Am I feeding too much?

[gplegend11]

So I have only had my juvenile BP for almost 2 weeks now. When I bought "Sampson" he hadn't eaten for AT LEAST 3 weeks they told me. He is between 1.5 to 2 feet in length and at his widest he is about an inch wide.( I cannot weigh him so I don't know his grams or how old he is)

I bought the step up from pinkies, the little furries. They are not as wide as he is. He ate the 2nd day I had him. I tried again 4 days later and he ate again. I was worried he had been undernourished for too long at a young age so I tried again 3 nights after that. He ate again.

Everyone states how picky they are at eating, but I thaw the furry out, put it in a box on top of a plastic lid, put him in the box, then close the box. I check ten minutes later and it's gone every time. I can't see any bulges in his body either. Is he eating this frequently because he hadn't eaten in so long, or is that just the kind of guy he is. My plan is not to feed him this often hereafter because I have heard of "power feeding" and that it is bad for them.

or is the problem that he needs bigger food? This is what I am leaning towards but I don't know how big the next step up is. Should I be able to notice a small bulge in his body after feeding?

he has slighty grown I feel like in girth even in these like two weeks, how old could he possibly be. Just a total guess would be fine, 6 months? A year? Year and a half?

lastly, he has not pooped one single time even with eating those three furries. Could this be bad. I thouroughly check his cage and all hide boxes. Input please?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Do you have a weight for your snake?

When you say furry you mean mice fuzzy? If so you are actually not feeding enough. The average BP out of the egg will actually never see or eat a pinky or fuzzy mouse, they get started right to the size above (hopper mouse or crawler rat).

They tend to have a higher metabolism when young so feeding the right prey size on the right feeding schedule is important it is recommended to feed a prey equal the girth size once every 5 to 7 days (I like 7 days because it established a strong feeding routine with animals that just know when feeding day is), then once they start reaching around 500 grams feeding changes a bit. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines

It's always a fine line you want to feed them enough depending on the life stage and sex but at the same time down the road you do not want to feed too much and end up with an inconstant feeder that will fast.

[gplegend11]

Aha. So I will pick up a hopper mouse or rat fuzzy and feed him that soon, whichever size seems appropriate. I do not have a device to weigh him yet unfortunately. Thanks

[Oxylepy]

Kitchen scales work well enough.

Also, a big thank you to Deborah. The statement that they would never see a pinky or fuzzy is dead on. Until the rodent is out of the nest, it isn't available as a food source aside from to an animal large enough to eat the parents.

[Craiga 01453]

This should help. But you'll need to invest in a scale. I bought mine at Walmart for $15. Simple kitchen scale. Just choose one with a large enough plate.

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[Neal]

Feed an appropriate size meal weekly, and you're fine.

[gplegend11]

Perfect thanks all. Kitchen scale will be bought today as well as an appropriate sized meal.

One last question, I fed him on Wednesday one of those mice fuzzies, should I wait to feed him a correct sized rodent a few days or try tonight to see if he wants it. So far he s 3/3 on eating but they were all too small of meals.

My thoughts are no harm in trying tonight and if he doesn't, then try again in 2-3 days.

[gplegend11]

Update for you guys, bought a scale and a large f/t mouse today that was 19 grams because I thought the medium size was a bit smaller than my guys girth. Got home and weighed Sampson at only 150 grams!

I fed him on Wednesday last with one of those small mice fuzzies which you have taught me is just silly. The feed chart shows that a 19 gram mouse is a bit big for a python under 200 grams but he seemed right on with Sampson widest part.

Put out the mouse in a box, put Sampson in the box just to see if he would be interested. Bam! Snatched that sucker up like a beast. He did have to put in some work for about a minute to get the mouses hips through his jaws, but with some fidgeting he got it down nicely. I am proud of my boy... or gal. 4/4 for feeding thus far!

Since it it was such a large meal, but he is still small I am gonna give him the same size in 5-6 days. I would like to do rats instead tho.

Where can I get quality rats around that size? I have been getting his food at petco but I don't know what kind of quality food they have. Also they have no rat fuzzies, and their smallest rats are way too big.

i have read many different ways of feeding, and so far what I have done has seemed to work very well. Put the food in his box, wash my hands, put Sampson in the box, give him ten minutes and the food is gone. Then I gently pick him up and gently put him down in front of his warm hide.

this was the first time I didn't close the box and I watched him eat to monitor the larger size. He really doesn't stress out much from anything it seems. Thanks for all the help. Any more input is appreciated.

[Craiga 01453]

Based on his weight, something closer to 15-16 grams would be ideal. However, I don't think 19 grams is TOO big. They certainly can eat bigger prey than they appear to be able to, but that doesn't mean they should. It is fascinating to watch them eat a larger sized prey, quite amazing I think. However, if you can keep his next few meals closer to 15-16 grams that would prob be better.

I would wait a week til next feeding, primarily because he hasn't digested a meal this big yet. Then feed every 7 days.

So far you're having good luck with moving him to a feeding tank, but I would advise just feeding him in his enclosure.

As for switching to rats, you won't have any luck with Petco. I was actually in there yesterday, they only carry SM and LG rats, too big for your guy still (and mine too, who I want to switch to rats as well). There are several good online suppliers (from what I've read, I'm yet to buy online. I buy from Reptile Expos whenever possible) to choose from. Only problem is buying a bulk item your snake hasn't eaten yet. I would try to find a local store that sells feeder rats before buying bulk. It would stink to spend money on 25 or more rats plus shipping and your snake not want to switch.

[gplegend11]

Sounds like good advice. I think the medium sized mice there are at 12 grams so I will maybe try that next but do less time than a full seven days between meals for a few times then move back up to the large size. I'm sure he will grow quickly since he wasn't eating for a while before I got him.