I just fed my Ball Python yesterday, she is about 22 inches long. The guy I got her from, said she was eating 2 Fuzzies every Tuesday. When I took her into the Petco around here, the lady who worked with the snakes/reptiles said she highly doubted it was eating 2 Fuzzies.
Basically, I am asking, should I attempt to feed it again today? Or just wait till like next Tuesday and feed her again? And should I try feeding her 2?
I am not sure how feeding 2 mice would work. I just let her eat the one, then let her eat another one after she gets it in her belly?
Oh, and when I woke up this morning, she was on the colder side of her tank. I was a little concerned because I know they are supposed to be up to like 90 in a basking spot for them to properly digest their food. Now it has been about 16 hours since she first fed, and during like at least 2 of those hours she was sitting under her hide on the hot side of the tank.
Should I be on the look out for any problems with digesting her food? And if so, what?
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com And lastly, when would it be alright to hold her again? I read some place, 24 hours, other places 48, and other places not until it poops.
Oh, and also, she feeds on live.
Hello,
as a general rule I would say 2 fuzzies don't make sense, rather, feed your snake 1 meal which is roughly the same size as the thickest part of the snake every 7 days. In a year or so, move to feeding every 9 -10 days. Allow your snake 2-3 days of R & R to digest (don't worry about the hot and cool side, your snake will regulate on its own) before handling it again. As long as your snake is living in the proper enclosure it will digest fine.
Goodluck
I would also question feeding her fuzzy mice. Even my newly hatched ball pythons start out on hopper mice or rat pinks. Fuzzy mice are really too small for most baby ball pythons.
I agree with getting her started on F/T food. It is much safer and also a lot cheaper to feed them that way.
You want food roughly the width of your snake. There is no reason to be feeding two fuzzies if something bigger would work.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
As to frozen, both of my balls were eating live when I got them. I never offered them live. The first I spent a week teasing him trying to get him to strike, and eventually got him to take frozen, the first few times I piggybacked a second mouse after the first as I couldn't get him to take anything but fuzzies. The other, a rescue, took frozen right away (probably since it is the skinniest ball python I've ever seen and the guy who dumped it was feeding it one mouse every 2 weeks). It ate two Monday, and I'll be feeding it two for at least the next two months to get it some better muscle tone. My other one has gone into his yearly fast and probably will keep refusing until January.
There are tons of ideas on how to get a ball python to take frozen, and they could easily be found with just a quick search through Google. I doubt he tried that hard, as he wasn't even feeding the snake the right sized prey .
I'd get a few frozen fuzzies, thaw them out and get them nice and warm. Get some hemostats (tong with small tips) and just wiggle it in front of the snake. If it's warm enough there shouldn't be any problem getting her to take it. Once you've got them eating fuzzies you can likely move up to adult mice as your snake sounds large enough to take them.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
You could piggyback a frozen fuzzy after your snake has almost finished the first one. You just hold it with tongs and line it up on the tail end of the mouse that's going in. The snake will keep eating the next mouse and you would only have to feed one live.
Do not feed her again today if she just ate yesterday. Even baby pythons should go a minimum of 5 days between feedings. Don't try to handle her for at least 72 hours after feeding. A stressed snake will vomit if it has a full stomach.
As for the number of mice, I would do no more than 2 and I would make sure she gets the second one immediately after the first, as snakes feeding mode "switches off" after about 15 minutes and they loose all interest in food after that point. Offer prey items no wider than the thickest part of the snakes body.
If the tank you are keeping her in has a hot side and a cool side your snake will pick the best spot for digestion. They know what temperatures they need a lot better than we do. If she's in the cooler side of the dank it means the hot side was a little too warm to be comfortable. She'll find the best temperature for digestion on her own. Don't worry about it.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Try offering her pre-killed prey. You can buy frozen rodents in bulk which will be a lot cheaper than buying live ones. Live rodents pose a risk of injury to snakes if left unattended.
edit: Read some more of your post and your snake could probably do with one fuzzy rat or nearly-full-grown mouse every 10 days. Pythons evolved to eat one very large meal and make it last a while.
