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I am curious how you experienced guys and girls go about growing ur ball pythons at high rates w/o force feeding. Could you please share your techniques and recommendations on how often to feed, mice or rats, f/t prekilled or live, etc. I am hoping I can get my 200-250 gram hets ready for the 2005 winter breeding season. Thanks in advance!
...Thanks for previous responses "draconian"!
offer food about twice/week, gradually increasing food size. I offer what the particular specimen wants to eat. If the specimen wants to make his/her own kills it gets live food. If it'll take f/t I offer that. So on and so forth.
You shouldn't have any trouble getting males up to size/weight by early '05 but forget about the females. It's possible for females of your weight to be ready by next summer, but an extra 6 months would do them a world of good, so THEY should be ready for the '06 season. Females that LAY eggs at weights under 1500 gm and especially under 1400 have a high probability of skipping the following year and many of those females NEVER ACHIEVE full breeding potential. Good things come to those who wait. Patience.
Remember the rule of 5 P's: prior planning prevents poor performance...
Note that these are LONG-lived snakes. Prepare them properly and you will be rewarded.
Scott J. Michaels DVM
Serpent City
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