For my adult male, I feed him every two to three weeks. He regurged his last meal, but I find he’s usually good on this schedule. I think a lot of BPs and other “beginner” snakes are overweight because of over feeding
I finally got the go ahead from the wife to get a ball python. Took me buying a cat for her today, but hey, she's happy, and I will be when I get my python. I like the cat, as well, so I guess I win in that part too. Thanks for the video, I'm still learning and I'm sure there will be more to learn.
@@top_mf_n_here1806 Be a man and buy the snake. Don't let your wife tell you what you can and can't do lol, wtf? You're an adult, she's not your mother!
Great info! Another helpful tip: I found my BP is much more likely to eat at night with the lights off. It doesn’t make feeding him any less scary but it gets the job done.
That’s because that’s when they are actually awake, and the time they normally eat in the wild. So like, ur kinda suppose to only feed them at night time. You’re not suppose to wake them up during the day to feed them cause they usually won’t take it. 🤷🏻♀️
i got my first ball python under crappy circumstances & barely knew anything about snakes. he was 4 years old & had been fed live by the people i got him from. his homing & husbandry was bad for a few months (because of me) until i got him a 40 gallon tank & started taking good care of him. he didn’t eat for the first 4 months i had him & wanted nothing to do with the frozen thawed. i have a big heart & get emotionally attached to the rats but i throw them in there while mr. slithers is in his hide( he doesn’t associate me with good & eats anyways), put a few apple slices in the terrarium for the rat to gnaw on and enjoy, and as soon as i turn the lights off at night mr. slithers chows down. it’s like clockwork. i haven’t had any issues with the rat trying to harm him & my sweet boy’s been eating regularly ever since. it’s sad but it’s the food chain & honestly, any empathy you have for the rat goes away as soon as your snake kills it because you’re happy that your finicky ball python is actually eating. as long as you give the rat something to chew it’s rare that they’ll actually harm your snake. unless you’re getting a snake that’s been fed frozen/thawed all it’s life i personally recommend the live method as it worked for my pain in the ass danger noodle
Gosh, thank you so much!! I'm gonna get a bp this summer, and i'm *very* stressed about feeding, and feeding strikes. But this video really calmed me down. Thank you!
You're husband is a lucky man to have you in his life. Seems like all the girls I've dated are scared of snakes and there was no getting over that fear.
Thank you so much for talking about the size we should be feeding them, I’m getting a ball python in 6 months & I’ve be doing loads of research. You’re the only person that talked about the size of the rats they should be feed!♥️
also if they aren’t eating turn the lights off!! idk where i saw it but i saw something about ball pythons preferring privacy & i believe it. i drop the rat in with the lights on and my snake seems interested but as soon as i turn out the lights he’s wrapped around in within 10 minutes tops.
This video and links provided, actually cleared a lot of things up for me. Ive been wanting a ball python, for quite some time. And ive been mainly worried about the fasting strikes and humidity. The links you had provided had reassured me about them not eating. I was super afraid of dropping hundreds of dollars for them to not eat, and was super worried about getting wrong sizes, but those charts really helped. The humidity still has me a little confused, and if you have and tips, please let me know. Fhanks for the vid 😀
Great Video! Just came across your channel and had to Sub! As a new BP owner mine hasn’t eaten for a couple weeks and you just answered every question I had and then some... Thanks!
I'm about to feed my ball python Jinx for the first time today. She's about 6 months old. I was told to feed her rat pups once a week. She's burried in her substrate right now and don't know if I should dig her out to feed her. Looking forward to it. Great video
My boyfriend didn’t like snakes but I fell in love with a ball python he is such a sweet heart and I finally got the go ahead to take him home!! So I’m doing a lot of research on ball pythons so Ik what I’m doing
My BP just are this evening, as I was watching your video actually. She hadn’t eaten in 6 weeks. However she does that once a year at least. She is a 1600 g female. Mine will only take live and will only strike if it is from the safety of her hide. I’ve learned not to place rodent in her cage unless she is in the hide otherwise, she will flee and not show interest. Awesome video Thanks 🙏🏾.
