My Newbie Ball Python Story (so far)

[Nz2500]

Hi. I am Relatively New to the Ball Python Hobby.
And like alot of Newbies, i had alot of questions.
especially about feeding, "how much to feed?",
"how often to feed?", "where to get food?"

I posted this on a different thread, but i thought it interesting enough to make it it's own topic, and share my personal experience with pros and newbies alike.

(Now im no expert, and ALL snakes are different. And this story is NOT Gospel)

I got my Normal Female BP named Charlie in
Febuary 2018, (she was born December 2017)

She was 92grams at the time and for her first 5 meals i fed her a 10g Mouse Fuzzy from a pack i had bought at the petstore with her (local petstore not bigbox)

After the 5 weeks, she weighed 120g and was out of mice.
I had known i would need to give her bigger rodents as she grew but i didnt know how much or where to get them.

After some help from more experienced keepers online.
i was directed to a Online Rodent Breeder (Layne Labs)
where i could buy F/T Rodents of many sizes in BULK for alot cheaper than petstores.

I knew i wanted to feed her rats of good size. But i had no idea what to get or how much to order. I was afraid of getting too many rats that where to small or to big. So after MANY HOURS of research and planning.
i made my first big order of Rats:
10 Rat Pinkies: 10g
10 Rat Fuzzies:15g
15 Rat Pups: 25g
20 Rat Weaned: 35g

After getting the Rats i put Charlie on this simple feeding schedule: "10% Of Her Empty Body Weight Every 7 Days"
and i bumped up her rat size when the old size became to small to bother with.

6 Months and MANY Rats later.
Charlie is a Healthy 9month old 800g Python!
She took to F/T Rats Instantly and has Never Missed a Meal!
She is just finishing up her weaned Rats and she eats them with NO Difficulty!!
(i have to give her 2 every feeding just to feed her enough)

I am about to place my Next BIG order and i Hope it is just as Successfull:
10 Weaned Rats: 35g
10 Small Rats: 55g
20 S/M Rats: 85g
20 Medium Rats: 110g
(medium is the largest size i would ever feed. Even to the Largest Ball Pythons!!)

Now Remember. This is Just how my snake reacted.
All i did was give her a constant of 10% BW feedings every 7 Days. She did all the rest!
Do not take this as a feeding guide.
i just wanted to share my story as a new BP Owner up to this point in time (just over the 6 month mark)!
Thanks for reading this far, and i cant wait to update you Guys in the Future!!!

[Sallysmom]

Great to hear that things are working out for you my snake (had him for two months) is also eating like a champ. I’m confused tho cause rat pups I’m getting (at least that’s what they’re called where I’m getting them and it seems true to the other resources) are usually 12-16 grams. And then weaned rats are like ginormous so it almost feels like there is this huge gap in between. Cause my snake is ready to eat something bigger but definitely not weaned rats. Is there anything in between? Like a 20-25 gram rat would be perfect. Or is it just my local reptile store that doesn’t have those ever?

[Nz2500]

I will recommend to you what was recommended for me.
If you are able to do so. Go to Online Breeders like
"Layne Labs" or "Perfect Prey" they have any size you will need, and you can buy in bulk.

And as far as size transitions go...
For awhile when Charlie was 250-350grams i fed her two
15g Rat Fuzzies before i bumped her up to one 35g Weaned rat (i didnt think she was quite ready yet, weaned rats can seem massive compared to your tiny snake). Just be sure he is eating enough but not to much!
And soon he will be Pounding Weaned rats like Popcorn!