feeding

[surf4life]

I have a 2 1/2 foot normal BP and he is a little thicker then 1 inch in diameter. I have been feeding him one adult mouse once a week. He is done eating it very quickly and was wondering if i should give him 2 mice instead of one? I dont think that he is larger enough for a rat yet any suggestions?

[xdeus]

One adult mouse is fine for a snake that size, especially a male. They only eat a few times a year in nature so you're actually spoiling him by giving him a mouse a week.

Remember, snakes are opportunistic feeders and will eat as much as they can when food is available because they don't know when their next meal will be. If you feed him as much as he can eat now, there is a good chance that he will stop eating for several months until he 'catches up'.

[td30]

My BP is about that size and I plan on staying with 1 adult mouse/week for a while. Do you know much yours weighs?

[starmom]

One adult mouse is fine for a snake that size, especially a male. They only eat a few times a year in nature so you're actually spoiling him by giving him a mouse a week. ...

How do you know they only eat a few times a year? Has this been documented? Not saying you aren't right, just wanting to read the research; research is difficult to find for python regius

[surf4life]

My BP is about that size and I plan on staying with 1 adult mouse/week for a while. Do you know much yours weighs?

nope i dont no how much he weighs. what size should they be when getting a larger meal then?

[starmom]

I would drop some money on a gram scale. They don't cost much and you'll be able to keep records on weight (important) and also know about how much to feed

[JASBALLS]

I would drop some money on a gram scale. They don't cost much and you'll be able to keep records on weight (important) and also know about how much to feed

Do they weigh each other in the wild? Nope..

[surf4life]

Do they weigh each other in the wild? Nope..

haha very funny im just trying to figure out what size they should be before giving them larger prey.

[drew5337]

Personally, I'd get him eating rat pups, which are close in size to adult mice. One a week is fine, two at a time isn't going to hurt him. I've seen with my two that the rats provide better nutrition, leading to much faster growth, leading to the eating of bigger rats, etc...

Do you feed live or dead prey? Dead is probably safer for the snake once they start in on small rats, though I know some will contest this.

[xdeus]

How do you know they only eat a few times a year? Has this been documented? Not saying you aren't right, just wanting to read the research; research is difficult to find for python regius

You're right, research is difficult to find on regius, but there is a bit more information on similar large-bodied snakes out there. I'll try to dig up some references, but from what I understand the large-bodied snakes evolved in order to create a store of food for lean times. I'm sure when the going is good, they will eat much more than a few times a year, but I have read in several articles covering large boids that the average is only a few times a year.

This seems to be confirmed by how long a Ball Python can go without food in captivity. I don't know of too many animals besides large-bodied snakes that can go without food for well over a year (excluding hibernating and brumating species).