Ultimately, it doesn’t matter very much while your snake is young, and you can simply choose the option that is easier for you to acquire or appears more appealing to your pet.

Keep offering a mouse + rat with next feedings. (This assumes you are using a frozen-thawed rodent. An Honest Look, How to Set Up a Tegu Enclosure: Step-by-Step Guide, Chameleon Shedding Process Explained: Everything You Should Know, Do Reptiles Get Lonely? 3-5% of your ball python’s weight. Please start switching from mice to rats at 100-150+ grams, sooner, the better. You can easily access our privacy policy and terms of use. Note that these timings aren’t “fixed”; some pythons will eat far more regularly than others, while moving your snake from one type of food to another can also affect the feeding regime. Everything You Should Know. But, doing so over time may fail to provide your pet with enough food, unless you feed multiple prey items at each feeding or adopt a frequent feeding schedule. For keepers with more than one ball python, an alternative solution is to feed them on different days. Baby ball pythons will get full from 1 small sized prey, but an adult might need 1-2. This isn’t as big a problem for modern keepers as it was for ball python enthusiasts in decades past, as most ball pythons on the market are now captive-bred, rather than wild-caught. Don’t worry! #4: Offer a rat and a mouse together. Over few weeks to couple months, reduce the size of a mouse and increase the size of a rat once it starts eating rats. Then, you should feed a sub-adult to an adult ball python from 1-3 years old once in 10-14 days. Beginning snake enthusiasts must cope with a steep learning curve as it relates to feeding your ball python, but you’ll become more comfortable with the process over time.

I've been keeping and breeding exotic pets for over 20 years. Don’t feed your ball python every time it seems active or alert, or it can lead to obesity.

Whether to feed rats or mice is a contentious issue in ball python circles. If you provide very large meals to your snake, you’ll want to feed him less frequently than a similar keeper, who prefers to feed smaller prey items.

Ball pythons don’t reach sizes that make them a serious threat to your safety, but you’ll still want to use care to avoid being bitten during the feeding process. There are few things to follow for feeding your ball python, and you can avoid being bitten if you follow the rules. You should transition your young ball pythons of over 200-300 grams to eating rats, as they are bigger in size. Ball python are opportunistic feeders, so you have to create a feeding schedule. Wash your hands after handling prey items and use feeding tongs/hemostats (at least 15″/38 cm long). Just be sure to follow the tips and suggestions above and learn as much as you can from keepers with more experience than you. © 2020 KeepingExoticPets.com. No, ball pythons will not eat eggs as they won’t recognize it as food.

Please be patient and monitor your ball python’s weight. It will also lead to bacterial growth and tissue deterioration. Come and join our reptile-keeping community and prepare for some exciting discoveries! However, always make sure to set a feeding schedule once your ball python is eating normally. First meal is often 2 weeks after first shed, 1-12 months old, or up to 750 grams, whichever first, 12-15% of your ball python’s weight. I worry that thawing and refreezing the food may cause stomach upsets, so each item is presented once and then thrown away if not eaten. Of course, that was a long time ago. It is also important to keep your snake’s safety in mind. Stick to same color when switching, or try to experiment if needed. Feeding is one of the most interesting aspects of snake care.

But even frozen food left in the cage for long periods isn’t good news; it can quickly go off in the warmth of a ball python cages and smalls rancid!

A good water bowl should be large to fit your ball python and not tip over, like this one. Weighing your ball python and food items will be the most reliable way to determine how much to feed your ball python. Slowly back away from the habitat to avoid spooking your snake and close the enclosure door. Grip the back half of the rodent, so that you can present the rodent’s head directly to your snake. Small-medium rat or 2-3 adult mice (60-100 grams). Be careful that you don’t move your hand in front of your snake at this time, as he may make a mistake and strike your hand rather than his prey. Most ball pythons don’t have any issues switching, and accept rats straight away. Your ball python will also feel scared and vulnerable to eat outside its cage, thus can try to bite. What Size Food Should I Give My Ball Python? The warm rodent can then be gently placed into your ball python cage. If your ball python is not eating, please read this post to identify possible issues (new tab). Secondly, while I tend to just throw the rodent into the cage, some keepers like to actually feed the snake by holding the rodent in long tongs and waving it around infront of the snakes face.

Here’s the process I use…. Others are rather more bashful, and prefer to wait until I’m gone.

