Oh really now..? So 1500g of growth from May/June to December on 2-3 mice a week for a female Ball Python isn't good growth? Well, I guess I should tell her that, since she's already 2200g+. Just because rats may contain more fat/protein than mice, that doesn't mean we know the nutritional requirements for Ball Pythons. It has been proven that they do equally well on either rats or mice. Just so they are getting healthy, well-fed, robust prey items, they should be good to go!

A male Ball Python really only needs 1-2 mice per week for the rest of his life. If you want to, try feeding him two mice every 7 days just to stretch it out. He will grow just fine and be very healthy.

Just feed what the snake will eat and what is easiest for you to obtain. Also, two 20-25g mice are exactly the same as one 40-45g rat.