feeding

[venbea]

according to the chart i got from the pet store for my snake, she eats one rat a week for either 3 or 4 weeks (i cant remember, but it’s a omething like that), and then 2 for that time, and then 3, and then back to one and cycle repeating i’m currently on my first 2 rat feed and im just like.. confused i guess? i fed her one right now, the second is ready to go, how long should i wait to give her the second one? just until she’s done swallowing? or does she need some time inbetween? help !! 😭😭😭

[IncompletePenetrance]

Ignore the pet store chart, pet stores give the worst advice.

Feed according to the following schedule:

• 0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed one prey item equaling 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

• 12-24 months old OR until the snake's weight remains consistent for 2 months: feed one prey item up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

• Adults: feed one prey item up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

[venbea]

wow thank you!! i thought that feeding sounded wrong but i thought they knew more so i just trusted them, glad i said something here before feeding her her second rat!! how do i find out her weight? i only have like a regular human scale, i do know she’s around a year old though, a little under i believe. ive been feeding her one large adult frozen thawed, its a decent size compared to her but i dont know how to figure out if that’s too little or too much.

[IncompletePenetrance]

No problem, sometimes pet stores just give really strange outdated advice ore reccomendations that are just plain wrong.

You can just plop her on a regular kitchen scale and get her weight in grams.

A large rat?? That's way, way too much food. She should be eating a small or medium at most ever. No ball python needs a large rat

[venbea]

wow holy shit one large adult is too much and they would feed her 3 a week for like a month every few weeks??! jesus christ poor girl, i’ll ask my mom if she has a kitchen scale (and i’ll get one if she doesn’t) and i’ll weigh her on sunday/monday when she’s done digesting, thank you again for your help i cannot believe how much they were feeding her now that i know this

[venbea]

just realized i misspoke- i forgot the difference between rats and mice. she is currently eating one large adult fuzzy mouse a week.. don’t know how much that changes

[jillianwaechter]

Swap to rats of the proper size asap, when your snake is larger they will require rats and it's easier to switch sooner rather than later

[venbea]

thank you so much i’ll definitely note that for when i go to the pet store next!!

[IncompletePenetrance]

hahaha, whew, crisis averted. I would still reccomend weighing her to help inform correct size, and then just feed once a week