feeding big

remsin76 · 06-19-03, 11:22 AM

i've been giving my 4 month old ball crawler mice ewvery 4-5 days. the mice are a little smaller than his widest width.

i wanted to know if i'm underfeeding him in anyway? cause i know some people give their hatchlings full grown mice every week. and i think full grown mice have more nutrients than 2 crawlers combined. what does everyone think?

dfitzsim · 06-19-03, 11:42 AM

How long is your snake? Mine is about 18" and he eats an adult mouse every 4-5 days. I just ordered some frozen rat pups so I'll be switching when they come. Your better off feeding your snake rat pups instead of mice because they are supposed to be more nutritious.

Big Mike · 06-19-03, 01:39 PM

Try offering your snake something bigger. Rats are a good choice if you can get them. I hope you are not feeding live prey. If you are, switch to dead prey.

Your snake sounds a little skinny if crawler mice are about as big as the biggest part of it's body. If your going to feed mice...Give it one hopper sized mouse for one-three feedings and then try a small adult.

It seems that newer owners can be affraid to feed too big of a prey to their snakes. I was like that too. Once you see them take down a mouse/rat that is 3 times the size of their head, you will understand. It's amazing the size of prey that snakes can eat. Of course, don't go over board and feed something that is more than twice the size of its' body...but I think your snake could get down something bigger than a crawler mouse.

Good Luck

remsin76 · 06-19-03, 06:59 PM

maybe i am wrong by calling them crawlers, i dont know
i know my snake isnt skinny tho

well i still have 20 mice left in the freezer, since it seems like you guys feed ur snakes a lot more than i do maybe i should feed my ball 2 of those little mice at a time. and then after they're done i'll get some big mice or rat pups. sound like a good idea?

tHeGiNo · 06-19-03, 07:06 PM

When you say your snake isnt skinny, you do know that ball pythons are naturally large girthed snakes, so what may seem to be average for a snake is actually skinny? I always recommend feeding rats, get on rats as quick as possible. They can take a rat pup from hatching so it should be a problem. Rats are much more nutritious and have far more meat as opposed to mice. As far as feeding too large of a prey, this usually isnt an issue as if the prey is too big they usually will not take it. I feed my 9 month old female 3 rat pups weekly.

Big Mike · 06-20-03, 08:39 AM

Here is a picture I found in the gallery of a good sized ball python that belongs to BoidKeeper. Does your ball look like this? The best way to tell if your ball is skinny or not is to compare it to lots of others.

Good Luck

tHeGiNo · 06-20-03, 08:53 AM

Or the big one on top

tHeGiNo · 06-20-03, 08:57 AM

The one the girl is on is an example of what a bp shouldn't look like.

remsin76 · 06-20-03, 10:21 AM

my ball isnt a full circle but he's good man. he's just a baby 4 months old tops. thanks for ur concern guys but im positive my snake isnt too skinny.

what's ur method for feeding ur balls 2 prey at a time?
do u wait for him to swallow one then, feed the other one?
if so ow long o u wait between?

tHeGiNo · 06-20-03, 02:11 PM

You give them the one prey item, wait until they have got it all down. The snake will then start fliking his/her tounge and this is when i present the second food item.