Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How many rats a year does an adult female ball eat. I'm talking about females that are breeding one year and putting back their body weight to be able to do it again the next year. I'm sure there are many variables, such as the size of meal. I feed rather large meals and was very surprised at the number I found. I didn't look at all of my cards but enough of them to get a good idea. 15-19 rats/year is all they are eating, I also record when they skip a meal, they skip some here and there. If they wanted to eat more often they have the chances. I was glad to find out that the cost of keeping them all year was not as much as I thought. If you have feed records and feel like looking it up, I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks Mike

Mike,
I don't keep feed records. I feed ALL my adult females as much as they will eat throughout the whole year. I feed only small rats. I know that my girls that have laid will go through a 6-8 week period during which they will eat 3-6 rats a week trying to put weight back on . They then slow down to 1-3 per week. I have learned the hard way that overfeeding a ball python is IMPOSSIBLE!!!

I have found a correlation in my breeding between lighter females and slugs -- NOT heavy girls and slugs.

FEED THEM HEAVY is my motto!!!
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Bill Buchman

I don't keep records anymore, but when I did I noticed my bigger breeders (2500grams) would eat around 18-20 med-large rats. This number suprised me too!! Now my smaller females (first time breeders)900-1500g would eat as many as 70-small rats and mice a year if they bulked up to get to size. Chris

My numbers were all over the place. I have two picky eaters, one that likes to go on long fasts, and one that would eat a lightbulb if given the chance. So I projected it out over the next year, and assuming most of them will go off feed for the winter months, my best eater will take about 20 large rats a year, my worst will do five med. rats and a few mice. I have a juv. Gary Leisen Black Pewter male though who might beat the high record on number (not mass of food), but we'll have to see.
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3.4 ball pythons
1.1 kingsnakes
0.1 crazy cat
?!.?! ASFs
1.0 husband

I track rat usage so I can plan for and optimize a few bulk frozen rodent orders per year. In 2008 I had 18 females 2.5 yrs and older. On average each female consumed: 1.2 weaned; 9.9 small; 9.7 medium.
Paul