is this going to be too big?

[Darlyn]

ahhh okay. cos the lady at the pet shop knows ive been powerfeeding him two hoppers a week and he has gotten sooo big, .

Any particular reason why you are power feeding?

 

[cwebb]

Any particular reason why you are power feeding?

The little prick didnt eat for 4 months so im trying to get him up to size, hes a bit small for almost yearling..

 

[Trouble]

I am going to say this is too big for him right now, his head size compared to the rat is too small, and his body width isn't wide enough imo.
As a couple of the others have said, he should be able to take that size rat within a couple of months time, but at the moment, it's best to go back to feeding smaller items, just more of them.

Nice little bredli, too

 

[Pythoninfinite]

If your woeeied about feeding bigger food Items dont be snkes arent stupid If the Item Is to big they will not usually eat It even though bredlis have a grat feeding response from that secound photo maybe to big though a reliable guide Is to weigh the snake then feed 20-30% body weight

As Abnrmal91 says... The usual 'safe' measure is around 10% of body weight per feeding, up to 20% is acceptable sometimes. How long have you been keeping snakes pythrulz? You sound like an armchair expert (when we can understand what you type).

Jamie

 

[mysnakesau]

I knew there was a reason why I have stuck to feeding my snakes items that are probably not large enough. While most on here are feeding the likes of 2-3yr olds weaner rats or larger, I was still feeding mine on mice. They aren't as big as other young snakes I've seen so I started experimenting with larger sizes. Gave my jungle boy AND one of my intergrades a rat I thought might have been on the big size,. My excitement that they ate it was short lived when I discovered after this massive meal, it blocked them up. I didn't notice my jungle boy suffering until he was that swollen he looked like he'd eaten an adult rat. Thankfully, after baths, 'walks' and wiggling and moving them, both got rid of their blockages overnight. But that was enough for me, to downsize. I don't care who thinks mine are undersized for their age. They are in good condition for their size, and I am not risking that sort of thing again.

And don't rely on the regurge - it stinks so foul it will make you physically sick. Try get the smell out your house, too, if you don't find it for a day or two. My snakes are happy to be getting fed at all, so I'll stick to being too soft on them.

 

[Reptilefreak95]

wow, ok, feeding a snake is not a complicated thing guys, all this 20%, 10% of its body weight stuff is silly, if the snake is hungry, it'll eat, if it can eat the rat it will, its simple. feeding doesnt have to be so complex. u think snakes in the wild go around weighing their food? no. they just eat stuff when they are hungry. simple. so just offer the rat, if he eats it, then fine. my bredli is about the same size, he eats weaner rats too, easily. IMO just do it.

 

[abnrmal91]

Reptilefreak you don't seem to understand that snakes are opportunistic hunters. In the wild this keeps them alive, in captivity it means inexperienced keepers over feed. This cause their snake to either become fat or suffer from undigested food.

I love it that your using the IMO reasoning, with your 16yrs on earth and 2yrs experience in keeping. Sorry to say but your opinion is wrong. By all means use this opinion for your snakes but don't spread your information.

By all means ignore my advise however at least listen to Jamie's. He has been keeping reps longer then you and I have been alive.

 

[Reptilefreak95]

i do understand that snakes are opportunistic hunters mate, i probably know a lot more about snake ecology, biology, behaviour, diet, and captive managment than most of the people on here. next time u wanna post in a thread, make your post relavent to the actual subject, rather than alienating people for their apparent "lack" of experience. my opinion is not wrong btw, that snake could easily ingest that rat, and im wondering where in my post did i even suggest overfeeding? all of my snakes are in perfect health. my opinion is still valid, that snake, can ingest that rat. i was simply pointing out how a simple thing like feeding, doesnt need to be complex. and i am in my fourth year of reptile keeping thanks bro, next time u troll somebody, get ur info right.

however, i do agree with people saying that u dont need to feed big prey items, it is better to feed multile smaller prey items, but your bredli could eat the rat if thats all u wanted to know.

 

[Bel03]

Looking at your 'some bredli pics' thread, your bredli seems to be very similar in size to mine, she will be a yr old next mnth. She has eaten weiner rats the last few feeds, with no problems at all. Hopper rats were hardly leaving much of a bulge at all, that is why i upsized. I am in NO way, going against what the majority have told you here, but if like my Matilda, the hopper rats are not leaving a nice bulge, i think a weiner rat should be ok, but of course, just the one though.

