Please read part 1.

[Adam]

O.K this how I have raised Dice (he's in my album) since his very first feed. Mind you I was a begginer and unfortunately knew nothing before getting my first snake. As you see I think I learnt as I went. This record is right up untill now,he is almost 6 feet long and his head is a good size for his body,even though he is not fat.P.S do you think he will breed this coming season?
Feb.22. Got Dice,he is 3 weeks old excatly.Ate 3 skinks for his very first feed.
Feb.24. 1 skink
Mar.1. 5 skinks
Mar.7. 2 skinks
Mar. 28. 6 skinks
Apr.2. 2 skinks
Apr.5. 2 skinks
Apr.7. 2 skinks
Apr.9. 2 skinks
Apr.19. Tried a mouse pinky covered in disected skink to no avail, ate 1 skink.
Apr.20 1st shed,1 skink
Apr.21. 2 skinks and 3 mice pinkies
Apr.24. 2 skinks
Apr.29. 1 fuzzy mouse
Jul.31. 1 Juv. mouse
Aug.2. 2 fuzzy mice
Aug.3. Dice wieghs 50 grams
Aug.14. small mouse
Aug.15 pinky mouse
Aug.16 pinky mouse
Aug.17 2cnd shed
Aug.21 2 lrge mice
Aug29. 1 lrge mouse
Sept.4 sloughing
Sept.8 3rd shed
Sept.26 1 fuzzy rat
OCT.10 1 FUZZY RAT
Oct.14 1 x 3 week rat
Oct.20. sloughing
Oct.27. 4th shed
Oct.31. 1x3 week rat
Nov.16. 1x4 week rat
Nov.24 sloughing
Nov.27. 5th shed
Dec.7. 1x6week rat
Dec.10. 1x small rat.
There you go tune in for part 2 in 10 min.

[africancichlidau]

Umm, sorry but it's a record of facts, what are we replying to?

[Adam]

Your opoinion of what you think. Is that a good general guide(aside from skinks)or is it all dogs urinate that a new comer would want nothing to do with??????

[iluvsmyreptiles]

I think it is very informative and great for newcomers who want to get an idea of how often to feed their snakes and what

Must have taken you ages!

[JunglePython]

I think a good general rule is not to feed a snake until it has passed its last meal. The list shows you feeding your snake on consecutive days and in other instances two days or three days after it has eaten.

The list also shows you feeding your snake the day before it sheds. I would not advise this.

A newbie reading this list might also think it is quite normal and fine for a snake to eat lizards( were they previously frozen).

What kind of snake are we talking about?

I really dont think this list is good for newbies.
I think it is great that you have learnt though your experiences.
How about writing from that experience and post a thread about how you would raise a hatchling with what you know now, not what you did when you were a newbie.

Cheers

Luke

[Adam]

Diamond python. Thanx for the input.If a snake don't want to eat he won't.No the skinks weren't frozen and no I don't approve of this.This post may get sceptical but I gave it a go.No this rule should NOT be followed but this is how I done it.Now I would go straight for pinky mice but sometimes they won't go for that. I did not include all the failed attempts to convert or other info as this would damn near make a book not just a post.

[zoe]

the whole problem with that theory adam is that a diamond will almost NEVER not want to eat! i could feed my diamond every day and im positive 9 times out of 10 he would take it. they are opportunistic feeders - that doesnt mean that it is GOOD to feed them that often! im not trying to bag your feeding methods or anything but you would NEVER have caught me feeding my little guy every few days. at the most it would be once a week when he was younger. i also agree with junglepython - i never feed my snakes again until they have passed their last meal. but hey, we all have different methods and all have varying levels of success...some would (and have said) that i dont feed my diamond enuf!) i just feel that with diamonds especially you have to grow them slower than you would say a coastal - well, thats the advice i have been given by some more experienced than me!
good on ya adam for having the guts (and patience) to post all this and risking getting bagged lol. (hope u dont take anything i have said badly - just my inexperienced input lol)

[Artie]

Ditto, what Zoe said?

No wonder Adam, you thought my Diamond was badly underweight, as you stated in an earlier thread (Slateys Olive being fat or not).

Well I’m also feeding my Diamonds on advice of an extremely experienced many generation diamond breeder and he feeds them al lot less, more like two to three weeks, and less when older.
As mentioned by Zoe, diamonds have to be brought up differently than other carpet pythons.
Also one of the problems of Dp Syndrome is overfeeding.

[NoOne]

I think waiting for a snake to pass it's last meal before feeding again is a good way to underfeed snakes.
It's also a rule i've never understood and one i wouldn't follow, i've got some adult pythons that only crap once a month sometimes longer.

Junglepython please inform me why it's not good to feed a snake the day before it sheds?
I purposely feed a couple of my larger pythons to make shedding easier, i often feed snakes while they are going through a shed cycle, if it's feed day they get food, some eat some don't. No big deal.

[JunglePython]

NoOne

well I have no problems keeping enough food up to my snakes. Underfeeding is a rare problem, as opposed to overfeeding.

If your snakes take a month to defecate after a feed then maybe you should look at the temperatures they are able to access.

Mine generally defecate about 5-7 days after feeding. The snakes I have outside might take a little longer around 7-9 days.

Sometimes when a snake sheds the shed will roll up like a condom. If there is a large bulge from feeding then the shed can constrict the body at this point.

There really is nothing to fear from your snake missing a meal every now and then. If it is shedding when you are feeding then it will feed in two weeks time when it has shed. It only is a problem if you are trying get it up to size in as short a time as possible.

Cheers

Luke

[JunglePython]

oh how does feeding your larger pythons make shedding easier?

[zoe]

lol i was wondering the same thing! ive heard quite a few stories about snakes skin splitting because they were fed during their shed cycle and i think they had to kind of work it backwards to get it off or something that doesnt sound easier for them to me but like i said ive never seen it so who knows.

when i talk about a snake "cleaning themselves out" after a meal im not necessarily talking about defecating. sometimes after eating my snake will only pass urine and the white urate until the whole food lump has gone and i know he's not going to do anything else until the next feed. that is my guideline for how soon to feed them next after a meal.

[NoOne]

It's not uncommon for large snakes to hold back defecating, i've got one carpet thats been that way for many years ever since he reached maturity, it's not tempretures i can assure you that, i know a few other people that have similar carpets. All i can say is watch out when they do, you certainly know about it
I didn't point out in my last post that has only happen with me in large adult pythons.

I feed one of my female water pythons a day or so before she sheds, she is an old snake that has trouble shedding and i feel that feeding her helps to loosen the skin around her mouth and neck and she always sheds easier when fed before hand and if it's makes it easier and less stressful on her then it can only be a good thing. I also have large male coastal that seems to benefit from this as well.

I offer all my snakes food on feeding day shed or not, some will not eat ever if they are on a shed cycle, others don't care, i can't see the problem as i'm yet to encouter any in 11yrs.

[africancichlidau]

or is it all dogs urinate that a new comer would want nothing to do with??????

What the hades does that mean?????

[moosenoose]

I've been told that if they want to eat they will, if they don't they won't!! .. this has turned out to be a great post Adam!.... I get my Darwin out in the backyard and give her a misting with the hose mister just after her old skin turns translucent again (I appreciate if you own more snakes, or Elapids, this routine would be a little more time consuming)- if her feed is on that day I'll feed her (then leave her for 12 or so hrs)- 10 times out of 10 she'll eat and then more than likely she'll shed that night or the next day! She seems to enjoy being misted in the sunshine - I've just got to watch out for magpies!!! I know a local breeder who says some of her snakes go off their food for weeks prior to shedding.