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klaeclipse

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Hi all, I'm new to APS I don't comment often and this is my first thread. But lately I have been seeing and hearing alot about people feeding their snakes tiny little feeds. I'm by no means an experienced keeper, I'm basically a newbie myself. I am forever learning but I'm more than happy to share what I know, and one thing I've had down pat from the start is the size of food I reckon my snakes can handle. Alot of people think what I feed is massive. but they're the people that feed yearling bredlis pinkie rats or something ridiculous....this thread is just to show you don't be too scared about feeding your snake what you think is a massive feed. Feel free to share pics of feed time in your collections.

by no means bag anyone out, this is a friendly thread to show people their 4 month old ant hatchie aint gonna 'pop' if you feed it a full grown mouse :) enjoy:lol:331406_298234406863315_100000302755474_987476_1448150337_o.jpg MD. female Murray darling, eating large adult rat.325249_298231873530235_100000302755474_987473_115059950_o.jpgChaos, yearling Bredli.(80cm) Eating a large weaner rat **** first.
333233_298233783530044_100000302755474_987475_1601909185_o.jpgFound the right spot.
 
Feeding.jpgFull belly.jpg

8 week old bredli on a pinkie rat and the buldge it leaves just to show it's the right size for him. :)
 
this is something im unsure of. i have a 3mnth albino darwin carpet that im feeding pink rats. the eats tyhem then looks at me for more. should i be feeding bigger? is there a rule of thumb for size of food to weight of snake or anything like that??
 
Hey klaeclipse: Do you happen to know the current weight of your bredli, and/or weaner rat?

I've always fed large, left a little longer than most between feeds... I am also no expert... but my snake(s) are/were (when I had more) healthy, well muscled, and had good size heads :)

feed = 20% of snakes body weight is one of the general rules of thumb

who's thumb?

well, that's a whole other story....
 
yeah 20% and has to leave a noticeable buldge if you can barely see a buldge you need to up the food.
 
Haha I knew someone was going to ask me weights, no sorry I don't know. the rats I can find out for you but I don't have digital scales to weigh my pythons. possibly a good Idea to get some ASAP.

Another rule of thumb I've hear is twice-3 times the size the snakes head is a good starting point, however I have a Spotted hatchie and her head is tiny compared to my Morelia hatchies yets she fits in the same sized feeds.
IMO get em off pinkie rats/mice and onto something with hair, they taste better with hair too!

Large Weaners
48-70g

Large Adults
180-269g

I do have the length of the snakes recorded these pictures were taken some time ago.



View attachment 250462 chaos' considerably large bulge from his first adult mouse fresh killed. little less than 1 month old.
 
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Its all well and good to tell people not to be afraid to offer massive sized food items but they also have to be aware of how big is too big. I started offering two of my snakes rats that I thought might be a bit too big for them and both of these snakes wound up with swollen guts and hard blockages. Neither of them are on poor heat sources - having hides over their heat as well as everywhere else in their tanks, but offering them too big a meal was not in their best interest. To treat the problem they were given warm baths and then gave them time out on the grass to move around. My little jungle boy had to be massaged while I forced the hard lumps out of him, while my larger intergrade managed to get rid of his belly ache, on his own.

So while experimenting with the sizes, don't go overboard for your own pleasure of seeing them swallow a massive feed. Consider the animal's health and well being and weigh up the pro's and cons before you go ahead with it.
 
I agree klaeclipse, I see way too many "novice snake owners" on this site under feeding their pythons. Its most likely not their fault, but I don't think people realise how fast their hatchlings are growing and don't up size their food enough. If you are unsure of what to feed your python, seek help!

Its all well and good to tell people not to be afraid to offer massive sized food items but they also have to be aware of how big is too big. I started offering two of my snakes rats that I thought might be a bit too big for them and both of these snakes wound up with swollen guts and hard blockages. Neither of them are on poor heat sources - having hides over their heat as well as everywhere else in their tanks, but offering them too big a meal was not in their best interest. To treat the problem they were given warm baths and then gave them time out on the grass to move around. My little jungle boy had to be massaged while I forced the hard lumps out of him, while my larger intergrade managed to get rid of his belly ache, on his own.

So while experimenting with the sizes, don't go overboard for your own pleasure of seeing them swallow a massive feed. Consider the animal's health and well being and weigh up the pro's and cons before you go ahead with it.

Wow. So in comparison(size ratio of snake - mice) to klaeclipse third photo of his yearling bredli feeding the mice you feed your snake was larger?! I'm sorry, for the reptiles health and well being, why would you even attempt that?
 
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Wasn't there a thread a few months ago with some pics of what was an appropriate sized lump? IIRC the point of the article (by Simon Stone??) was that 'an appropriate sized lump' was smaller than people thought.

I dunno why people don't use weight more, it's extremely easy to do, and much more accurate than comparing width, or going off descriptive labels for the mouse/rat size like 'weaner'.

The UWS study is a good starting point for how much feed weight to body weight you can offer.
 
if you fed them more often but smaller meals, is there a problem?
my baby childrens eats 2 small mice sometimes
 
being that i breed my own rodents i dont weigh snakes vrs there rodent/s . i go by size of the rodent , if i dont have that size they get more of the smaller rodents .
 
My rule of thumb is, I make sure the rodent is just a little thicker then the thickest point on the snake, no smaller. That leaves the perfect size lump in their stomach.
 
if you fed them more often but smaller meals, is there a problem?
my baby childrens eats 2 small mice sometimes

Absolutely no problem at all,there isn't any one right way.
Personally I feed smaller items more frequently as I think it doesn't overload their digestive systems like large meals do.
 
I feed my two waters that weigh 85 grams and 115 grams weaner rats that weigh between 25 to 35 grams. A bit more then the 20% but they are waters and if there tummy isn't full they get grumpy.
I think it is important that when your feeding larger food items is not to feed again till they have poop.
Snakebytes tv on YouTube did a experiment with feeding small medium and large food items and the corresponding growth rate to the animal. Very interesting watching.
 
I agree klaeclipse, I see way too many "novice snake owners" on this site under feeding their pythons. Its most likely not their fault, but I don't think people realise how fast their hatchlings are growing and don't up size their food enough. If you are unsure of what to feed your python, seek help!



Wow. So in comparison(size ratio of snake - mice) to klaeclipse third photo of his yearling bredli feeding the mice you feed your snake was larger?! I'm sorry, for the reptiles health and well being, why would you even attempt that?

Why? It isn't always easy to tell how big is too big. I learnt from this that I needed to downsize. Owning reptiles is a learning experience that will never end while ever you have them in your care. There is always something new to learn
 
My first snake was a diamond that I caught just after it ate a brush tail possum now it didn't weigh the possum but ate it anyway then after I rescued it it digested it without any problems. Now I'm not saying feed your snakes possums but feed them something that will stretch them every now and then. I feed 4 month old diamonds and carpets 3/4 size mice and womas at 3 months get full size mice and it doesn't worry them one bit. One bit of advise is as soon as you can get them off hairless pinkies and onto weaners as it helps there digestion and they then grow quicker as they are getting more from it
 
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