Sick of wasting food

[zina10]

I think once someone truly takes the time to research Ball Pythons and understands their needs, they are actually quite easy to keep.

The problem is that to many people compare them to other species and expect the same behavior and diet needs. I usually tell people new to the hobby that a Ball Python is not the easiest snake to start out with. But honestly, its not due to the snake, more so that it seems so difficult to make owners understand and deal with the fasting. And the importance of meeting the basic needs without exception. If one starts out with a healthy Ball Python and then houses it correctly, meeting their basic needs, they can be super easy to keep.

There are only a few fundamental and important needs, but they DO need to be met. Correct husbandry is a must. Heat, humidity, safety.

And then, one must understand that they are built for this "food binging/fasting". Its part of their genetic makeup. That is how they survive from where they come from. That is how they evolved to be able to survive there. They binge when food is plenty. They fast when food is scarce, non existent.

They are a species that is rather sedentary. They lie in wait until the food comes to them. They do not travel vast distances like some species. They do not climb and move about all day like some of the more "hyper" species. Their need for calories is FAR lower then a snake that expends a lot of energy every day.

On top of that when they DO eat, they usually eat rather large meals for their body size. They are stout snakes. Colubrids and more slender snakes tend to take smaller but more frequent meals. They have a much faster metabolism as well.

Ball Pythons can't keep eating year round like they do during their binges. Esp. the males that do not need that kind of fat storage needed to get gravid and grow eggs.

Since at certain times of the year or at a certain age some BP's are ravenous, it makes people think they should keep eating like this, year round, during adult hood. But that is not normal for them, not healthy. Not the way their bodies work.

So all in all, if you start with a healthy Ball Python, you set it up correctly, you don't stress it over much (that goes for any snake, really) AND you understand that they will regulate their diet needs through "binging/fasting" or sometimes just smaller meals or eating less often (and sometimes not for months) then you can be quite happy with Ball Pythons and not frustrated at all.

I feel most of the trouble with BP's is not meeting their basic needs or not understanding their physiological makeup and diet needs and then getting frustrated because of that.

If the snake is healthy, let it fast and do its thing