Baby ball python feeding schedule
What Ball Pythons Eat, How Often to Feed Them, and What to Do If Your Ball Python Won’t Eat
Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors
Reviewed by Amy Flowers, DVM on July 07, 2021
In this Article
- Ball Python Diet
- Common Concerns Feeding Ball Pythons
Ball pythons are excellent pets for people who like snakes. They’re relatively low-maintenance, they’re small, and they’re clean. But they have dietary needs that are very different from a cat or dog. As a new ball python owner you’ll need to know what to feed your snake, how often to feed it, and what to do if it won’t eat.
Ball Python Diet
Their feeding needs vary depending on their size, and you don’t need to feed them every day.
What ball pythons eat. In general, the youngest, smallest ones eat small frozen feeder mice or rats. Larger ball pythons typically eat larger mice or rats.
Selecting prey for a ball python. As a general rule, you should select a rodent that is 1 to 1. 25 times the size of the midsection of your snake. Smaller prey is fine, but avoid getting food that’s too large.
Live prey vs. pre-killed. Snakes are predators, and in the wild they’re used to catching their own food. Your pet snake, though, will be fine with fresh pre-killed or even frozen rodents (you’ll need to thaw them first.) It’s safer not to feed your snake live prey. Live rodents will be scared and can bite your snake. Even small rodent bites can cause infection that will make your snake sick. Pet snakes are easily trained to eat dead prey.
How often to feed a ball python. You don't need to feed a ball python every day. Generally, smaller or younger ball pythons need to eatevery five days, while larger ones usually eat once every week or two. As they get older you feed them more at one time so they don’t need as many feedings.
Cost of feeding a ball python. The annual cost of feeding a ball python can range between $100 to $150.
Common Concerns Feeding Ball Pythons
Ball pythons are picky eaters. And if your snake is new, know that snakes — and especially ball pythons — are sometimes too stressed to eat in their new home environment for weeks or even months. If your ball python won’t eat, understanding why can help you know how to encourage your snake to eat again.
Reasons your ball python might not eat. There are several reasons why they might not eat when you do give them their food, including:
- Their habitat may be too hot or too cold.
- Their habitat may be too large.
- They may not recognize the food you’ve given them.
- They may be getting ready to shed.
- It’s breeding season.
- They’re stressed.
- They’re ill.
Maintain a comfortable temperature, avoid disturbances, and watch for signs of shedding and illnesses. If your ball python isn’t hungry, they won’t eat. You can remove the food and try again later.
How to encourage your ball python to eat.
There are a few things that you can try if your ball python won’t eat:
- Make sure you’re feeding the snake the same food as it was eating before it came to you.
- Thaw and warm frozen food.
- Try cutting pre-killed prey open.
- Adjust the temperature in the enclosure.
- Clean the habitat.
What to do if your ball python still won’t eat. Schedule an appointment with a vet. Your vet can give your snake a thorough examination to determine if it has parasites or another health-related problem. They can also prescribe a treatment to help resolve the issue.
Ball Python Feeding Chart, Tips, Schedule & Diet
Ball Pythons are important pest controllers in Africa; they feed on rats, mice, and birds. These strong snakes are ambush predators and use their colorful scale patterns to blend into their environment and ambush prey.
As pets, ball pythons feed on rodents and are happy eating either live or pre-killed prey.
What Do Bearded Dragons Eat? Best F...
Please enable JavaScript
What Do Bearded Dragons Eat? Best Food List and Feeding Guide
But how much should you feed and how often?
Feeding charts are an essential tool for ball python owners of all experience levels. They help to understand the relationship between snake size, age and prey.
Continue reading for our complete ball python feeding guide. We share the best feeding schedules (for all age ranges), tips, and beginner mistakes to avoid.
Table of Contents
- What Do Ball Pythons Eat?
- Ball Python Feeding Chart
- Ball Python Feeding
- How To Feed A Ball Python Frozen-Thawed Prey
- How To Feed A Ball Python Live Prey
- Tips and Mistakes
- Summary
What Do Ball Pythons Eat?
Ball pythons are carnivores that hunt and eat small mammals and birds. In their native range in West and Central Africa, they prefer African giant rats, black rats, grass mice, weaver birds, and rufous-nosed rats.
However, their prey is not limited to these animals, they will feed on any bird or mammal small enough to be swallowed.
Like all pythons, this species is an ambush predator that sits and waits for prey to come to them.
Pythons use a combination of chemical cues, movement and vision to find prey. Once they find prey they strike and then kill them with constriction. They use their unique and irregular color patterns to help them blend in with their environment, this is one of the reasons why there are many natural ball python morphs.
