Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my male ball was born this past summer. I got him in late aug. On Sept 14 I finally got a scale and he weighed 150 grams. He is now as of today up to 217 grams. Does this seem too slow? I am feeding one adult mouse every 6 to 7 days. Is it time to jump to a small rat or rat fuzzy *and do any pet stores carry rat fuzzys? I really don't need 50 at a time....
Thanks everyone.
I really wish there was a guide for ball feeding like there is for corns. *hint hint people*

Doesn't seem too slow. If the mouse is no longer leaving a particularly noticeable bump, you might want to try a small rat. My usual method for helping snakes along when they're in that inbetween-stage is to give them two of the smaller size for a couple weeks. My pastel, purchased on September 9th, weighed September 22nd at 108 g, weighs 252 as of November 22nd.
I feed based on how hungry the snake seems, especially when they're younger. Winks constantly acts like he's starved, so he gets fed almost every 5 days. He's also eating small rats, and has been since...the 15th of November (I'm looking at his feeding card as I type this!).

Maybe try feeding the smallest rat you have, and see how your snake does. It's not necessarily a bad thing to let the snake grow slow; mine seems to be eager to eat often and so he's growing fairly quick.

Listen to the snake!

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

This, of course, will incite the wrath of the uneducated and inexperienced, but in the wild, the animals that 'survive' are the ones that eat the most to get the biggest quickest to avoid being eaten.

That being said, at that rate, by next year, you should have him up to a whopping 300 grams! Fuzzy rats, 2 at a time, every 5 days as he will take them. He will tell you if he's not hungry by not eating.

Steve Harrison

Fuzzy rats work if you can find fuzzy rats! Do you feed live fuzzies or F/T? I can never find fuzzies unless I breed them myself. Usually I just go to two mice, then a jumbo mouse, and if the jumbo mouse can fit, a small rat can fit, and from there...life is easy!

Just my two cents.

And...where *do* you get your fuzzies?

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

You don't mention when in the summer (June 1 or August 1). If born around June 1, I'd say he's slightly behind the curve. Not all Ball Pythons feed right away. I have some that take a month or more before they decide to feed.

Either way, at 217 grams, it does not sound like he's terribly small. Does he look too small? Skin folds? As long as he's eating regularly, feeding once every 6-7 days is fine. Just follow Jens advice about the noticeable lump.

There is no guide as there is such a varying range of views on how the should be fed LOL.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

dude
balls over 150 g's can easily handle weanie rats.
look for a small small , if nobody's got weanies.
bump that sucker up , it could stop feeding any day now , you'll wish it had some weight on if that happens.
good luck

ck

this little girl weighed 148 g's this morning before she ate this weanie rat

here's a shot of it goin' down.