Quote Originally Posted by Freakie_frog
Unless I also misread along time ago power feed can also lead to stunded growth or am I wrong?
Personally, I wouldn't really call feeding twice a week "power feeding" ... as long as the snake is taking food on it's own ... ball pythons do a remarkable job at regulating their own food intake ... when they've had enough, they'll just stop eating (usually for several months) ... that's why so many stories about ball pythons fasting are floating all over the internet ... most likely either their husbandry is wrong, or they've been overfed to the point where they need to take a break from food and "catch up". Power feeding is much more of a concern in other species of snakes that will literally never refuse a meal. Methods like "chaining" and "stiching" used to get more size on a snake in a shorter amount of time are more clearly "power feeding" to me.

As far as stunted growth, pin heading, shortened life span, etc ... I think a lot of that is just speculation ... the only scientific study ever conducted and published on "power feeding" was done at USC years ago and the subject was fruit flys .... a VERY long way off from ball pythons.

Ball pythons have a VERY VERY slow metabolism ... even when compared to other snakes ... feed small!!!

-adam