Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Heyyylo. dunno if you guys remember but i mentioned a couple weeks ago of a BP I was pickin up. Just thought I'd update the few of you who gave me some info and hes doing very good. still trying to work on getting him hydrated, im soaking him every other night or so, not sure how long the soaks should be for tho. AND he ate, which is fantastic because I didnt know if he would and according to previous owner he hasnt in over 2.5 months. anywho... again, he's about 4.5 ft long... and about the thickness of a tennis ball. He took four 3-4inch rats and im just waitin for him to poop now lol. Whats appropriate meal sizes for these guys? I'm sure he could eat a bigger rat easy as his head is much bigger than my 6ft rat snakes and he gobbles em down like no ones business. Thanks again!

-leigh
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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

The rat should be no thicker, than the thickest part of you ball python. I normally feed my adult ball pythons, sm/md rats. Hope this helps.

yea, no the rats were definetly not nearly as thick as the snake.... i usually feed more smaller things
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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

The "general rule" is nothing that is wider than the thickest part of your snake (middle section). However, I don't use anything larger than a recently weaned small rat -- which is probably what your 4-inch rats are. Even though my large 3000 g females could easily take large rats, I don't use them -- I feel that weaned smalls are safer to feed and won't fight back, and feeding multiple allows my adults to choose how much they want to eat. They can eat one, or they can eat 3 -- just depends on how hungry they are. They all do really great.

As for pooping, he probably won't crap for 1-3 weeks. They take awhile to digest.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

IC. heyy so its going to take hima while to crap?? is it different for ballls? my other two snakes poop like 2 or 3 days after being fed. usually with them i wait until the poo before handling them. Can i handle the ball python after a couple days even if he hasnt relieved himself?
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Astin Leigh

1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Rat Snake (Dogg)
1.0 Black Mexican King Snake (WolfeGang)
1.0 Ball Python (as of yet unnamed)
1.0 Manx Cat (Simba)

The general rule of thumb for handling a snake after they eat is 24 hrs. That's what I do and I haven't had a problem with them regurgitating. Good luck with the snake.

It isn't going to harm him -- I would wait 24-48 hours to avoid regurgitation, but that's it. I have 20-30 ball pythons in my collection at any given time and they all take 1-3 weeks to defecate. Some that only eat every 10 days only poop once every 4-6 weeks. It's just how slow their digestive systems are. Many wait until shedding to relieve themselves.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors