 Recent Herp Discussion | | | | | | | | Online Users: 143 | | 72 members and 71 guests | | bigc77, book, BT, carinacat, Cheyne_Jones, chrisso81, Corwin, coz666, craig23, Crush, della91, dj_easto, Dmoore, dragon lady, Fennwick, FNQ_Snake, gar1, Gazrussell, Hawke, Helikaon, Hetty, hsana, Hydra, ilikeshingles, imalizard, jaih, jamgo, jazza_nj, jessb, Kurto, kwarl, licky, Lockie, LullabyLizard, mattG, maxdamillion, moloch05, mr.slave, Mulcahy, nathancl, nigmax, Nikki_Elmo, Nufsta, Paul Atkinson, pseudechis4740, q2cdis, reptile32, Rocky, ScorpionKing, selfcontrol, Shauno, shnakey, shooshoo, slim6y, snakeskin, sockbat, stafturbo, swampie, tan, taylor111, thenicewitch, thepythonpit, Timmo, TRIMACO, tyson, vinspa, Warwick, zuyax | |  | | 
04-Oct-07, 08:10 AM
|  | Subscriber | Join Date: Jun-07 Location: Hervey Bay Gender:  | | |  Pooping - Feeding
I know I read here somewhere (  couldn't find the thread when I looked again ) That some people judge when to feed by when the snake poops. We fed our 9mnth old Children's on Sunday and sometime over night he's pooed. Approx 4 days since he was fed. I've been waiting 7 to 8 days between feeds. Does this seem right to people out there who know loads more than I do  . He currently gets one fuzzy - which leaves a smallish bulge when swallowed. I don't want to over-feed and I know snakes can go long periods without food, but I don't want to starve him. Advice please????
__________________  You Say I'm A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing ????? |
04-Oct-07, 08:25 AM
|  | Punk in Drublic Subscriber | Join Date: Feb-07 Location: Gold Coast Gender:  | | | | A feed every 7-8 days is fine. I feed mine every 7 -12, but i like to try mix it up a bit. I'm sure he wont starve, if your worried step the feed size up. |
04-Oct-07, 08:26 AM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Jun-06 Location: Sydney NSW Gender: | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Lesa  I know I read here somewhere ( couldn't find the thread when I looked again ) That some people judge when to feed by when the snake poops. We fed our 9mnth old Children's on Sunday and sometime over night he's pooed. Approx 4 days since he was fed. I've been waiting 7 to 8 days between feeds. Does this seem right to people out there who know loads more than I do . He currently gets one fuzzy - which leaves a smallish bulge when swallowed. I don't want to over-feed and I know snakes can go long periods without food, but I don't want to starve him. Advice please???? |
He won't starve going a few days extra without a feed Lesa  What heat gradient do you have in your enclosure? What size enclosure is he in? For animals of this age I always keep them in appropriate sized tubs that sit one third on a heat pad. The pad is controlled by a themostat and probe and has the hot end around 28-30 deg leaving the other part of the tub (where the water is, a cooler temp, and it drops a few degress overnight.. Personally for a snake 9 months of age, I'd be feeding him large fuzzies to weaner mice size feeds every 7 days and really dont worry about whether he's pooped. Usually they defecate every 5-7 days on this sort of heat after a feed, but it can vary. To be safe wait a few days to make sure he defecates ok and resume feeding |
04-Oct-07, 08:53 AM
|  | Subscriber | Join Date: Dec-04 Location: Somewhere near Brisbane | | | | I have said this many times but there is absolutely no need to wait until a snake defeacates to feed it again. Many snakes are very irregular and can store poo for quite long periods. By all means use that method but they is no real reason to do it. It is virtually impossible to overfeed young snakes.
__________________
"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004
|
04-Oct-07, 09:18 AM
| | Subscriber | Join Date: Jun-07 Location: Hervey Bay Gender: | | | | The hottest part of his enclosure is approx 33 (the mins about 29 and the max does hit over 33), the coolest temp can drop to about 25, during the day. The enclosure is about 3ftx2ftx2ft. He has lots of hides and water at both the hot end and the cool end. He tends to hang out in a hide in the middle or behind a rock at the cool end. Though lately we've also spotted him climbing around quite a bit at night. I've put a few pics here (excuse the glare my soons room is very bright in the mornings)
__________________ You Say I'm A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing ????? |
04-Oct-07, 09:26 AM
|  | Subscriber | Join Date: Nov-05 Location: QLD | | | | "virtually impossible to over feed a young snake", WRONG!!!!!.
Thats gotta be some of the worst advice ive ever heard. It is very easy imo to over feed a young snake and this can infact cut its life expectancy in half. |
04-Oct-07, 09:37 AM
|  | Mr Knee Subscriber | Join Date: Apr-06 Location: Wollongong Age/Gender: 36 | | | | lesa , i find if my spotteds and childrens are hungry they tend to start hunting around their cages as soon as it is dark , which is around every 10-12 days ....so i just feed when i see them hunting ...
They normally do cruise around their cages at night but this hunting is different , they seem to be looking in every inch of the cage ,not just moving from one hide to another . |
04-Oct-07, 09:42 AM
|  | Regular Member | | | | | hi i feed my murry darling every friday i give him a moues that makes a small bump and that seems to do him for the 7 days until his next feed |
04-Oct-07, 09:52 AM
|  | hazz Subscriber | Join Date: Jul-06 Location: Hazzardous area Gender: | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueBlue "virtually impossible to over feed a young snake", WRONG!!!!!.
