Tips for Buying Ball Pythons
Characteristics of Ball Pythons
How to Set Up Your Snake Terrarium
How to Handle a Ball Python
How to Avoid a Python Strike
More on How to Avoid a Python Strike
How to Keep Your Ball Python Healthy
How to Prevent Mouth Rot in Ball Pythons
How to Keep Morph Ball Pythons
How to Determine the Sex of a Ball Python
How to Breed Pythons
How to Feed a Python
Tips for Raising Pythons
Summary: Find out how to feed a python in this free video on caring for a pet snake.
Nichole Bragg is the reptile expert at the Pet Kingdom in Cottonwood, Arizona. Call them at 928-639-4283.read more
" On behalf of Expert Village I'm Nicole and I'm here to tell you about ball pythons. Feeding your snake can also be a safety issues some breeders and a lot of hobbyist like to feed their snakes live prey. It's what they are used to and which is what they are most likely going to eat. There is a danger with live prey though, as your snake gets older especially because rats are tend to be used as food items for the snakes as they get larger. But a lot of times snakes can get bitten by rats. When a snake first graduates from mice to rats and they attempt to eat the rat they don't really know how to handle something that large at this point and will likely get bitten and shy away from rats. I have an adult ball python that I keep at home that I feed only mice cause she will not eat the rat, she has been bit once. So just never feed your snakes unsupervised you always want to keep your eye on them when they are eating. So that you make sure they don't get hurt by their prey. Another option is to feed them frozen you can buy frozen rats and mice from local pet stores. What you do is just thaw them out by sitting them in a bowl of warm water for 20 minutes or so. Then feed them to the snake the snake will usually be able to tell this is a prey item. And usually it will have no problem eating it, if they do not doesn?t force the issue its normal they probably already have been feed live food."
eHow Article: How to Feed a Python
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Comments
jay36 said
on 8/2/2008 Sorry for any misleading information. Nicole is no longer employed at this store.
wingedwolfpsion said
on 8/2/2008 So, actually, ball pythons tend to be somewhat picky about prey--some snakes that were started on mice may not want to switch to rats. This usually has nothing to do with their having been bitten. They can be 'scented over' by rubbing the rat with soiled mouse bedding. This may take a few attempts, but it usually works if the owner is persistant. Feeding live prey is dangerous. Pre-killing the rodents is preferable, and animals that are eating live prey regularly will usually take pre-killed prey off of tongs, if it's wiggled to make it look alive. Frozen prey should be WARM THROUGH--there must be no cold spots before it is fed to the animal, and it is crucial to mention this, because if part of the rodent is still frozen, eating it may kill the snake. It can be more difficult to get ball pythons to accept f/t prey. Start by getting them to take prekilled regularly first. Offer fresh f/t--if it's not accepted, then rub the f/t rodent with soiled rat bedding. This OFTEN will do the trick. Persistance pays off--if it's not accepted one week, feed prekilled, then try again the next week. Most snakes can be converted to f/t prey, but not if you give up the first time they refuse it! Never starve a snake to try to get it to take new prey--it never works with ball pythons. They're more likely to switch if they're used to eating regularly.
And another important point--young ball pythons are often fed adult mice. This combines an inexperienced snake with an aggressive rodent with a full set of teeth. A mouse can deliver a nasty bite if grabbed wrong--and just like a rat, can rip the skin off of or even kill a ball python if it is left in the cage and the python doesn't hunt it. Pythons will not defend themselves against aggressive rodents. NEVER leave live prey alone with a snake, not even for a moment.