Pooping - Feeding

[TrueBlue]

i dont need scientific proof to tell what ive seen with my own eyes many many times over the years, i truely do belive that power feeding,(and feeding every 4-5 days is), juv snakes does do them long term harm, as said above ive seen the long term affects all to often, and its to often to be a coincedence.

Its a funny thing boa, that your the first person to jump down someones throat about giving advice that could do harm to newbees, yet your statement does just that. Show me your scientific proof that it dosnt do any harm other than here say.?? Where as theres a lot of evidence pointing towards the fact that it does do harm.

The main cause of prolapse in juv snakes is over feeding or feeding to large a prey item, and many juv snakes that prolapse will die. Just ask anyone whos lost a snake to this and get their response. Hell ive bred and raised hundreds of snakes over the years and never had a snake prolapes, even a gtp. Theres yet another reason not to over feed juv snakes.
As said the first 12-18 months imo are probally the most important time not to over feed snakes as they need time for their organs to develop propally and they need metabolic rest for long term health. Especially the first 6-8 months.

[boa]

Yes I follow a very similar regime, if a young snake is shedding between 5 and 7 weeks with me then I am happy so I guess we are around about in the same ballpark. I was told this by a breeder who has bred literally 1000's of snakes and it has always worked for him, it is very obvious when you think about it.

[quote=Colin;956561]

I try to feed (animals between a few months and 18 months old) enough so that they shed approximately every 6-8 weeks, which seems (imo) about ideal. If they are shedding every 4-6 weeks then the frequency of feeding should be slowed a bit, and if they are shedding 8-10 weeks then feeding size (and/or) frequency should be increased. Again I stress all individuals are different, but the 6-8 week shed seems to work on most (imo)

[ad]

Feeding every 4 days without defecating???
The poor thing would probably be trying to digest 2-3 meals.

Not the best thing to tell a new keeper really - don't you think?

[Tsubakai]

Originally Posted by boa

Yes I think what Lesa is doing is just fine, 7 or 8 days is perfectly acceptable.
I think it is fair enough to ask me to clarify what I said, by young snake I mean up to 18 months of age. As I have stated I DEFINITELY don't recommend this regime for older or adult snakes.
From what I remember that snake of Pugsly's was a young adult ?

Milo was 18 months old, which fits your definition of a young snake, yet the consensus seemed to be that he was overfed and died as a result of obesity-related problems. I think this is the sort of thing that people like Trueblue are trying to prevent.

[ponybug]

hmmm maybe pugsly might clear that up, i can remember it wasn't proven that it died from over feeding? that was just some opinions, i might be wrong...................

how many other snakes are shown here that have died at 18 months old from over feeding, i know i've lost none at 18 months old.............

it just comes down to what works better for you,

[Lesa]

Originally Posted by dickyknee

....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 .

This seems really sound advice to me, the snake knows what it needs - I like it!~!!!

[jay76]

i was told by southern x that a snake eating the right amount of food should shed about every 8 weeks

[viridis]

Each to their own, I feed approx every 5-6 days for neonates to 12 months and about once every 8-10 days for animals up to 2 years old and about twice a month for adult animals.

Keeping in mind some of you feed your animals all through winter ect whilst I stop feeding anything over 2 years in about may.

Smaller , young food items are much better,

Cheers,

Nick

[MrBredli]

At the end of the day, anyone feeding a snake every 4-5 days is only doing so for financial gain. Snakes do not eat that often in the wild thus their bodies just aren't designed to cope with so much food on such a regular basis for such a prolonged period of time. Surely that is common sense (?) and anyone who argues with that must be kidding themselves (or are too busy counting their cash to care).

In saying that, i don't care what anyone else does, i really couldn't give a toss.

[boa]

Well Nick I guess we can be incompetents together then :-)
Seriously though as has been said the size of the food item needs to be taken into account not just the regularity.

[viridis]

Well for example Rob feeds his animals all year round whilst anything residing at my place that is over 2 years of age only eats for about 7-8 months of the year.

I have seen every animal in Robs collection and none of them are over fed, infact they are in the same condition as mine.

So Mr Bredli, regular feeding of small prey items ,in moderation is not irresponsible and the oldest animal in our collection is 19 years old, and breeds regulary, with out any ill side effects.

Good old common sense : )

[cris]

Originally Posted by ponybug

i feed my hatchys when i feed them, sometimes every 5 days, sometimes i leave it 2 weeks, i find that mixing the time and amounts is best for me,

I think this is the safest way to go, it simulates nature and alot of the time that is what is best in captivity. I also think the word snake should be replaced with python in most of these posts.

[MrBredli]

I agree with you Nick, except that i don't think pumping hatchies with food every 4-5 days is "in moderation".

Just for the record, my feeding schedule is almost identical to yours, except i feed hatchies at the same rate as juvies.

[ihaveherps]

Quite an interesting read..... As has been mentioned in the latter part of this thread, that a timed feeding regeime is only relevent to the size of the meals. When working out feeding regimes there are dozens of variables that need to be considered, alot of which are related to the differences in keeping methods and variation from snake to snake. I dont think that there are any real concrete answers to the question.