How much/often should I feed my baby ball python?

Question

I just got a baby ball python this past Saturday (it's Tuesday now). I bought him at an exotic pet/reptile show and the guy working there said I should feed him a pinky every 7-10 days... He's 2 months old and pretty skinny :( Should I feed him 2 pinkies a week or 1 every 4 days or something different? Thanks!

Answer 1

Personally, I'd go with a fuzzy mouse once a week rather than a pinky. Even the smallest ball pythons can handle a fuzzy. I start hatchlings out on hoppers. A pinky is way too small and doesn't have as much nutrients as a baby mouse that's a little bigger and more developed.

Answer 2

I agree with the other poster. A baby ball python should be taking something larger than a pinky, even at birth. You should feed one appropriately sized prey item a week. Appropriately sized means 1-1 1/2 times the width of the widest spot on the snake. This is usually mid body size. Feed frozen/thawed that is well heated. Adult snakes-especially boa and pythons with slow metabolisms should be fed every 2-3 weeks.

Answer 3

Look at the snakes spine and if you can see a defined spine it is most likely under weight, one thing i would for a baby ball is feed it once every 5-7 days. you should not power feed it so try to keep the food about the same size as there wast or close. they can eat double there width so don't worry about it looking big for them. as the ball python gets bigger slow down the feeds to once a week. and when they get full grown you can go from 10-14 days apart from there feedings

Answer 4

http://my.pclink.com/~dkelley/python.html
http://www.debscaptivebredballpythons.com/content.asp?cid=8
http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/
http://ballpython.com/page.php?topic=ballfaq#7
http://www.ballpythonforum.com/forums/index.php?s=592174d57f067613130a119c5216a9f7&

Read these websites and listen to the experts in the field.

Answer 5

once a week

Answer 6

follow the directions of the pro