Im just thinking along the lines of weight, & im sure that 2 hopper rats which she has been feeding it, would weigh more then 1 weiner.

 

[dansfish4tea]

Looks like a good sized meal. I dont think its to big at all give it ago

 

[saximus]

You don't get prizes for trying to feed large rats to small pythons.

This is gonna be my new sig.
The "yay"s probably have it in that he probably could get it down but what's the point in pushing it that far? At best he's just gonna be fat and lethargic for days and at worst you will injure/harm him.

 

[Snake_Whisperer]

Hey Cwebb, any chance you could post your snake's current weight and the weight of the rat you want to feed it? Personally, just based off the photo, I would feed that item without a second thought. However, when feeding items on the top end of the weight ratio, I always double check. Like many have said, I usually stick to 20-30% of body weight for juvies, tapering off to 10-20% into adulthood. Using ratios is just something I like to do as it helps me to keep track of growth rates, etc. If you don't have a "plan" for your animal's size, keeping the feed items between 10-20% will certainly not hurt.

Cheers,
Aaron

 

[GSXR_Boy]

If you are really worried about it, poke a few holes in the rats guts to speed up digestion. Maybe even crank up the heat a little.

 

[Bel03]

Saximus, i guess i am one of those who said 'yay'......however, i dont believe i am suggesting she 'push' anything.......i simply find it strange though that majority are saying it will be too big........she has been feeding it 2 hoppers........im assuming 1 wasnt leaving much of a bulge for her to offer it the second, so why would 1 weiner not be better in weight etc then 2 hoppers, which would surely end up being more 'rat' then a weiner? I def dont believe im 'pushing' things with Matilda, i would never just offer her a bigger rat 'just to see if she can do it', but she 2 is almost a year old & weiner rats leave a nice bulge, it takes no longer then 10mins for her to get down, it is digested in 2-3 days & she is far from being lethargic or fat!

 

[mysnakesau]

i...... but your bredli could eat the rat if thats all u wanted to know.

Nine times out of ten, your opinion could be right, but when that tenth one harms or kills your snake, you might learn that our captive snakes aren't always the best judges here. Yeah he might be able to swallow it, but can he digest it before it begins to rot in his gut?

 

[abnrmal91]

Whilst she probably could eat, what's the point. As has been said feeding isn't complicated but it gets complicated when you get it wrong. Weight of the snake and weight of the food is easiest way. My yearlings are eating small rats but I have always stuck to the limit of 20% max. It works well and they still grow at a good pace.

 

[saximus]

I guess it depends on your definition of a "nice bulge" Bel (keep it out of the gutter ).
I read a very interesting article by Doc Rock about feeding sizes (thanks Dan) and I was really surprised by what a "pro" considers a nice sized bulge. It was nowhere near what I used to think.

 

[abnrmal91]

Good point sax. I only read that article again the other day.

 

[Bel03]

I agree with what you are saying, & i guess my idea of a 'nice bulge' is one that i can see.......her last hopper literally disappeared, there was NO bulge at all, which is why i upgraded.

Anyway, i am not suggesting the op just goes ahead & offers the weiner, if she is concerned that its too big, i wouldnt offer it all. But with Matilda, i am quite positive that i am in no way shape or form over feeding her. In fact, she had a weiner yesterday, & this morning she has the smallest bulge, only just noticable, so it def wasnt too big.

 

[dickyknee]

Saximus, i guess i am one of those who said 'yay'......however, i dont believe i am suggesting she 'push' anything.......i simply find it strange though that majority are saying it will be too big........she has been feeding it 2 hoppers........im assuming 1 wasnt leaving much of a bulge for her to offer it the second, so why would 1 weiner not be better in weight etc then 2 hoppers, which would surely end up being more 'rat' then a weiner? I def dont believe im 'pushing' things with Matilda, i would never just offer her a bigger rat 'just to see if she can do it', but she 2 is almost a year old & weiner rats leave a nice bulge, it takes no longer then 10mins for her to get down, it is digested in 2-3 days & she is far from being lethargic or fat!

It's not just about the weight of the rodent , more about the size of it , I would offer 2 rodents of that total weight rather than 1 rodent as they would be much easier getting them down.
Much like when you eat a hamburger , it all fits in your gut but have you tried eating it in 1 bite