Their ambush-style hunting strategy and slow metabolism let these snakes go for weeks or even months between meals.
Male and female ball pythons differ in the type of prey they eat. Males are more arboreal than females and so eat more birds than mammals. Females spend more time on the ground and subsequently eat more mammals than birds.
Unlike other pet snake species, ball pythons will not eat foods like amphibians, eggs, fish, or other reptiles.
Pet ball pythons are mostly fed domestic mice, rats and chicks.
Just as wild pythons eat a variety of prey, it is important for your pet snake to have variety too. Mice and rats are the staple of a ball python’s diet, but adding the occasional chick, quail, or young rabbit can provide enrichment.
| Wild Ball Python Diet | Captive Ball Python Diet |
|---|---|
| African giant rats | Domestic mice |
| Rufous-nosed rats | Domestic rats |
| Shaggy rats | Chicks |
| Weaver birds | Quails |
| Grass mice | Gerbils |
| Shrews | Rabbits |
Ball pythons are able to go for long periods of time without eating. Their ability to fast helps them to survive a period of drought or incubate their eggs. However, just because these snakes can go without eating for long periods, does not mean they should.
It is your job to feed your snake prey that provides good nutrition without under or overfeeding.
The best way to make sure your python is getting the right amount to eat is to use a feeding schedule.
Sticking to a feeding schedule is important to accurately regulate your ball python’s weight.
Schedules will help to make sure that your python will not go hungry, but also lets you easily keep track of and adjust the amount you are feeding to prevent overfeeding. Knowing when your snake last ate helps alert you to any feeding abnormalities such as refusal.
Ball Python Feeding Chart
A feeding chart for ball pythons will change as they grow and age.
Young pythons will need to eat more often than a mature male who is growing very slowly. Younger individuals need a lot of energy to put into rapid body growth. Feedings needs even differ among fully grown pythons, depending on whether or not they are gravid or getting ready to breed.
Exact feeding requirements vary between individuals, but there are guidelines for how much the average python needs to eat based on its size and age.
| Snake Age | Snake Weight | Prey Size | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatchling | 50 – 100 g | Hopper mouse or pinky rat (8-12 g) | Every five days |
| 3 months | 120 – 200 g | Small mouse or fuzzy rat (13-19 g) | Once week |
| 6 months | 300 – 370 g | Adult mouse or rat pup (20-30g) | Every 7 – 10 days |
| 1 year | 500 – 900 g | 1-3 adult mice or 1 small rat (45-80 g) | Every 10 – 14 days |
| 1.5 years | 700 – 1500 g | 3-5 adult mice, 1 medium rat, or 2 small rats (80-150 g) | Every 10 – 14 days |
| 3 years | 1200 – 1800 g | 4-5 adult mice, 1 medium rat, or 2 small rats (90-150 g) | Every 14 – 21 days |
| 5 years+ | 1800 – 2300 g | 4-5 adult mice, 1 medium rat, or 2 small rats (90-150 g) | Every 21 – 50 days |
The size of your python determines what size prey you should feed.
A good rule of thumb is to feed prey that are is wider than the largest part of your python’s midsection. Hatchlings can be started off with pinky mice, while adults may be able to eat large-sized rats.
Hatchlings (Baby)
Hatchling pythons grow very fast! Females can grow up to 12 inches within a year and males can grow eight inches per year. To keep up with their growth hatchlings need to eat a lot. They should be fed a hopper mouse every five days for the first four weeks of their life.
This is also the time when you should make sure their feeding response is strong and that they are able to strike at prey accurately.
Overfeeding hatchling ball pythons is not an issue because of their extremely high metabolisms.
3 Months Old
Pythons under one-year-old are considered to be juveniles. Juveniles are still growing at a tremendous rate. To sustain this growth, they need to eat a small mouse or fuzzy rat every week.
During this growth period, you may need to increase the size of your snake’s prey regularly.
The prey should be no larger than the widest part of your snake’s body, this will help your snake swallow and digest the rat without problem.
6 Months Old
At six months old your python should be between 20 and 27 inches and have a good appetite. You can now offer a larger prey item over longer periods of time. One rat pup or adult mouse every ten days works well for most individuals.
1 Year Old
By now, male and female ball pythons will start to differ in size. Females grow consistently bigger than males. This size gap means that you may need to feed male and female pythons different prey. Smaller males can have 1-3 adult mice and larger females can have a rat.
You should still feed prey based on the size of your individual python.
A small, 1-year-old female may not be large enough for a rat yet, or an especially big male may swallow a rat without any trouble.
3 Years Old
At three years old a ball pythons’ growth begins to slow down significantly.
