How fast to up food size?

[TanyaL]

Definitely!
As soon as I get my scale and get him eating a few more meals then I'll throw in weight updates.
But if you look at pictures like this.. which I took a week before he ate (sorry to hijack!) http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/DSC03794.jpg

OP: So if you follow either rule with the weight percentage or the size comparison, either way you'll probably notice a gain of weight one way or the other and move up as he grows. :]

I am willing to bet that you converted wrong. Without something next to your bp to compare it makes it much tougher to see how big he really is. Our BP is about 8 months old and weights only 316ish grams and I'm starting to get worried about her weight where she is now. I would think that if yours is indeed as small as you think it is, you would know for sure that there is a problem.

[Corrupter]

Just judging by the pic it looks like it weighs 300-400g or so... By the time you weigh it it could be even more (450-500g?)... Wonder how accurate that guess is... I am trying to go by the size of the head vs body since theres nothing else to compare in the pic

[blackcrystal22]

I am willing to bet that you converted wrong. Without something next to your bp to compare it makes it much tougher to see how big he really is. Our BP is about 8 months old and weights only 316ish grams and I'm starting to get worried about her weight where she is now. I would think that if yours is indeed as small as you think it is, you would know for sure that there is a problem.

Your probably right, here let me get a picture with my hand in there..
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/DSC04900.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/DSC04898.jpg
What do you think? Should I take more pictures with a dollar next to him?

[TanyaL]

Your probably right, here let me get a picture with my hand in there..
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/DSC04900.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/DSC04898.jpg
What do you think? Should I take more pictures with a dollar next to him?

Yeah, I still think you converted wrong. He looks to be about the same size as Foster, my bp. What did the scale read?

[blackcrystal22]

Yeah, I still think you converted wrong. He looks to be about the same size as Foster, my bp. What did the scale read?

NOPE. I'm stupid!
He weights 199.6 grams.
Well I certainly earned a ticket for the dumb train.

I was going by memory. Guess I'll never do that again.

[TanyaL]

NOPE. I'm stupid!
He weights 199.6 grams.
Well I certainly earned a ticket for the dumb train.

I was going by memory. Guess I'll never do that again.

Either Foster is a big butt or your conversion is still wrong. Looking at the picture again, I would say that yours is a bit thicker than Foster is. I would still double check that again. Do you know how long he is...just for comparison against my bp? There is a snake measure download available on this forum that gives you a good estimate.

[blackcrystal22]

Either Foster is a big butt or your conversion is still wrong. Looking at the picture again, I would say that yours is a bit thicker than Foster is. I would still double check that again. Do you know how long he is...just for comparison against my bp? There is a snake measure download available on this forum that gives you a good estimate.

5 months ago when he last shed at the breeders, he weight 194g. It makes sense that only 1 meal away from that that's his weight.
He ate once and then came to me and didn't eat until last week. :]

Point me to this download?

[TanyaL]

5 months ago when he last shed at the breeders, he weight 194g. It makes sense that only 1 meal away from that that's his weight.
He ate once and then came to me and didn't eat until last week. :]

Point me to this download?

If your bp is over a year old (right?) and less than 200g and Foster is about 8 months old and over 300g then maybe she is not doing as bad as I had expected...but I think I need to look into it more.

Anyhow, here is the link to the download:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=28

What did the sale read anyhow?

[Chuck]

We have a BP Frank (the Crank) that is almost 2 months old.
We have had him for about 3 weeks now.

We were told he was eating live fuzzy mice.
He has eaten f/t fuzzy mice for us every 5 days 3 times in a row now.

I am wondering how fast do these guys go up in food size???
To me he already seems like he should be onto hoppers or even weanlings.
Perhaps if he had a bigger meal he wouldn't want to kill us when we hold him.

It seems odd to me that he is eating the same size as our Hognose and our '07 corns...

Thank you

Have you considered trying to feed rat fuzzy's if it were me I would work on trying to get Frank to eat rats. That will save you later down the road when frank is eating you out of house and home in mice.
I tend to feed a little on the big side. Ball pythons can handle meals twice the diameter of the largest part of there body with no problem. That said it isn't a great idea to feed on the heavy side unless you know your snake. I think the best rule of thumb is a meal no bigger than the largest part of there body. The larger you feed the less often you should feed. I feed 7-10 days for juvi and 14-21 days for adults in general. I think you can look to nature to see that meals come in no schedule so I think varying the meal up is fine. Feeding more often then feeding less often. Hope that makes sense. I think the key is balancing it all out. There are very respected people who swear by a strict feeding schedule and a strict prey size to fit the snakes size. It works for them and I have noting to say other wise about it. Just trying to give my 2 cents. I feel like you can never go wrong with instinct and common sense.

Chuck

[TanyaL]

I just realized that BlackCrystal wasn't OP. OP, please forgive me!