less food = more active

[BiteAndSqueeze]

I don't want to open up this can of worms again into how often to feed snakes, but since the big discussion a few weeks ago, I've dropped back feeding to fortnighly.
I find that the snakes lounge around for a week after their feed and then appear far more active in the second week crawling all over the tank.
It makes them a far more interesting display as they are actively moving around. The Bredli likes dunking in the "pond" and is on the move a lot of the time. The jungle is more lazy but he too is moving around a lot more after digesting his food.

[craig.a.c]

Since I started feeding my stimmie every 3 weeks he is a litle bit more active. Not much though. My coastal gets fed every 2 weeks and is always on the move, even with a full stomach. Very rarely does she hide, most of her time she is on her branch in full view.

[serpenttongue]

Glad to hear it BiteAndSqueeze, i dont feed my pythons anywhere near as often as other keepers and i think my animals are well off because of it. It keeps them active and very alert and also makes them get in their ambush positions more often. Who wants a lazy snake that just sits there?

OK,but be aware that wild snakes are staggered,they arent always overfed or always underfed.In captivity you get over feeders and the others (and i know a couple)that areshocking underfeeders consistently,they need famine and plenty,1 week and 1week then 3 weeks look at the snakes condition.

[Surfcop24]

Very true Oldfella..... Never thought of imatating the wild like that before.....

if u want something thats more active buy a dog or something, by the way there is no such thing as an over feed wild snake, have u ever seen a fat wild snake? a wild snake spends most of its life with an empty tract, the only thing u will achieve by over feeding it is killing it. i wait for my snakes to poo then i feed my adults every 1-6 weeks an my juvs every 2 weeks.

[SnakePower]

I think, that just like people, snakes are all different. Depending on the breed and the snake's personality, as well as it's meabolism! I have some snakes that eat very well every week, and don't appear fat or inactive. Others eat less often, some fortightly and some even once a month. As long as the snake appears healthy, and not overwieght I think you have to evaluate every snake on it's own and feed them what tends to make them happy! They'll let you know when they are hungry.

Its in a snakes nature to attack and eat of course it will eat if u feed as often as you do. Seeing as you treat your snakes like a pet dog I will give you an example of feeding dogs. dogs should only be feed once a day but will eat anything you feed them after that, they do not always look obese till they are older. So of course your snakes will eat whenever you offer them food. your snakes may not look overweight and seem healthy but you do not realise what demage you are doing to them till about ten years down the track when they drop dead and you dont know why, as they seem to look healthy and not overwieght. [[ If you would like to remain a member, please refrain from name calling- Admin]]

Ice wild pythons do get fat and then use that energy up in the reproductive cycle and when you see them after they have hatched eggs in the wild they are very emaciated.The males dont get the opportunity to feed too much cause they are too busy mating every year.They are on boom and bust cycle though,some female diamond pythons ive seen in areas where there is plenty of rabbits and possums get fat and heavy but just for a period in the life cycle.

[Jadey]

iceman, I don't think it's appropriate to be name calling

Jadey he is ice not nice.

[SnakePower]

Hey Iceman,
I've been breeding animals for more than ten years. I know exactly what a snakes nature is like and as I do a Dogs! You obviously havn't much experience if you feel that way. It is perfectly normal for some snakes to eat more frequently than others as well as slower eaters. I know a breeder that has a snake with very slow metabolism she takes 6 wks to **** after eating, so she is feed rarley. On the other hand other snakes eat and **** within 3-5 days after eating. They obviously can afford to eat more often! Learn a bit more about a subject before you decide to call someone names and just make yourself look silly.

[Jules]

I'm only a begginer and have tried to do research on feeding and I have been feeding once a week as found in a few books and on the net but I have noticed a bit more activity toward the end of the week and having read through all the discussions on here, sifting through the name calling and carrying on, I've decided that I may feed my snake a little less often. I realise that some of you feel very strongly about these issues but some tact and understanding would not go astray.

[SnakePower]

The other thing of course is the snakes age... a juvie will need to eat more frequently to grow, but as they get older you can slow their feeding down as they get their energy from (solar power) the sun and only really use food for growing. The other time can be when coming upto a breeding season you may want to feed the potential breeders up so that laying the clutch has less of an effect on them. As jules said the "books" generally give in idea of every week or two. Cheers!

[Stevo]

My question to the people who say overfeeding will shorten your snakes life is what about pythons that are overfed for say 2 and a half years(to obtain breeding size which is why most snakes are overfed) and then fed monthly or every 3 weeks for the rest of their life? Do you think the initial beefing up will be detrimental if only for 2 or so years? Alot of people are just anxious to get there snakes to breeding size and probably do overfeed to get them there ,but wouldnt young wild pythons have to do the same to get bigger to narrow down the amount of there predators? I do believe overfeeding for 4 plus years would shorten there life but think growing them quickly in the first two years aint that bad.
Cheers Stevo