It is also the age at which males reach maturity.
You can now start spacing feedings out to once every two weeks and slightly increase the prey size again. The prey should be just smaller than the size of your snake’s widest point. Larger snakes need larger prey, but less often.
Pythons at this age frequently become overweight because their owner continues to use a juvenile feeding schedule (i.e. feeding every 5-7 days). Make sure you are only feeding every two or three weeks.
5 Years Old
Both male and female ball pythons are fully mature at five years old. Interestingly, they will continue to grow gradually for the rest of their lives.
Your ball python should now be a consistent weight (unless it is being used for breeding) and your feeding schedule should not need to change. Most adults are happy with a single medium rat, two small rats, or 4-5 large adult mice every one to two months.
Breeding Females
Female ball pythons do not eat while laying and incubating eggs and their energy needs increase significantly while ovulating.
Because of this, a breeding female will need to be fed lots before she lays.
Feed a gravid python a large rat once a week from when she first shows signs of ovulation until she lays. Continue to feed her for as long as she will eat to maintain that weight. This helps to build fat reserves for the time after laying when she guards the eggs. Make sure a female is at least 1,500 grams before breeding.
Breeding Males
Unlike females, breeding males only need energy for mating.
Breeding males only need a slight increase in their feeding and this will depend on how often they are used.
If you only breed a male once, he will be fine with his normal feeding schedule. If you breed him with more than two females over a span of several days or weeks, increase his meals to every 14 days during this period.
Ball Python Feeding
Feeding a ball python can be done in one of two ways: by using live or pre-killed prey.
Using live prey can feel more natural to beginners, but mice and rats can cause serious harm to your python.
Especially if both animals are confined together in a small space.
We highly recommend feeding your python frozen rodents.
While both methods are used by snake keepers, feeding pre-killed prey is both safer for your snake and more convenient for you.
Pre-killed prey is sold frozen in most pet stores and can simply be thawed out prior to feeding. Ball pythons are happy to eat frozen-thawed prey, but snakes that have previously eaten live prey may take some time to adjust to dead prey.
Ball pythons are nocturnal, so the best time for feeding is in the evening or just after you have turned out the lights.
How To Feed A Ball Python Frozen-Thawed Prey
- Five hours before feeding (2 hours for a mouse) defrost your prey/rat in the refrigerator.
- Alternatively, rodents can be kept overnight in the fridge to thaw prior to feeding day. Never try to defrost a frozen rat in the microwave, as it can heat unevenly or explode.
- After the prey is thawed, place it inside a plastic bag.
- Place the plastic bag in warm water and allow it to heat to about 110°F.
- Dry the rat.
- Use soft tongs to lift the rat by the tail and offer it to your snake. Tongs keep your snake from associating your hand with feeding and gives you extra room in case it misses a strike.
- Alternatively, you can place the warmed rodent on the floor of the tank.
- Remove the prey if it hasn’t been eaten in 12 hours.
How To Feed A Ball Python Live Prey
- Pick a rat that is smaller than your python’s widest girth.
- Check to make sure the rat is free from injuries and parasite.
- Use soft tongs to lift the rat by the tail.
- Open your python’s enclosure or the lid of its feeding tub and dangle the rat in front of its head. The rodent’s movements, combined with its scent, should entice your snake to strike.
- Never drop the rat on your snake or let it loose in your snake’s enclosure.
Tips and Mistakes
Ball pythons are forgiving of feeding mistakes, though you should still do your best to avoid them in the first place.
Many mistakes are the result of misinformation and can be easily corrected.
Below are some of the most common ball python feeding mistakes we see in beginners.
Overfeeding
Because ball pythons are naturally heavy-bodied it can be difficult to tell if they are overweight.
Overfeeding can be avoided by sticking to a regular feeding schedule and consistently monitoring your python’s body score:
- Healthy individuals should have a hard, fairly triangular body shape when viewed from the front. They should not have a prominent spine.
- Obese individuals have a circular or slightly flattened body, feel soft when handled, and have fat folds around the head and cloaca.
Good management of your python’s feeding habits will help you keep your snake at a healthy weight. Not too thin and not fat.
Feeding inside the enclosure
Feeding your snake in its terrarium may not seem like a mistake, but it can cause some unintended behavioral problems.
Your ball python will quickly learn that opening the enclosure doors = feeding time.
This can cause it to strike whenever the doors are opened, even for cleaning or handling.
It is best to feed your python in a separate feeding enclosure. This can be something as simple as a plastic bin or empty fish tank, provided it is secure and large enough.
After feeding, move your snake back into its enclosure and leave it alone for up to 72 hours.
