How much should i feed my ball python?

Question

I have had my Ball Python for 6 months now. When i first got him, He was 8 months old, and i fed him ounce every 6 days on fuzzies. However, now that he is 1 year and 2 months old (2ft in length and 3 cm girth at his widest part; tell me if this is a healthy or unhealthy size) i feed him one small adult mouse ounce a week, but I dont know whether that is enough . Im worried that i may feed him too little, and he may grow too little and underweight. Or if i feed him too much, he may become overweight! Im thinking about stepping him up to 2 small adult mice every 7 days if he willingly accepts this amount. I'm not sure whether 2 small adult mice per week will be too much food for him. Please tell me if you know any successful feeding schedules for ball pythons of this age.

Thanks

Answer 1

One small adult mouse a week is fine. When you need to step him up, I'd suggest that you go to the next larger size of mouse. Older animals have a different proportion of bone and muscle than younger ones and the bone is just as important for the snake as a source of nutrients as the fat. I've seen some sorry looking snakes that came from people feeding them multiple too small animals, sometimes half a dozen or more pinkies or crawlers, resulting in a smaller proportion of bone and muscle and organ tissue in the diet than one appropriately sized prey animal of the same total weight would provide.

A ball python should be a reasonably thick snake, thicker than a corn snake of the same length but not as thick as a blood python. If you need to see a good specimen for comparison, check out the site by Peter Kahl or another reputable breeder.

You can get an idea from looking at their snakes what a healthy proportion of girth to length will be for a ball python--these people keep and breed snakes worth thousands of dollars so they keep their snakes in tip-top condition. The colors will be different from your snake's because ball pythons are now being bred in dozens of different patterns and colors, commonly called morphs. But to the best of my knowledge there have been no body shape morphs selected for so the general build and weight will be the same.

Once your snake achieves about 3-5 feet, he will need to eat a little less at a time or less often than he did as a juvenile. It makes sense because he only needs his food for maintenance, not active growth as well.

My adults did fine on one large mouse a week and dropped down to one every 10 days to two weeks in cooler weather and often refused food for a month or so during the winter. This is normal behavior for ball pythons. It gets some people a little upset but ball pythons come from an area where food is not abundant at all times of the year and they have made the adaptation to need less food at some times. A few generations of captive breeding are not enough to change what has been hardwired into their genes for thousands of years.

Peter Kahl site-- http://www.pkreptiles.com/collection/view_details.asp?id=70000011

Answer 2

My ball is 1 year and 3 months. We feed her 2 mice a week. She gets regular vet exams and is in good health. You can't have an over weight ball python. The snake will fast so their body can use up any excess fat stores. If you are are worried about an underweight snake, the snake's body will take on a triangular appearance with the backbone sticking up. As long as your snake isn't triangular in shape it should be in good weight. As long as your snake accepts the food it shouldn't be too much for it. Two mice every 7 days sounds fine. Just make sure the mice aren't too big.

Answer 3

My ball python eats 2 small mice each week and she is happy with it. We really should feed her a mid size rat but she is afraid of them and wont eat them (even pre-killed she is a baby!) Mice do not have the same nutritional value as do rats, so if I were you I'd attempt to switch him to rat pups or small rats. If he will take this then great! If not, the 2 mice thing has worked awhile for our snake. One thing to keep in mind is that the rat/mouse you feed your snake shouldn't be bigger around that your snake is - other than that once every 7 days seems about right. If yours has eaten everyweek since you've had it then you are doing fine. Most Balls won't eat a week prior to shedding.

Answer 4

I have a ball python and i feed him every other week or so. when i feed him he eats 2 medium sized mice. so maybe you should try feeding him two mice at a time, and waiting 8 or 9 days between feedings. if he only eats one of the mice then you will know that one mouse is enough for him.

Answer 5

hi there
go by the girth size nothing bigger then it as it grows increase the size of pray... but never anything bigger then the size of the girth ... length doesn't matter in feeding ... our 06 baby female which is about 8 months old eats 2 small to med mice a week and our 05 male which is yr and 1/2 eats 2-3 large adults mice a week but could easily eat a hopper rat but chooses not too (I'm guessing he doesn't like them lol) most snakes will not eat anything that they can't get down but some will try .... once a week will not get it over weight .... as long as u go by it's girth size...after feeding it does he look like it's still hungry or crawl up in a ball in a corner ...if he is looking up for more then ur not feeding enough ...
have raise many different types of snakes as well as different types of reptiles and bred them too for many yrs..

Answer 6

i would switch the snake to rats, and adult ball python can eat large rats. would take alot of adult mice to add up to one large rat, try a small rat next feeding see if he will take a rat sometimes ball pythons can be hard to switch over to rats. if he takes the rat then keep feeding him rats and dont go back to mice, rats are better anyway snake grow faster on rats then mice.

Answer 7

my Royal/Ball Python is about the same age as yours, but is about 3 feet long and 3-4 cm girth, they all grow at different rates and its best for them to grow slower than it is for them to grow faster as they will live longer,I feed her a rat the same size as the fattest part of her body every 7 seven days, although at this time of year she slows down her eating to about every three weeks, as she would in the wild, when prey is less avaliable.

Answer 8

It is much better, healthwise, to underfeed an animal. Snakes can live on very little... so I reckon one or two mice per week is ample. Don't fret!

Answer 9

why don't you take it to the vet so they can help you out. much better than taking answers from complete strangers.

Answer 10

found u some links below, they should help.