Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can changing baby BP's feeding schedule from every 3-5 days from start to every 7-9 days trigger irregular feeding or fasting? The "babies" are 2004's about 8-9 months old now and are between 440-820 grams.

Has anyone experienced this in some of their animals of the same size too?

Thanks...

...my experience is that many, perhaps the majority (that's > 50% to the nitpickers) of females, after feeding and growing well for the first several months to about a year or so, hit a "wall" and go into a fast...some it's 6 months, others it's 14-15 months...sometimes the fasting is sporadic, in fits and starts...others it's a bonafide 6-8 month fast...for me it's been a common experience...welcome to ball pythons lol!!

Scott J. Michaels DVM
Serpent City

I had several young females do that this year. They were eating like there was no tomorrow and just like you flipped a switch, they stopped. They have started eating again, but not like they were before.
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Louis Kirkland
Redline Reptiles

Yep. Every Ball Python I've owned did the same thing. Some sooner than others.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I've got a male who is 4 to 5 years old and he seriously only eats 3 to 5 meals per year. He's in perfect health, breeds like mad, and has good body mass and muscle tone. He hasn't eaten since last september or october. He wants nothing to do with food during the breeding season, and he wishes the breeding season would last year round. He'll proably take a rat in the next few weeks, then a few more over the next couple of months, then quit again.

The thing is, I don't see it as a problem. People write in all the time freaked out by a 6 week fast....I've never had a BP starve themselves to death, and I challenge anyone out their to point out a case where one has. I've rehabilitated a couple of WC adults, non feeding babies, etc, and they all eat at some point. People are so used to cramming their pie hole 3 (or more) times a day, we often just aren't comfortable with animals that don't need to do that.

As far as the babies eating great then stopping, I haven't had a lot of that. My animals usually dont go off feed until breeding time, and I have a few that I think would feed throughout. I don't even offer food to adults from late novemeber though January. I think the key may be in power feeding. My babies never get power fed. My guess is that the ones who eat every 3-5 days, and eat multiple prey items per feeding put on too much weight too quickly, and basically put themselves on a diet.

....second time in the last 24 hours I've read or heard the words, "pie hole" LOL...it's got a good ring to it!

sjm

I've read all sorts of recommended schedules for babies, from 2 hoppers every 5 days to 1 adult mouse every 7 days, etc. Do you just offer food every week and let the animal self regulate (i.e., the snake will eat whenever it's hungry), or do you try to maintain a set schedule? And in everyone's experiences, does a schedule have any influence on whether the snake goes off feed later? It would be interesting to look at some data and see what variables
actually influence feeding behavior.

- bruce

I've found that the way a BPs feeds mostly depends on the ball not the schedule, not what it's fed or housed in. Personally I let them set their schedule, most eat every 5-7 days so I offer every 5-7 days, I have a couple that eat every other week and one that is on an every other month schedule. I keep them all at the same temps and for the most part in the same kind of environment, some go off feed, some don't, depends on the snake. I've heard some morphs are more prone to problem feeding and some that eat really really well, feeding response may prove one day to be more of a genetic thing. We'll see.
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Tosha

"Of course, this is just my opinion...and I believe I am God." -- Christopher Bianco

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