Non-live Foods for the Ball Python

The Ball Python is one of the most fascinating and mellow of the pet pythons. One of the main reasons that more people don't own these fascinating snakes is that they cannot bring themselves to feed live food to them. Unlike smaller snakes which can be fed large earth worms and crickets, the Ball Python eats rodents, frogs and rats. Many people do not realize that the python can be fed with non-live food and that there is a specific method in which to feed them.

Ball Pythons come from western Africa but most of the ones found in pet stores are domestically bred in captivity. They are constrictors, which means that they wrap their bodies around their prey and squeeze them until they can no longer breath. Once their prey is dead, the python then swallows them whole. Some people own these types of snakes so they can watch this type of feeding take place while others are repulsed by the fact that they are sending a mouse or rat to their death by feeding the snake. The act of constriction is slow and painful to the live food, so some snake owners have devised a way to feed their snakes non-live food.

There are two main ways to feed non-live foods to a python, one is to have a mouse or rat pre-killed so that the snake does not have to kill it. This still involves killing an animal so it is up to the owner how to obtain a dead rat or mouse. Caution should be used when using an animal that was pre-killed since the animal should not contain any toxins or poisons which could harm the snake.

The second way is to have a balanced snake diet made from meats and then ground into a paste. The paste is then placed in a large syringe with a long fat, flexible tube attached. The tube is inserted into the the snake's mouth and the mixture then slowly pushed into the snake through the syringe. Care must be taken not to put an air pocket in the snakes stomach during feeding. Enough of the mixture is put into the snake to mimic the size of the snake's live food victim. I have personally witnessed this method of feeding at Marine World in California, where it is commonly used to medicate a snake as well as feed it. To find out more about this method of feeding just go to tube feeding a snake.

For more information about Ball Pythons in general and their care visit this Ball Python Care Sheet.