Are you one of those people who love being around animals? Do you have a pet but still want to feel closer to wildlife? Then you must start your journey as a snake owner. Sounds scary right? But you will be shocked to know that snakes can be friendly too and you can have them as your pet. For those who want something colourful and out of the bowl, a Ball Python is perfect. If you made your mind for ball python then check Ball Python Food feeding Guide which is given below-
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Why it is recommended to buy Baby Ball Python?
For a beginner snake owner, Ball Python is easy to handle and is one of the most popular pet pythons. So if you are planning to have a Ball Python as your pet, Always try to get a young python.
Initially, they might take time to get familiar to you, but they are incredibly docile in nature. Also, breeders are continuously creating new breeds in a fantastic, more colourful pattern, which is increasing its demand as a pet.
Ball Python Food Feeding Guide
When it comes to taking care of your pet, you need to know every single detail about it. You must know about its temperament, habitat, health problems and most importantly eating habits. Go further to know Ball Python Food feeding Guide
Do Ball Pythons eat as per their size?
A Ball python is friendly in nature and easy to feed when given a good housing condition. They generally eat as per the size of their body. So for a younger python, you need a smaller prey while for an adult python, a bigger prey is required to meet its demand.
Here we have made a collection of all the facts you need to know to feed your python properly. Just read this guide thoroughly to get familiar with the solution to every single question about feeding your python.
Must check– How to take care of Ball python?
What does a ball python consume?
Generally, Ball Pythons eat mice or rats, depending on their size. Especially for younger snakes, worms, crickets, roaches, baby mice(pinkies) and earthworms make a proper diet. While for an adult python adult mice, rats, birds eggs or even small baby rabbits can be an excellent option to feed.
But if you are looking for some alternative, there are pet snake food available in the market. You can get frozen or killed mice from the pet store.
How do ball pythons consume their food?
Ball Pythons always eat their prey as a whole. After targeting the prey, they try to kill it first before eating if you feed live prey. They hold the prey with their teeth and strangle it to kill it and then engulf it as a whole. This strangling technique is used by the python to defend itself from any kind of harm from their prey.
Always take care of your hands while feeding since they might confuse it with prey. It is always suggested to use a feeding tong to feed a pet ball python. You can buy Feeding tong from below-
- ⭐️ LONG 27 INCH aquarium tongs for deep tanks and hard to reach places
Last update on 2022-06-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Do ball pythons eat frogs?
Ball Pythons eat frog occasionally. But you can only feed smaller frogs to your python to avoid any kind of danger. Feed them dead frogs and avoid wild frogs. But you cannot keep on feeding only frogs to your python. Its good to stick to their favourite diet but to add a variation, frog can be fed sometimes.
As per our Ball Python food feeding guide, it is not recommended to feed frog every time to pythons.
How do you know when a ball python is hungry?
Your python will let you know when they are hungry just by flicking their tongue. An increase in the frequency of tongue flickering is undoubtedly a sign that its time to feed your pet. What if the flickering is still there even after you fed? There is nothing to worry about, and a continued flickering only suggests that your python needs some more food. So if one mice is not enough, you can feed other mice of smaller size to meet their satiety.
Sometimes beginners tend to overfeed their pet being enthusiastic. Always remember that stuffing can make your python too lazy to move.
How frequently do you have to feed a ball python?
Feeding once a week is enough. Although how exactly you should feed also depends upon the size of the python. For younger pythons, feeding small mice, crickets, worms or eggs every five to six days is enough. Or if you feed two mice at a time, you don’t need to feed for at least 2-3 weeks. But if the python is aged, a rat or a small rabbit is enough to go for a week.
Like all other reptiles, pythons also change their appetite as per the change in environment. So when there is a change in temperature of the surrounding, you might not need to feed them before two weeks.
For how many months can a ball python survive without food?
Though it’s quite reasonable for a python to go for a week or two while in a usual feeding manner, but while talking about fasting, it can easily survive up to six months without any meal. Quite shocking right? But its true, pythons tend to reduce their metabolic rate as low as 70%.
This helps them to survive for longer duration in the absence of food. Initially, they tend to use their fat stores as and when needed. The good part is that they continue to grow even after you don’t feed them for long. Though proper nutrition is vital to keep your python healthy in any hard circumstance; if you don’t feed them for six months, they can easily survive.
How long does it take a ball python to digest?
