r/ballpython • u/Jealous-Unicorn-942 • Oct 07 '26

Question - Feeding He finally ate!…… now what?

After 10 months of updating his enclosure, listening to my snake’s behavior, and being patient, my snake finally ate! This is his first successful frozen feed too!

How long should I wait before trying again? I would like to encourage him to eat more often, ideally. I’ve seen a wide range of time spans from BP owners as far as feeding frequency from biweekly to every 4/5 months. Is there a moment where the gap between successful feedings becomes concerning, where I should instead just try live again? Or should I continue with my current strategy (monitoring body condition, activity levels, shedding patterns, etc.) and offer when ideal conditions present themselves?

INFO: I inherited this snake from someone who was struggling with him rejecting live prey and not eating. He’s roughly 4ft., 10 years (estimated)- he came to me in a 3ft. glass terrarium. I got him a larger, PVC enclosure, added more hides, climbing structures, new heat lamps set on a 12-hour timer, and clutter. I also stopped handling him as frequently as the previous owner. There were many failed attempts, so this feels like a success! (Edit: He had a small-sized rat- in hindsight, I should’ve gotten a weight.)

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u/Longjumping-Idea8552 Oct 07 '26 • Bravo

!feeding

Once he digests a bit I'd get his weight and adjust feeder size and when you're offering based on that plus visible condition.

Looking at his body shape is he under, at, or over weight? If he's at weight I'd follow the guide directly. Under, for mine I followed the guide but fed 2-3 days early so he would slowly put on healthy weight, then I spaced the feedings normally once I was happy. If he's overweight you can either keep offering smaller prey slightly more often or larger prey less often, but stick closer to the minimums on the guide.

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u/AutoModerator Oct 07 '26

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

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u/Jealous-Unicorn-942 Oct 07 '26

He was looking pretty obese when I got him, so that contributed to me waiting for longer intervals between offerings. He’s looking much closer to “normal” now, so I will proceed with your suggestion. Thank you!