How to feed A Ball Python?
What does your breeder or store currently feed your snake?
Are you new to the hobby and aren't sure exactly what's required to take good care of your reptile? One of the first questions you need to ask your breeder is what they are currently feeding it?
Depending on what they're already being fed you need to adjust accordingly as some snakes can become very finicky with what they eat if they become accustomed to certain prey. Some breeders who feed their snakes frozen guinea pigs, which have a very high fat content have a hard time switching them back to rats or mice simply because the snakes don't find them as appealing anymore. If your snakes is one of the larger species like ball pythons that will eventually graduate to eating rats make sure to try switching them on to small weanling rats while their still juveniles in order to get them adjusted to a new prey item before they grow to large.
Mice
Rats
Day old chicks
Chickens
Fish
Quail
Rabbits
Guinea Pigs
Hamsters
Gerbils
Eggs
Live or Frozen?
Depending on what they're already being fed you need to adjust accordingly as some snakes can become very finicky with what they eat if they become accustomed to certain prey. Some breeders who feed their snakes frozen guinea pigs, which have a very high fat content have a hard time switching them back to rats or mice simply because the snakes don't find them as appealing anymore. If your snakes is one of the larger species like ball pythons that will eventually graduate to eating rats make sure to try switching them on to small weanling rats while their still juveniles in order to get them adjusted to a new prey item before they grow to large.
Mice
Rats
Day old chicks
Chickens
Fish
Quail
Rabbits
Guinea Pigs
Hamsters
Gerbils
Eggs
Live or Frozen?
Feeding your snake frozen vs live?
Why would someone feed their snake frozen when they could feed them live? Isn't live prey healthier for the animal?
Feeding Live
Feeding a snake live prey can cause unnecessary harm to it as most live prey still have the ability to injure your snake in some way and most snakes that are bred in captivity simply don't have the same instincts as they would in the wild leaving them more vulnerable to mishaps. Some snakes can even be chewed on by the prey if left unsupervised.
Feeding Frozen
Feeding a snake frozen prey prevents any unnecessary risks of injury during the feeding process. Frozen prey that are immediately frozen after being killed and are kept at a minimum of -18 Celsius have a much lower chance of carrying unwanted bacteria as the cold temperatures helps prevent most but not all bacteria from growing.
Conclusion
"Feeding frozen is more convenient, inexpensive and healthier for your reptile"
Feeding Live
Feeding a snake live prey can cause unnecessary harm to it as most live prey still have the ability to injure your snake in some way and most snakes that are bred in captivity simply don't have the same instincts as they would in the wild leaving them more vulnerable to mishaps. Some snakes can even be chewed on by the prey if left unsupervised.
Feeding Frozen
Feeding a snake frozen prey prevents any unnecessary risks of injury during the feeding process. Frozen prey that are immediately frozen after being killed and are kept at a minimum of -18 Celsius have a much lower chance of carrying unwanted bacteria as the cold temperatures helps prevent most but not all bacteria from growing.
Conclusion
"Feeding frozen is more convenient, inexpensive and healthier for your reptile"
What size feeder should I feed my snake?
Feeder sizes for snakes vary on the species, for example a Hognose or a Corn Snake should eat nothing wider than the widest part of its body as a rule of thumb. On the other hand a Ball Python can eat anything from 1.25x to 1.5x the widest part of its body or in other words wide enough so that you can visually see the outline of the prey being digested through its body. If your snake regurgitates its prey then you're feeding it prey that's too big and creating sores on the inside of its digestive system from the acid that comes up during the regurgitation process. After regurgitation you should wait 2 weeks before feeding again in order to prevent health problems from sores not healing properly! My advice is to google the snakes species and best feeding practices and search different online forums with input regarding your question as their are 1000's of different species with different feeding requirements!
Should I feed 2 jumbo mice or 1 medium rat that weigh the same?
In this case less is usually more, it takes less energy to digest one feeder vs 2 and its also typically healthier as larger feeders have more nutrients compared with 2 smaller feeders.
What % of body weight should I feed my Ball Python?
1st year or until the snake reaches approximately 750g in weight: feed 10% - 15% of the snakes weight in frozen feeders every 7 days.
2nd year, when the snakes weight gaining starts to slow down: feed up to 7% of the snakes weight every 10 - 15 days.
3rd year: Feed up to 5% of the snakes weight every 15 - 20 days.
2nd year, when the snakes weight gaining starts to slow down: feed up to 7% of the snakes weight every 10 - 15 days.
3rd year: Feed up to 5% of the snakes weight every 15 - 20 days.
How often should I feed my snake?
Most juvenile snakes need to be fed every 5 - 7 days because of their rapid growth at a young age! Most snakes after 1 year of age can have their feeding tapered off to about 10 - 14 day intervals!
How to thaw frozen feeders ?
DO NOT use a microwave to thaw out your frozen rodents as it can cause harmful bacteria to start growing inside them which can be detrimental to your snakes health! Cooking your rodent in the microwave can also take away from the nutritional value of the rodent itself.
Step 1
Find a ziplock bag.
Step 2
Place feeder inside bag and seal it shut.
Step 3
Place bag in a bucket of warm water, make sure it's NOT boiling hot.
Step 4
Leave bag in bucket for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the rodent feels squishy.
step 5
Make sure the rodent isn't cold to the touch as digesting cold feeders can be very harmful to your cold blooded reptile that can't regulate its own body temperature like we can.
Step 6
Grab a pair of tongs and swing the meal back in forth in front of the snake to get its attention, don't use your hands to feed it as you can get bitten very easily when the snake can't distinguish between your hand and the feeder.
Step 1
Find a ziplock bag.
Step 2
Place feeder inside bag and seal it shut.
Step 3
Place bag in a bucket of warm water, make sure it's NOT boiling hot.
Step 4
Leave bag in bucket for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the rodent feels squishy.
step 5
Make sure the rodent isn't cold to the touch as digesting cold feeders can be very harmful to your cold blooded reptile that can't regulate its own body temperature like we can.
Step 6
Grab a pair of tongs and swing the meal back in forth in front of the snake to get its attention, don't use your hands to feed it as you can get bitten very easily when the snake can't distinguish between your hand and the feeder.
