babies every 3-4 days till they get to where they aren't eating the offered prey then I scale it back to once a week. It makes sense that in the wild they would want to eat as much as they can as babies so that they spend less time on the lower end of the food chain. Bigger snakes are harder to make a meal of. I feed to see a lump.