Ball Pythons like to eat dead mice. In this article, we have added benefits and methods to feed mouse to snakes.

Can Ball Pythons Eat Dead Mice? Yes, Ball Pythons can eat dead mice; you should cut it into small pieces and then serve it to your pet snakes. Adult ball pythons can eat a mouse within 5 minutes.

These kinds of snakes are well-known for refusing any food. They always want to feel that they are essential and precious, so they need attention and care. Therefore to serve them any prey, you need to give them a unique protocol to eat quickly.

Can Ball Pythons Eat Dead Mice?

These are somehow good for them because it is full of a balanced diet, but if they do not like it or show any allergic reaction towards it, then no need to serve it.

This kind of dead prey is right for them because it provides nourishment and energy to them. But the way of serving this kind of prey should be delicious and attractive so that he could not refuse it.

These are also unhealthy for them if you do not serve them properly. It can cause poisonous and various kinds of infections in the digestive tract. So you need to be conscious and not allow them to eat if he gets it by itself.

The person who owes a snake sometimes becomes confused about how to serve a healthy diet for him. His confusion becomes apparent when he realizes that a dead mouse can fulfill all requirements that he demands from his snake.

Initially, maybe he refuses to take it because of a new thing, but when you become addicted to it, he attracts it and eats it quickly. Before eating, he will smell it if it is good; snakes only eat fresh food, So if you do not cook it properly and it is not fresh, he will refuse to eat it. Hence it is necessary to make it delicious and attractive for him.

When to feed dead mice to ball pythons?

The best time to serve is when a snake lays eggs. Because at this time, he needs energy and strength, and if you give him this meal at that time, he gets his full power and makes their immune system strong.

A middle-aged animal can quickly eat full mice within 3 to 4 minutes, or maybe if he is hungry, he can eat it in a single minute. A healthy young mouse has almost 1.5 to 1.6 calories, so it cannot induce obesity and laziness.

Feed him during the day so that if he gets an infection, you can quickly notice it and take him to the clinic because various types are not prone to eat it and get infected initially. So if the infection is severe, you need to take them for a checkup; otherwise, if they affect slightly, you can treat them at home. But to remain safe from any inconvenience, you need to take care of proper time and proper amount.

You can give them food in different plastic covers or a tank in another place from their living area to get habitual in a time, and after this, they recognize the area whenever you give them food. The best method to serve it is by defrosting it for 2 to 2.5 hours.

During defrosting, its foul smell and unattractive taste also mask. If you do it to him and do not eat it for a few minutes, it will not become unhealthy and remain fresh for 20 to 30 minutes. His metabolism slows down due to cold temperature, so no need to serve it in defrosted form during winters.

So in winters, you can serve it by cutting it in pieces, and when you cut it and open, divide it into halves and do it with other prey so that its appearance and smell can mask and he can quickly eat it. You can also give them a frozen mouse, but it is less effective because ball python usually doesn’t like the freeze mice, so you should provide them warmly to attract the snakes to eat it.

How often to feed mouse to pet snakes?

If your animal is small in size, like young snakes, they eat more than a large size because they grow and need more energy to grow and develop and get stronger.

Usually, you should give them once a week or give them after 5 or 6 days; these conditions are suitable for young snakes. But the quantity is high for adult snakes; you can provide them once after 13 or 14 days.

If they need more, then give them according to their needs. Sometimes due to overeating, they become overweighed and cause some health issues like obesity. You should offer them tap water regularly.

Are dead mice harmful to ball pythons?

It is only useful when serving fresh or serves after defrosting if he eats it as it is, and it remains undigested in the digestive system. It starts producing various harmful gases due to which it can prove fatal for life. So you should need to be alert for his care and good health.

There are some reasons due to which they cannot eat it correctly, such as:
In some cases, they will shed their skin at this time; they are not in comfortable conditions to eat appropriately. Stress is also a factor for them, you should place them in the sunlight daily.

When handling him repeatedly, it can become irritated, and he can get tired from this. The types of prey they like to choose are living animals, freshly killed, freeze mouse, unfreeze a little bit hot, and the smell. Cold is also a problem for them; it provides them heat to warm their bodies to eat their daily routine feeding.

If it engulfs the whole animal, then it may take time to digest due to its size. The snake’s digestive system is narrow; the mice are healthy; then it creates difficulty for him to digest quickly and destroys the body shape. Because in these conditions, the belly comes out, and you can notice that it engulfs the whole prey.

So if you know that he can do so, then serve it by cutting it into small pieces not to cause any problem and digest quickly, otherwise, pythons can fart a lot.

The color should also be of great importance because he may do not like the same color prey repeatedly, so if you try different colors, he attracts it and eats quickly. Due to the same appearance, he frustrates and would not gulp it, and sometimes it becomes panic. So try different color prey for him.

If the prey is not fresh, it starts producing a smell that smells very bad and irritating, so this smell makes it impossible to eat him. Dead mice can release different gases, and the smell produce from it upset your pets.

During their breeding time, they usually lay their eggs, and the mouse smell is not suitable for them; it may affect their health. Usually, male python doesn’t eat the food; it is less attractive for them in a breeding phase while females continue eating it to get some energy and strength.