Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My bros ball is 32" with a inch in a half girth.....We were gonna give him a small rat every 2 weeks it is a male...SHould we offer him more than every 2 weeks,
thanks,
Jake

he should be able to take a small rat easily, and every two weeks should work too. I normally feed mine and wait till it comes out the other end, cleverly discuised as fecal matter before I feed them again.

I think the rule of thumb is never give them anything larger in diameter than the largest part of their body. So, if the snake is normally as wide as a small rat, then a small rat will be OK. I personally perfer 2 mice instead of 1 rat if you are going to give them live prey. Much less of a chance of mice hurting the snake than rats. For a near adult feeding once per week to once every three weeks is good if you want to keep them as a long term pet. The less you feed them, most likely, the longer they will live. However, if you are thinking of breeding, you can feed them as often as every 3 to 5 days,to make them grow faster. However, be forewarned that many people claim this shortens the snakes life. Just don't feed them every other day like some people do, that is definitely not good.

all my balls are on rats. from 100 grams to 2500 grams. like it is said above,the rule of thumb is to match the daimeter of the snake with the same size rat or mouse if you prefer. if it is too big 9 times out of 10 the snake wont take it anyway so you really dont need to worry about feeding something too big. they have been around for millions of years. they know what they can handle and not.

it all depends if you want it to grow fast ( for breeding ) or take its time ( for a pet ). i offer food every 2-3 days to my balls. if they are hungry they will eat if not i take it out. as they get larger they can take larger meals and go without for a longer period of time.