Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, i posted a message last week about what size food item i should feed my ball, and the conclusion was that i should at least try her with a small rat.

i tried her last night with one (105g) and she wouldnt take it. she struck, coiled and then started to eat it, got it half way down into her mouth and then decided she didnt want it and gave me it back. so i assume that this means that it was a little too big for her.

i just weighed her now and she is 480g, and is 27" long. what items would you suggest i try next?

105 grams seems a little big to be a small rat - are you feeding live/pk or f/t? What has she been feeding on up till now? If she is used to something small like mice - you may want to step her up slowly - switch from mice to large rat pups (they're about the same size) then up to wean and then up small rats. I would think that a snake of her size should be able to handle a small rat (80-90ish grams) quite easily but some snakes just prefer smaller meals.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

up until now she has been feeding on 3 F/T Large mice at a time. the reason i wanted to step her up a notch was that she was eating these 3 mice, having no signs of even eaten (she didnt even have to dislocate her jaws!) and she was always hunting for food again less than 72 hours later. so i asked my supplier for a small rat, and the 105g (when frozen) rat was what he gave me which she was unable to munch!