Handling After Feeding
Reptiles have slower metabolisms than mammals and take longer to digest their food.
Handling with your ball python after it eats is unpleasant and stressful for them. Interrupting can even cause regurgitation.
Make sure you give your snake plenty of privacy while it eats and digests prey.
Leave your snake alone for 72 hours after eating, or until it shows only a slight bulge. After this time, your python should be long enough into digestion that normal handling is fine.
Power feeding
Power feeding means feeding a ball python more than once a week. This is a controversial practice that is used by some ball python breeders to rapidly increase their snake’s weight.
Power feeding quickly leads to obesity and can shorten your snake’s lifespan. It should not be done.
Vitamins and Supplements
Unlike many pet reptiles, healthy ball pythons do not need additional vitamin or mineral supplements.
If you are feeding high-quality rats then all the nutrients it needs are included in its prey.
Summary
Your ball python should eat weaned mice and young rats as a juvenile, and adult rats and several mice as an adult, supplemented with the occasional chick, quail, or gerbil.
Feeding charts for ball pythons should vary based on their size, sex, and age. Of course, no chart will give you the exact requirements for your individual snake.
They should be used as a starting point based on the average weight of your snake.
Tailor them to your snake based on its growth rate and size.
Have we cleared up your feeding questions? Let us know in the comments below!
what is important to know what to feed, recommendations
Published: 08/27/2020 Reading time: 5 min. 11058
Share:
The snake as a pet is a growing phenomenon. These beautiful animals attract with elegance and unpretentiousness. Royal pythons are especially in demand. It is believed that this snake is suitable for beginners: it is not very active, rather unpretentious and non-aggressive. The size of the royal (or ball python) is 1–1.5 m, it has a thick muscular body, an elegant triangular head - this is a very beautiful snake.
Content
- What should be the content of the python
- What and how to feed a snake
- Reptilife for python health
What should be the contents of a python
The snake does not need constant daily care, but in order for the reptile to be healthy and live a long time, you need to create suitable conditions for it:
- spacious terrarium.
The dimensions depend on the dimensions of the python: it should be comfortable to be inside; - volumetric drinking bowl-pool. Snakes do not just drink from water containers, they also swim there, so there should be a lot of water, and the drinker itself should be well fixed;
- temperature regime. In the coldest corner, the temperature should be at least 26 ° C, in the warmest - up to 32-36 ° C. The background temperature comfortable for a python is about 28 °C. The optimum humidity is 80-90%.
What and how to feed a snake
Python is a predator. During the hunt, he strangles and swallows the victim whole. It can digest what it eats for several days or several weeks, depending on the size of the object. At home, the snake should be fed with food that is as close as possible to its natural prey.
- As a rule, owners of snakes buy food mice or rats, frozen or alive, in pet stores. Some pythons do not perceive an already dead mouse, since there is no thermal radiation from it.
To make the food more attractive, it must be warmed in water to a temperature of 40 degrees; - The first meal after the first lace shedding is very important. A young python cannot starve for a long time, and it must be fed. So get ready to be flexible in your choice of food items and offer your python mice, rat pups, or even young gerbils. In the most extreme case, force-feeding is used, but only under the supervision of an experienced specialist;
- frozen rodents are much more convenient as food, but require snake habituation. Be sure to check if the carcass is completely defrosted;
- frequency of meals depends on age. The interval between feedings of cubs should be 4-5 days, an adult python - from 1 to 3 weeks. Keep in mind that pet snakes are prone to obesity, so adjust your meals according to your pet's condition. Female pythons tend to be more voracious and larger;
- sometimes the snake refuses to eat. This is normal if the hunger strike does not last too long, although it is royal pythons that can starve for no reason for up to six months.
The python also does not eat well during the molting period, when the temperature drops, if there are stress factors in its environment. If the pet does not eat for too long, has become inactive and drowsy, has lost weight and lost weight, contact a specialist; - Live rodents, especially rats and hamsters, can chew on a python. Therefore, if the snake is not interested in prey, it is better to postpone feeding for a day or two and remove the rat from the terrarium.
Reptilife for python health
To maintain the snake's health, provide it with the necessary vitamins and microelements, including during active growth or molting, the Reptilife Powder vitamin and mineral complex will help. The feed supplement was created specifically for reptiles, taking into account their needs, it contains vitamins A, K3, C, D, E, vitamins of group B. It will allow you to cope with beriberi, normalize metabolism, and recover from illness. It is convenient to use the supplement when the python has already switched to eating thawed food.
It is enough to slightly moisten the carcass of a rodent and roll in vitamin powder.