If you are unlucky enough to find your ball python suffers from any health issues in the future, such a chart can also be of great interest to your vet, allowing them to spot anything obviously wrong.

That’s why it’s important to start switching to rats early (mice will be too small when it becomes older). The use of feeding tongs and common sense will help you do so in most cases but be sure that you avoid inadvertently putting your hands (or face) within striking distance while your snake smells food. The lid is then placed into the tub to keep the heat in. If you’re not careful you can end up with a large python that is eating you out of house-and-home each month, downing armfuls of adult mice while turning it’s nose up at the cheaper and more practical option of rats. The first step in feeding your ball python is to select the proper prey item. All rights reserved. If you can only find small mice that your snake can consume then this is certainly better than nothing, though your goal should be to gently “convert” your ball python to eating rats as soon as possible. Some of my pythons are voracious feeders and grab their prey within moments of being presented with it.

This will help make it appear alive, which is necessary for some ball pythons. If your ball python is not accepting rats after transition, you can use some tricks to help you. But it is wise for keepers to stick to mice and rats, as they’re generally more affordable and easier to acquire. That’s because your ball python might accept only 1 food item, and refuse to eat more. Be sure that your snake has plenty of room to bite the rodent, without its teeth contacting the tongs. Leave your ball python in its cage so it feels safe, and don’t handle for at least 3 days to let it digest a meal. Doing so will increase the growth rate of your snake, and make feeding them as an adult much more cost effective. Doing so may simply cause your snake to refuse to eat, but if your snake does manage to choke down something that is too large, he may later vomit it back up.

Questions or concerns?

This includes subjects ranging from prey selection to presentation style, and we’ll also provide a few tips for getting stubborn ball pythons to eat. Infections, parasites and other health problems may be causing your snake to refuse food. An adult ball python, however, will probably require something bulkier than even the largest mouse; feeding rats of varying sizes therefore makes sense (and can be cheaper than feeding multiple mice). One of the best ways to do so is by briefly and gently touching the rodent’s head to a heat lamp bulb. In general, a ball python can go for 12 months, and even 1.5 years without eating, before starting to eat again. You should always aim to feed your ball python frozen/thawed (f/t) mice or rats, instead of live prey items.

I prefer feeding my snake live rats then dealing with the thawing of a frozen one. Feeding very large meal (or overly large rodents) might make your ball python not eat after, for a long period of time. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. This increases chances of your ball python eating. I also feed her in a different tank as well because 1. Understand that these are simply guidelines – you must monitor your snake’s body weight and growth rate, and then make adjustments as necessary.

Even better, there are almost places where frozen rodents can be ordered online and delivered to your home.

My advice would therefore be to start off with rats if they are available in a suitable size for your snake. One of the most common questions new keepers have relates to the frequency with which they should feed their snake. Ball pythons require fresh drinking water for drinking and soaking daily. If offering live rodents, keep an eye and don’t leave an uneaten rodent in a cage alone with your ball python. Any information on Reptile Advisor should not be used in place of proper medical care. please read this post to identify possible issues (new tab). Keeping Exotic Pets is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. If the water is too hot then the rodent thaws out too quickly, which often ends in the stomach bursting. Also, don’t handle your ball python straight before feeding and don’t move it to a separate container to feed.

Consider both the size of the prey item given and the frequency. That will save you money, time, and prevent any injuries/stress to your ball python and rodents. It’s always better to feed 1 larger prey item, than few smaller ones. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 1-2 food items. Plus she does enjoy the hunt like you said above just as much as I do. Some keepers will refreeze uneaten food, assuming it hasn’t been left in the cage for too long, but I personally do not.

Once your ball python reaches maturity at around 3 years old, feed it once in 2-2.5 weeks, or even 3 weeks if offering a larger meal. Also, it is easier to digest 1 prey item, rather than few. That will make sure that your ball python perceives and accepts what you offer as food. Also start taking action if there’s weight loss of above 5-10% of ball python’s body weight.

These days most cities have a reptile shop selling such items.

I am obsessed with reptiles and have been keeping them my entire life. The snakes are checked again a few hours later, and any uneaten food is removed, together with any “spillage” from the carcass. In such cases, you may need to experiment with other species (with gerbils typically being the most likely to tempt your pet). Once you’ve selected a suitable prey item, next you need to actually feed it to your ball python. That’s because live rodents might bite and injure your ball python, and feeding frozen prey items is more humane.

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