The rate of digestion is directly proportional to the size of the prey and the weight of the snake. A healthy snake can digest smaller sized mice or rat in 24-48 hours in a pleasant warm environment. In normal circumstances, a snake can digest a meal lesser than one-fourth of its body weight in 4-5 days. You need to check if the python seems like a little swollen in size give them another 48 hours to digest.
And it is always advised to not move your python for at least 2-3 days after feeding for easy digestion. The digestion process slows down as the temperature of the habitat changes. You need not feed as frequently in winters or hibernation period. Change in light cycles also affects the digestion process. When the temperature becomes favourable, the digestion process returns to its average pace.
How many mice should I feed my ball python?
That surely is a tricky question to answer, as only your python can let you know when they are full. You can either feed one or two mice at a time, but some pythons do require more. Also, the size of the prey decides how much to feed.
On average, a rat as large as the cross-sectional diameter of your python is enough for a week. But if you feed two small mice, you need not feed your python for the next two weeks.
A sign of tongue flickering after feeding one mice is an indication that your python is still hungry. With the growth of the python, their appetite increases proportionally to their diameter. So if you fed one mice or pinky to your young python, you would need to feed two when it grows. The size of the prey should be increased as the diameter of the thickest part of the snake increases.
Should we serve live mice or killed mice to ball python?
A ball Python can eat either live or dead mice. But its good for your python as well as the prey to feed dead mice. There are two main reasons for feeding dead prey. Firstly, it is easy for the python to engulf the mice without wasting any energy in killing the prey.
Secondly, it is safe for the python because live mice can seriously injure the snake if left unattended. And also the struggle by the prey while being killed is kind of inhumane.
You don’t need to kill mice yourself, you can easily get freshly killed or frozen rodents from the pet store. Getting a thawed or frozen rodent is quite cheap, more comfortable to feed and works well to ease your python’s appetite. Though live or freshly killed mice are full of essential nutrients and are more beneficial for the python. Either way, you should always be cautious about the health of your python.
How to feed mice to your ball python?
If your python is young and is habitual of eating live prey, you should feed it carefully taking care of your hands. Never leave a snake unattended while feeding live mice. On a safer side, get frozen mice, all you need to do is defrost it and feed it to your python. Either way, feeding a proper amount of meal either live or dead is essential to meet all the nutritional demands.
As being carnivorous and eating warm-blooded animals, mice make a balanced diet for python. But always try to not feed a wild-caught mice to your python. Sometimes wild mice may lead to infection to python. So if you don’t get live mice quickly, try to get frozen pinkies. Frozen pet food can either be purchased from a pet shop, or you can easily order that from Amazon.
Will a ball python eat while shedding?
Shedding is a normal process for every snake. This process is quite frequent for young snakes while older snakes shed their skin after a long duration. Shedding involves a pre-phase just before shedding when the snake prepares themselves for shedding. You might notice some physical changes in the shedding phase like milky eyes, red stomach region.
The appetite is usually reduced in the pre-shed period. While in the shedding phase, your python may not eat at all. Though you can try feeding them if you are not aware of your python’s behaviour, but don’t keep the food for too long near your snake to avoid rotting and infection. You can resume feeding as soon as the milky eyes of your snake have returned to normal. As shedding ends python return back to their normal behaviour with a normal appetite.
How much ball python food cost in a week?
If you feed one mouse per week to your python, you might need to spend $1.5-$2. But if your python has a good appetite, you might need to spend as much as $5 a week. For those using frozen mice, you need to pay like $50 for a pack of 20 pinkies.
While for a pack of 50 frozen mice, you have to spend $65 on an average. So, how much you need to spend depends entirely on the diet of your python. So, you need to know the behaviour of your python to be well prepared with a complete nutritious diet. You would surely want a good growth for your python, then spending on a proper diet is a must.
What are the best Ball pythons foods?
You should feed worms, crickets, roaches, baby mice(pinkies) and earthworms to them. If Ball python is of big size then you can even feed them with rabbits. The Foods can be bought from here-
Last update on 2022-07-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
CONCLUSION
It’s always amazing to have a pet. When it’s something so royal like a ball python, you would be feeling lucky. Ball python makes a friendly and quality pet for snake lovers. When you love your pet, you must take care of them in every aspect. Whether it’s their shelter or a proper diet, you need to be proactive.
While feeding your pet, you need to take care of your pet and your safety as well. We hope this “Ball Python Food feeding Guide” will help you feed your ball python properly. We have tried to answer all sorts of queries that might come into your mind while feeding your pet.