Thats gotta be some of the worst advice ive ever heard. It is very easy imo to over feed a young snake and this can infact cut its life expectancy in half. |
Can you point me towards some literature that confirms this? Or is this just a personal experience thing?
The data available on overfeeding hatchlings and life expectancy is sketchy at best. And what exactly is overfeeding a hatchling (no data available for this yet either)?
Definitely not comparing to the wild as it is feast or famine out there, but under captive conditions with accurate temperature gradients maximum metabolic rates are genuinely obtained.
Granted feeding grown mature animals regularly can be a disaster but the information on "life expectancy being halfed is a stab in the dark IMO" |
04-Oct-07, 10:57 AM
| | Subscriber | Join Date: Jun-07 Location: Hervey Bay Gender: | | | | I know it's hard to starve a snake, I know not to overfeed...... I'm just an anxious new mum. We really love our boy and want to do the best by him. Thanks for all the advice, it's reasurring to know we are on the right track! I have noticed him "hunting" if I leave him longer that 8 days - he hangs from his branch and seems ready to strike when he sees us (he doesn't though thank goodness). I'll look out for that as an indicator.
__________________ You Say I'm A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing ????? |
04-Oct-07, 11:17 AM
| | Subscriber | Join Date: Nov-05 Location: QLD | | | | hazzard, ive seen the effects of this many many times, young snakes that get pumped in the first 12-18 months tend to have many health problems as they mature and age, they also tend to be snakes that drop alot of slugs when bred.
IMO snakes should be raised slowly for the first 12 months to let their organs etc develop propally, common sence really. Oh and it has a hell of alot to do with "in the wild" as this is where these animals have evolved.
Who are we to come along and change the way they have evolved to live and say that its fine and ok to constantly feed young snakes as long as the temps are right, this comment is imo absolute rubbish. They NEED metabolic rest wether they are young or old, evolution has made them that way.
Its very funny that vitually everyone i know that pumps the hell out of their animals when young, have contsant problems with snakes and rarely seem to be able to raise a snake past 10-15 years old.???? Gee i wonder why.!!!!! |
04-Oct-07, 11:23 AM
| | Subscriber | Join Date: Dec-04 Location: Somewhere near Brisbane | | | I agree, I have seen no literature that backs this up, as a personal opinion it's fine but to say it halves life expectancy is as you say just a stab in the dark.
It is a fact that the vast majority of breeders who feed their hatchlings 'well' rarely talk about their methods as it just invites abuse but having kept snakes for a great many years I haven't seen any evidence it reduces life expectancy at all. It is obvious feeding mature snakes in the same way will have negative effects on their health but from my experience feeding hatchlings every 4 or 5 days appropriately sized feeds does nothing detrimental. Quote:
Originally Posted by hazzard Can you point me towards some literature that confirms this? Or is this just a personal experience thing?
The data available on overfeeding hatchlings and life expectancy is sketchy at best. And what exactly is overfeeding a hatchling (no data available for this yet either)?
Definitely not comparing to the wild as it is feast or famine out there, but under captive conditions with accurate temperature gradients maximum metabolic rates are genuinely obtained.
Granted feeding grown mature animals regularly can be a disaster but the information on "life expectancy being halfed is a stab in the dark IMO" |
__________________
"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004
|
04-Oct-07, 11:28 AM
| | Subscriber | Join Date: Nov-05 Location: QLD | | | | sorry boa but you are very very wrong, imo feeding juvs every 4-5 days is bordering on incompetent, and if you are as experianced as you say you are you should know this.
It has been proven in many circles that over feeding young snakes has detrimental long term effects, plain and simple.
Last edited by TrueBlue; 04-Oct-07 at 11:35 AM.
|
04-Oct-07, 11:31 AM
| | Suspended | Join Date: Mar-07 Location: Townsville, North QLD Age/Gender: 21 | | | | The 2 of you both state 'IMO'
I think we should just leave it at that before this thread goes down hill or start another thread.
__________________
[CENTER][I][I][B]Go take a step outside and see what's shaking in the real world...[/B] [/I][/I][/CENTER]
[CENTER][SIZE=1]Over the 'Coastals are ugly, lets feed them to BHPs' thing.[/SIZE][/CENTER]
[CENTER][SIZE=1]7 x Coastal, 2 x Bredli, 1 x MD, 2 x Jungle, 1 x Darwin, 1 x Water Python, 1 x Woma, 1 x Intergrade + numerous on order......[/SIZE][/CENTER]
[CENTER][URL="http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/swingonthespiral_album/"][SIZE=1]http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/swingonthespiral_album/[/SIZE][/URL][/CENTER]
|
04-Oct-07, 11:39 AM
| | Subscriber | Join Date: Dec-04 Location: Somewhere near Brisbane | | | | I quite agree, Rob disagrees with everything I say but I have broad shoulders and can live with it LOL.
It is of course your right to have a differing opinion. I guess you are saying that the vast majority of breeders are incompetent, which again is your right.
I have spoken to a great many breeders about this very subject and feeding every 4 to 5 days seems to be the norm.
Again I would like to see the literature on this subject as it is something I am very interested in.
In the literature supplied to keepers in Victoria I think a very well known reptile vet advises feeding hatchlings every 5 days.
__________________
"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004
| | |
|
