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Feeding the Ball Python
After bringing you new Ball Python home, let it get used to its new surroundings for a week or two before offering it food. Always feed fresh killed or frozen thawed feeders. Mice and rats have teeth and claws that they will use when grabbed by the snake. This can cause serious injury to the snake leading to infections. Remember that Ball Pythons are nocturnal, so it is better to feed them around dusk.
For hatchlings, rat pups or small mice are a good choice. For young snake, try moving to small rats and move up in size as the snake grows. The "Girth" rule is a good way to determine the size of the feeder. The feeder should be as big as the largest diameter around the body of the snake. Offer the feeder by dangling it in front of the snake. To do this, use a set of hemostats. This keeps your hand from getting in the way of the strike. A lot of hobbyist have plastic totes that they use for feeding. Put the snake in the tote and drop the thawed feeder in and lock the lid down. Come back in about 30 minutes to check up on it, if you find it hasn't eaten, you can either give it some more time or remove the snake and placed back into its cage. Ball Pythons are notorious for being picky eaters.
Ball Pythons have been known for going of feeding for months at a time. Their natural food source are Gerbils. But this can get to be expensive as they are like $7 each at store, then you have to prekill it for feeding. There are many vendors of frozen feeders, including Gerbils, found online. This will eliminate you having the prekill the feeder yourself.