My brother just got a Burmese python for a pet?

Question

How often do you have to feed it? I don’t want to under or over feed her. The old owner said it was 3 years old. She is a Burmese Python, and is just over 3.5 meters
Oh and one more thing is it safe to let it out of its cage to mosey its way around the house when no one is home, or if they are?

And what types of things should we feed her?

Answer 1

What are you going to do when it hits 20 ft?
It should be feed an appropriately sized meal no bigger then the widest part of the snakes body. Rabbits or jumbo rats prekilled so they dont harm the snake atleast weekly.

Answer 2

If its only 3 years old and its 3.5 meters long, hes been speed feeding it. I would suggest 1 rabbit every 2 weeks.

It is NOT safe to let it mosey around the house ANYTIME. Pythons are simple creatures they like to eat and sleep. If they are moseying around they will just get into trouble. I just hope you have a really big cage.

Answer 3

This is definitely not the snake for a new snake owner. Your brother should have done his research long before getting the snake and not afterwards. But, since it is too late for the warning, you need help.

She is already quite large and will need 2 people when handling her. She is large enough to do some damage if she decides to bite or wrap.
At her current size, she should be eating large rabbits or chickens at least once per week. As she gets larger (possibly 16+ feet or 4.8 meters) She will need 2 rabbits or 2-3 chickens. Rats are going to be too small for her. Hopefully you have a rabbit or chicken farmer nearby.
Do not let her out to mosey around the house. You can take her out of her cage and keep her locked in one room to roam for a few minutes or even take her outside in the grass for a bit,(temperature permitting and only if 2 ppl are present) but NEVER let her out loose without you right there with her.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

It isn't smart to get ANY animal without first doing a LOT of research...months of research. Especially with exotic animals. You can't trust pet store people with correct information about them. Also, the "kits" they sell at the stores have things you don't need and don't have things you do need. Snakes at pet stores are rarely healthy, especially the ball pythons. For a proper enclosure and everything he should be looking at about 200 bucks to start off if he's going pet store way. If he were to get a colubrid (corn snake, king snake, etc) he's looking at 15-20 yrs with a snake; boas 20+ yrs; pythons, specifically ball pythons 20-40 yrs. These are not a short commitment. He probably also doesn't realize the safest and healthiest way to feed a snake are dead frozen/thawed mice you buy at stores or in bulk--NOT LIVE. Snakes can be awesome pets and ones like ball pythons, rosy boas, and corn snakes are awesome. But only once one has done their research. I HIGHLY suggest buying everything else ahead of time and running the heating equipment set up with the cage for a week to see that you get the humidity and heating correct...It can take a lot of trial and error, and a snake can get sick and refuse to eat if conditions are improper.

Answer 5

This snake will grow large, very very large, if it survives. I advise starting with something smaller, like a Ball Python, which tend to be docile and medium sized (4 ft). There is more to keeping reptiles than sticking it in a cage.It needs special cage requirements, heat requirements, hibernation needs, you must be able to procure enough food, and be able to deal with diseases, parasites and injuries. Don't feed live food. Don't ever think it will have emotions. The snake should be caged PROPERLY at ALL times. You will be amazed at what they can escape through. These snakes can be dangerous when hungry. It is imperative to the homework before buying any kind of anima that you know nothing about.

Answer 6

You need to call your vet immediately to ask for a lot of detailed advice on care of this animal. I don't know enough about the diet or burmese pythons to advise you, but the vet should be very helpful and you do need expert help - snakes need specialist care and one round of yahoo answers probably won't be enough info.
A word of warning - big snakes, especially at the size you have one, are dangerous even if they seem tame. Have two people in the room when handling, or it could end in a lot of tears. It's not a good idea to let her roam without supervision - snakes are seriously amazing escape artists, and she will find a way to escape through some small cranny. A 3 metre long extremely hungry snake can and will attack kids, cats and dogs. Just do a search on the bbc news site.

Answer 7

if she where mine i would be feeding her large rabbits, nothing bigger than the size she is at the biggest point of her body, and it is NOT a good idea to let her out of her cage to run arround the house, this is how you loose a snake, or how you loose a pet to bieing eaten by a snake. Supervised play time is a good thing, un supervised, not a good thing, you wouldnt belive how much trouble a snake that big can get into in just a short period of time, or the amount of things they can break. to judge how often you should feed her feed her when she will eat, and wait untill she deficates, after she deficates feed her again, so basically feed her the next day or so after she goes potty!

Answer 8

Sounds like you should have done your homework before getting a snake. Especially a snake that will get very large.

They eat mice, rats, rabbits etc

He should never be allowed to mosey around the house unsupervised.

Answer 9

My girlfriend has one. They should not be left out on their own. She takes it with her to science fiction conventions and lots of people take turns holding it. If it is out of the cage, she is with it and doesn't let it get into any place where it could get lost or hurt.

Snakes eat differently at different times of the year. They eat more in warm weather.

Answer 10

You should feed them dead rats mice and chicks extra large