Based on your snake’s size and age, you should determine what it needs. Additionally, determine how often it should be fed.
Ball pythons in the wild consume a variety of rodents and birds. When kept in captivity, they can be fed live, freshly killed or frozen mice and rats.
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Wild Prey
When your ball python is hungry, it can be challenging to know what to feed it. Rodents make ideal prey items as they’re smaller in size and easier for the snake to swallow than larger prey items; however, make sure the rodent doesn’t exceed twice your snake’s body size!
Fortunately, most pet owners can easily locate pre-killed rodents at their local pet store. These are typically sold frozen and can be quickly thawed before feeding.
Once a rodent has thawed, it should be heated to 100-105 F (37.7-40.5 C) before serving it. Doing this ensures it is digestible and does not become infected.
Your ball python should be fed a rodent at least once every 5-7 days, though this frequency can increase as the animal grows older.
Rats make a great food choice for your baby ball python and are more nutritious than mice, which may lead to regurgitation in younger snakes.
Human Food
When a snake is hungry, it will begin prowling around its enclosure and flicking its tongue to communicate with you. This is an indication that your snake needs food quickly; therefore, make sure your pet receives plenty of nutritious meals soon after feeding.
When feeding a snake, it is essential to keep it in an enclosed space where it feels secure and at home. Additionally, offer your snake a variety of foods so they don’t become bored and refuse food.
Generally, it’s recommended to feed young snakes every 5-6 days and adult snakes every 7-10 days.
When feeding a baby snake, it’s essential to only give them a small amount of food. Doing this helps avoid your snake becoming overweight.
As a general guideline, feed green tree python hatchlings day old pinkies for their initial feedings. After six months or nine months you can start increasing their prey items gradually; this could include medium pinkies (2-3 grams) at 6 months and large pinkies (3- 4 grams) at 9 months.
Insects
When it comes to a python’s diet, there are plenty of animals it will eat. They tend to be ambush hunters and will consume rodents, frogs, lizards, birds, small mammals and more as part of their prey list.
Snakes often coil their body around prey to suffocate it. After the prey has been successfully choked off, the snake will swallow it whole.
Pythons have the unique ability to occupy as much mouth space as possible, enabling them to swallow their prey whole, starting from the head and working its way down through their esophagus.
As their mouth fills, a tube at the bottom of their mouth stays open to allow them to breathe while eating. This keeps them calm during this process and may help when capturing prey.
Reptiles often find insects to be an easy source of nutrition and easy to spot. Furthermore, insects provide your pet with essential calcium.
Reptile Food
Pythons are carnivorous snakes that feed on mice, rats, birds and rabbits in the wild. As such, they make excellent pets due to their ease of care in captivity and easy availability.
They can be found throughout Asia, Africa, Oceana and Australia. Their habitats range from rainforests and grasslands to woodlands, swamps, rocky outcrops, dunes and shrub lands.
Ball pythons in the wild typically eat rodents. On occasion, they may also consume other animals, especially when they’re small and easily available.
To minimize regurgitation, feed your snake mice the same size or slightly larger than its widest body segment. Doing this helps minimize potential for regurgitation when dealing with large prey items.
Avoid overfeeding your snake, as this can lead to it becoming overweight. As a general guideline, feed your snake once every 2 to 2.5 weeks or once every 3 to 3.5 weeks if offering larger prey items.