Such a helpful video, thank you for this Elle! I’m weighing out pros and cons of getting my first snake and I have it narrowed down to a Ball python! They seem perfect for me being a first time snake owner and I love seeing the way Sterling interacts with you. Do you have any pointers on how to get more comfortable handling them? Like body language snakes will exhibit when comfortable vs uncomfortable/bitey. I appreciate it so much! 🙏🏼
Thank you for all the tips and tricks! Our ball python wasn't eating for a bit, and today I tried putting him in a clear container with the rat for 25-30 minutes like you said, and after 30 minutes I checked on him and he ate it! 🎉❤️
I have 2 BP, one adult and one juvenile. Adult is picky and the juvenile doesnt think twice about taking his rat down. Awesome vid, and ya main thing about larger BP is they dont eat as often and heat/humidity is key especially if you have a picky jerk for a snake!
New follower here, love your channel!!!!!!! And of course love your accent, I'm sure you here that alot :) Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me about your process of figuring out what size rodent to feed your Pythons(I have 5 btw, I got the bug in February and can't stop buying them lol) based on weighing them I believe you said? Sorry this is so long, my bad!
This helped a lot! Thanks so much. The rat i fed my boy was slightly bigger than his middle section so I was worried but he got it down with no problems and the noticeable lump on his mid section isn't too big, which is what I was worried over
My female is around 40" and usually eats every 6th or 7th day on the regular and its ferocious, within 1min she's coiled up on a small live rat. But she has gone without this past winter for 4 months with nothing......
before my research, i purchased live pinkies and they died over night or on day 2 and i froze them immediately and thawed and fed them to my spotted python. he was perfectly fine and has been a very good eater. but i have recently switched to already frozen mice
My GHI/Mojave and he eats whenever it is offered. He does eat live and in case he gets all the way out, I feed live, so that he can survive. He is super active. He is a baby “23”” or so and a quarter diameter.
I'm getting my first ball python soon and I want to give her or him the best life possible but the feeding and care gives me anxiety 😅 I'm doing as much research as possible
All of my adult BP's started preferring smaller feeders when they hit 2000 g's. I feed a lot of multiples. I wish they would eat their appropriate weight.
That’s interesting. Sterling went through a phase where he would only eat smaller feeders, too. He just started taking them again one day, and I was super excited about it.
Well, if you really need for it to eat, make sure you yourself can also really smell the rodent, and if you feed it prekilled or frozen thawed, maybe make sure it bleeds a little. It might feel gross. (But i found out this worked for me when I accidentally dropped the meal and it ripped, oof). But it did work!
Very informative video. And it is nice to see a beautiful woman with a Southern accent. I have a 10 month old ball. She does really well feeding. I feed her a grown mouse about every week. I think it may be time to move up to small rats.
you had a busy filming day 🦎👀's. Touchy time for me. It's time to go buy more frozen rats but most are just going to take up space, because Spidy is about 2 months from his annual 3-4 month fast 🤦🏾♂️
Haha that’s never fun - they sure can take up space. We once bought a whole huge bag of rats that were way too big for any of the snakes at the time, so they just sat in my deep freezer taking up so much space until the snakes could finally eat them. 👀🦎
I was wondering what I could do to get my python to eat he's 3 years old I got him 3 months ago and the previous owner said he has always had problems getting him to eat at 3yrs old he still as small as one thats maybe a year old I've tried mice like the old owner and its a no go so I've tried gerbils still nothing and I just tried asf rats and still no luck his cage temperature stays around 85 /90 on the hot side and 80 on the cold side and the humidity stays around 55/60 0n both the hot side and cold side any advice would be awesome and he also has hides on both sides with a water bowl large enough that he can take a dip whenever he feels like it im at a lost at this point I've never had this problem with any other I've had in the past
Try dangling a scented mouse when he’s inside the hide. Make sure you warm it up first in front of the heat lamp. I have a 3yr old male, he refuses rats. Will not eat the size appropriate for him. I have to feed him 2 small mice , I’m thinking I’m going to start doing 3 mice . He’s finally eating after months , he did refuse to eat again recently when I tried to give him a scented rat , I think he’s scared of them. And be will only eat from in his hide. I dangle it at the opening and he strikes it . He goes on a hunger strike after I offer anything big . Happy to help if you’re still having issues.
