Feeding a ball python or any type of python is what some people think the most fun part of having one. In my opinion the most fun part is watching them at night crawling around in there home. Anyway in this section i will tell about feeding these great creatures.
A good way to distinguish what size of food to buy your snake is to look at its girth which is how wide it is. Then buy food that is about that size. As they grow you continue to have larger food. The reason I am calling it food and not prey is because in my opinion frozen and then thawed out food is the safest and easiest way to feed them. Anyway, you know that your snake will not grow from exactly 2inches in girth to 5 and then 8 or whatever, so when you notice the snake is begining to take down the food a little easier and the lump goes away faster just add an extra rodent. This is what I am doing know since my snake is in between sizes. The normally comes in the following sizes:
After buying the food bring it home and what i liked to do is either leave it in the bag or take it out and put it in hot tap water. (NOT BOILING, JUST HOT WATER THAT COMES FROM THE TAP) Feel the food once and awhile and feel for cold spots or stiff spots, that are frozen. Make sure not to feed the food if any part is still frozen.
I find feeding the snake in a seperate area is a good idea. Some things to use are:
The reason for not feeding the snake in her home is simple. Think about it, if you feed the snake in there it will get used to you opening it up and then feeding it. It very easily can mistake a nice warm hand that smells like a rodent for the rodent itself. There is another reason I like this idea and that is, it will make the snake trust you more, which in turn means that chance of biting is lower. Because it will know that it doesn't eat in the terrarium and that it eats in the box or crtter keeper.
I like to use tongs, or if you dont have those you can use the longest needle nose plyers you have, and dangle the food by the tail in front of the snake. After the snake bites, I like to not let go immediatly and give a little bit of a fight by pulling away lightly but dont pull it out of the snakes mouth. All that does is makes it a little more fun for the snake. (It is not required)
If the snake wont eat there are some things you can do to intice it to eat. I will cover those in my "Tips for your ball python" section.
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