Author: AVZ
Add comment
Rate article
Share:
Back to tips list
More tips related to
Basic mistakes when keeping turtles
Read more
Content of the Yemeni chameleon
Read more
Royal python - description, care, feeding, keeping and breeding at home
2
2020-03-23
Let's take a closer look at the python? Let's talk about its origin, features and content at home.
PANTERIC pet store
107023, Russia, Moscow, m. Semenovskaya, st. Malaya Semenovskaya, 28, building 13
+7 (499) 391-80-00
The royal python has long won the love of terrariumists. Despite its length and heavy weight, the snake impresses with its calm disposition, ease of maintenance and beauty. With proper care, such a pet will live 20-30 years.
Let's take a closer look at the species, talk about its origin, features and content at home.
This reptile belongs to the genus of true pythons. Scientists note that the snake has not gone through the full path of evolution - this is evidenced by the presence of two light and rudimentary hind limbs. The ancestors of the predator were mosasaurs and giant lizards.
In the photo of the royal python, you will immediately notice its main features. The first is a pronounced large flattened head. The second is the characteristic coloration. Contrasting spots go all over the body of the snake, the color is beautiful and memorable, however, there are morphs in which the pattern is changed, has the form of stripes or is completely absent. The lower part of the individual is usually pale, without a pattern.
Females are usually larger than males. In its form, the python is one of the smallest - its length rarely exceeds one and a half meters.
There are especially many such snakes in Africa, large populations are found on the territory of Senegal, Mali and Chad.
Reptiles are very fond of heat and humidity. They can often be found near water bodies.
The king python spends a lot of time in its burrow, where it sleeps and lays its eggs. It is not uncommon to see reptiles near people's homes. Interestingly, people usually do not resist such a neighborhood, because the snake does a good job of exterminating small rodents.
Keeping a royal python at home must be accompanied by proper feeding. This reptile is carnivorous. Mice, rats, quails or chickens are fed. For domestic snakes, food should be stored frozen, and served only brought to room temperature or even better slightly warmed up on a lamp or battery, as they react to heat.
The feeding mode is selected individually. It is directly affected by the age, weight of the royal python, conditions of detention. Young animals can eat 1-2 per week, older ones - 1 time per 1-2 weeks.
In winter and during the rutting period, the snake may refuse food for several weeks. Do not worry, because in nature the reptile behaves the same way.
It is very important not to overfeed the snake. One of the potential problems of keeping at home is pet obesity.
The reptile loves to swim and moves quickly in the water. On land, it is not so agile, although it can crawl through trees, climb into hollows and nests created by other animals. She leads a predominantly terrestrial lifestyle.
Pythons are loners. They can form a pair only for a short period to continue the family during the mating season. The inhabitant of the terrarium becomes active at night, sleeps more often during the day.
The snake tolerates the neighborhood with a person very well. She does not attack children, does not bite, unless she considers that you are a mortal danger.
The conditions for keeping the royal python should be as close to natural as possible. There are some important tips for setting up a terrarium:
- The place must be spacious. It is best if it is horizontal. The optimal terrarium size for an adult is 90×45×45 cm.
For a male, you can take a smaller terrarium — 60×4 5×45 cm. You can immediately purchase a large terrarium, as reptiles grow quite quickly. It makes no sense to buy a small one only for the first six months. - The terrarium must be ventilated and have secure doors so that your pet does not run away, royal pythons are very curious.
- A woody substrate, such as Rain Forest or Forest Bark, is poured onto the bottom. You should not use coconut substrate or shavings, as it is designed for high humidity, which the python does not need, and in the dry state it is very dusty, clogging the snake's airways.
- It is important that there are 1-2 shelters in the terrarium: in warm and cold corners. So the python will be able to choose a comfortable temperature for him.
- Be sure to provide a small pool of water for the reptile to drink from. He must be stable.
- Avoid excessive moisture. Increase humidity during your pet's shedding season.
Several temperature zones are created inside the terrarium.
Heating is regulated depending on the time of day. General recommendations:
- The temperature in the warm zone should be between 33 and 38 degrees.
- In the cold - 24-26 degrees.
- Heating can be left on at night, but no additional heating means should be installed without the recommendation of a specialist.
The terrarium uses fluorescent lamps. For a reptile, a combination of day and night mode is important. The day lasts about 12 hours, in summer it can reach up to 14. Our specialists will help you choose the lamps for the correct change of light modes.
Our company supplies baby and adult king pythons. Our pythons have been bred in captivity for several generations. We will help you choose everything you need to equip the place of detention, provide high-quality feed, answer all questions about care, hygiene, reproduction, and treatment.
You can also watch an informative video about the royal python prepared by our specialists, photos.
