Am I still feeding correctly?

[Jarvis the Python]

I just want to see if my feeding schedule is still on track as our BP gets older. We got him as a near-hatchling a little over a year ago - I estimate his age at 13-15 months. Last time I weighed him (on an empty stomach) he was up to 313 grams. He had been eating once a week over the last year or so, but now that he's up to smallish rats, which are a big meal for him, I had been moving toward feeding every 1.5 or 2 weeks. Does that sound right? And is his weight good for his age, is he growing like he should be? Thank you, this is our first snake and I've never found any sort of chart that shows how to space out feedings as they age and grow.

[Booper]

There's a chart stickied on the Husbandry section



According to that, if your snake is 310 empty then he should be eating a rat pup, not a small rat

[Jarvis the Python]

Hmm...I've always read that you feed them prey that's about as big around as they are, or slightly bigger....is that not right? A large mouse is now quite a small meal for him, he's acting hungry soon after eating one. And I haven't been able to find locally rats small enough to be the equivalent, at least not reasonably priced.

Now I am starting to doubt my postal scale...if he is just over 300g at his size, whatever a 500-gram python looks like, a mouse (even a very large one) would be just a drop in the bucket for it...

[Starscream]

It's generally a bit more accurate to do 10%-15% of your ball's body weight in prey size. For instance, mine's weighing in at 72 grams, so I fed her an 8 gram small mouse last night. At that rate, with your BP at 313 grams, a rat around 31 to 42 grams would be "best". (Which according to that chart is a weaned rat anyways, so. Y'know. It's kind of up to you between the pups and the weaned.)

You can always order rats online from Perfect Prey or Big Cheese -- it's an expensive purchase up front but if you buy in bulk you won't have to buy anymore for a good long while.