Find the optimal feeder size for your snake using weight-ratio and body-width methods.
Snake Profile
g
Feeder Size Chart (g)
Target Prey Size
50g - 75gGrams (g)
Recommended Feeder
10-15% of body weight is standard for growing snakes.
Best Matches
Small Rat
Digestion Warning
Do not handle your snake for 48 hours after feeding. Stress can trigger regurgitation, which is physically damaging to the snake.
About this calculator
The Art of Snake Feeding
Snakes are opportunistic feeders, but in captivity, overfeeding ('power feeding') can lead to obesity and a shortened lifespan. The goal is a prey item that creates a noticeable but modest bulge in the snake's midsection that disappears within 24–48 hours.
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Pro Tips
Width Rule: The prey should be roughly the same width (or up to 25% wider) as the widest part of the snake's body.
Weight Rule: For typical pythons and colubrids, target 10–12% of body weight as a juvenile, and 5–8% as an adult.
Temperature: Digestion is temperature-dependent. If your basking spot is too cool, the snake may regurgitate or the prey may rot in the stomach.
Frozen-Thawed (F/T): Feeding pre-killed or f/t prey is safer for your snake, as live rodents can bite and cause life-threatening infections.
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Fun Facts
"Snakes don't eat every day because they have the most efficient metabolism in the vertebrate world."
"A snake's stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve bone, but they cannot digest hair, which is eventually passed."
"The 'yawn' after eating isn't tiredness; it's the snake realigning its complex quadrate bones in the jaw."
"Ball Pythons are famous for 'hunger strikes' during winter, even if temperatures are perfect."