I heard someone mention feeding every 14-21 days for older snakes? (Of course depending on feeder sizes and health of the snake). Would that be fine? Or is that too infrequent? I have both a ball python and a corn snake and I tend to fluctuate between days, sometimes I feed every 14-15 days, sometimes I forget and end up going around 18-19 days, which I feel a bit guilty about. however, my ball python seems to be a good size and doesn't look under or overweight (I do need to weigh him again soon though so I'll be able to know for sure then), but my corn snake, and again, he's due to be weighed so I'm not certain, looks like he may be starting to gain a bit more weight than what is ideal. If he is, I may downsize his rats or perhaps switch to adult mice?
I just got my first ball python, she is 2 years old and is tiny! The previous owner fed her chicks and mice... she looks less than 3ft or bang on. Please let me know if i should try feed her bigger meals ? Or smaller meals more often
He's probably just stressed out now, but that's completely ok! You can just leave the rodent in over night, that way he might take it when he calms down. If that doesn't work, I'd wait a week before trying again
I just bought a ball python yesterday. We were told it has not eaten in 3 weeks. They did say they just received the snake a few days prior, do I don't know how accurate that is. They said to wait at least 2 says before trying to feed the snake. Is 3 weeks a long time for the snake to go without eating?
I am deciding between Ball Python and King Snake. Which would be better for a first snake? I have had reptiles before, but no snakes. Also do snakes only eat rats and/or mice? Or is there an alternative?
Hello,so Two months ago I got a one year ball python,and I was trying to feed her 5 times and it never worked out,I tried different methods and I feed her thawed mice I don't know what I am doing wrong she always did eat frozen 😔
What do you recommend with feeding? Do you always put them in a container to feed or do you just feed in their normal enclosure? I feed my python in his enclosure but so many people tell me not to
Hiya! I know it’s been a while since you have posted this video so I don’t know if your answering questions but I’m 13 and my family and I travel around 4 times a year 1-2 weeks per trip. Since we travel and I wouldn’t be able to take a snake with me so is there a place you can take them, person you need to hire, or would I just not be a good owner for a ball python? Thank you!
Damn u a QT!! I had to sub!! CANT get my Lemon Pastel to eat a FT to SAVE his Life!! 🤦♂️ I cant even get my lil ninja to STRIKE one time just on some Defensive issh!! 🤦♂️ I know he ain’t gone strike at a mouse NO time Soon!!! Also, what part of the South are you from??? Lol I love your countriness(I know that’s not a word)
Bruh my snake just shed for the first time, ON MY LAP. Snd then took the rodent just half an hour after! I do feel like the rodent was a little too big? It did est it, but it took him SUPER long and he had to retry multiple times.
Hi I have been wanting to get a ball python for awhile and I’m finally thinking of going though with it and feeding is the thing I have the most questions about and this vid was so helpful. But at what age should they be getting fed once and week and then when do u switch them over to 10-14 days?
I would say at about 1000g+ you could switch them over to 10-14 days. But they all grow at different rates, so if you have a snake that isn’t great at keeping on weight or is always hungry, you could definitely stay at once a week for longer. Or if your snake is starting to hold extra fat, you may have to slow down before then.
If you get a really young ball python which has been eating frozen-thawed it's whole life, would I be safe to assume it will always be happy on frozen-thawed? Wondering because I wouldn't ever feel happy live-feeding.
No, it’s normal for new reptiles not to eat. Just to double check his husbandry: what’s his setup? What’re the temps and humidity, and how are they being measured (analog or digital gauges)?
