is my snake still hungry?

[frankadank]

so my second feed was a success! my beautiful bumblebee ball python has fed twice now and let's me slowly handle her. although she still strikes when i attempt to gently grab her but i'm assuming it's because she's still a baby and scared. she hatched on october 4th, so still a baby right?

but my question is i dont know if i fed her enough. as of right now shes eating what the pet store calls them, common mice. i assume hopper maybe? but they are a good size for her, about her width if not larger. my problem is, is no store around here sells live adult mice or any type of rats. my personal preference is live not f/t. i understand when she's an adult she might need to take in 3/4 of these, is that stressful on them? i just don't want to feed frozen i think live is more appropriate for them. but she took the mouse like a champ than resided to her warm hide. but her neck is out of the hide arched up on a log like as if she is looking up to the top of the tank, like hey dad i'm still hungry.. is she wanting another mouse? thanks guy! hope everyone had a good weekend.

[TRD]

There's literally no reason not to feed f/t. If you worried about stress on the snake, having a mouse with the snake while she may not be hungry, or worse a rat, THAT stresses them out. A rat can cause severe injury to the snake, even big venomous snakes do not strike a rat head on because of the teeth on those things.

Better start on f/t...

And about food, just feed as per the requirements, don't overfeed. There are some health concerns related to feeding too much (fatty liver decease f.e.) which especially applies to slow metabolism snakes.

[Albert Clark]

5 months old is still a young snake but not a baby. They really should be weighed and fed 10- 15% of their body weight in grams as a guideline. Young ball pythons require adequate nutrition for growth and have voracious appetites as youngsters. They also are opportunistic ambush predators and will easily overeat. So their feedings need to be generous but controlled/ monitored. As they approach the 800- 1000gm. weight a different guideline applies.

[EL Ziggy]

Glad your BP is eating well Frank. Your snake will sometimes want more food but don't always give it to them :). They will overeat if you let them. I offer my snakes smaller meals sometimes and larger meals at other times. I also mix up my feeding frequency. For baby snakes it's usually every 5-7 days. I'd probably feed a BP more like every 7 days. I agree with TRD. If your snake will eat f/t there's no need or benefit to feed live. Your snake will still grow, breed, and thrive on a f/t diet. And you can always get the exact size prey you need. I also agree with AL on the feeding regiment. My young snakes also get roughly 10-15%, sometimes a tad more/less, of their body weight per feeding. It usually averages out to 1-2 prey items about as wide as the snake's body.

[frankadank]

right i see. i think she is eating the right size ill have to weight it next feed tho to be sure. and i've considered f/t but personal i just feel like live is the natural way but i understand i might have to start switching over. thanks for all the input i still just got some learning to do.

[frankadank]

Glad your BP is eating well Frank.
thanks ziggy! i was so happy when she instantly took it for the 2nd time (:

[akane]

If you don't want to feed frozen and your hang up isn't on the actual hunting and attacking live prey, which I don't see that the snakes benefit from since it's far too artificial in a bin or tank, you can learn to fresh kill. I use cervical dislocation frequently when culling rodents I raise for other purposes if I don't have enough to get out the co2 chamber. Basically that is just breaking the neck but you have to make sure the spine fully severs so no signals are going to the brain. The body jerks a little but pain is cut off as immediately as possible and it's just individual muscle reaction as they die. They stop kicking within a minute. Still fresh, never frozen but not alive and can't bite. It's often a transition from live to f/t. I've been trying to convince my sumatran python but after 1 he went back to refusing dead prey and he'd already refused prey for 3 weeks while shedding so I gave in. Getting the correct age rats they are big enough for a meal and young enough not to be dangerous right when i need them is difficult though and eventually not enough food.