How often should you feed?

[55fingers]

So as I order rats online for the first time, I'm coming to terms with the costs. Ideally, I want to make this batch of rats last as long as it is safe.

It's recommended to offer food every week by many sources. Others say every 10 days. Some say 2-3 weeks is okay.

This is in the case of appropriate food sizes, not so big that they're full for weeks. My BP is on small rats and I don't expect him to move up in size as he's a male.

I know BPs can go months without food when on strike, but it's not a question of if they can survive a certain amount of time without food; I want him to be healthy.

What do you guys think? How often do you offer? What's a safe amount of time to make sure the rats last if possible?

Just to clarify, my noodle is more important to me than saving money and I'll feed him as often as necessary for him to thrive.

[Godzilla78]

It depends. Growing juveniles I feed every 5-7 days. If a snake is thin, every 5-7 days. A large adult that is barely growing at all.. 7-10 days.
Anything longer then 2 weeks is considered a fast imo

[Sunnieskys]

As babies every 7 days. My female went to 1000g and she told me she was done with every week feedings. She is on medium rats every two weeks or three depending on her diva mood. My boy Odyn ate every week until he hit 800g and now he is on every two weeks as well. He eats small rats. They told me they were done lol.

Now my pueblan.....he would eat every day all day if I let him! Lol

[Dianne]

All of my 2018 BP hatchlings are being offered one food item every 7 days. I typically do this for the first year or two. The rest of my collection, all adults, are offered food every 2 weeks. My adult Colombian redtail boa gets one 2X rat, my adult BP & Colombian rainbow boa get one medium rat each, my corns and Solomon Island ground boa get two large adult mice each as does my 3 year old albino BP. If anyone refuses, they aren’t offered food again until the next scheduled feeding. As a side mote, if anyone starts looking chubby, they get bumped back to every three weeks.

[Coluber42]

You can let your snake's body condition be your guide; it's better for him to be on the skinny side and then you increase his food rather than letting him get chunky and trying to get him to lose weight.

I feed my adult male about once a month, and he does well with that. A lot of the advice about feeding you'll find is really geared toward either juveniles or breeders, which may fast while breeding or expend a lot of calories in the process (females producing eggs).

There are a lot of overweight pet snakes out there. Overfeeding shortens their lifespans. Also, I suspect that a lot of the famous ball python fasts are related to feeding frequency - basically, the snakes regulating their food intake. Eating every couple of weeks and then fasting for six months works out to the same number of meals as eating once a month all year.

[Mr. Misha]

Usually I offer once a week.