Got Some strange advice today, please comment

[Cougar2007]

Hey guys,

Im looking for some comment on feeding my Diamond Python.

I took her (was told it was a him by the breeder. oh well) today to a guy who was a reptile vet but has since opened a pet shop, and got him to give Franket a once over. Also asked him to sex her.

He "poped" her and gave me the news that Frank needed a name change to Franket.

Then he made comment that she is a perfect snake in great condition but asked what I was feeding.

Ill add she is 1yr old, just under 4ft long and a little thicker than my thumb.

I told him she was fed when i got her, on fuzzy Mice. On advice from a mate, i took her up to hopper Mice. 2 per week.

He laughed at me and said I was way underfeeding her, that by this stage she should be on one to two small rats every 10 days. He told me to taker her home, feed her 2 hopper Rats today, then take her to the small rats in 6 days time unless she sheds in the meantime.

I got her home, thawed the 2 hopper rats and fed her. Firstly i couldn't believe she got them in her mouth. compared to her head size, the rats head was at least twice the size of hers and she stretched and chewed etc and got them down, both of them. He said if she wanted a third then give it to her, and i reckon if i offered it she would have grabbed it to

The guy said, a snake should look like it has had a few golf balls shoved into it when it has just eaten. The bulge should be quite large and easy to make out. He also reckons what I was feeding her would not even go close to providing her the dietary requirements needed for good strong growth.

Im just wondering if anyone can comment on this cause it fly's in the face of a lot of advice offered on the net / here and now I am a little confused.

thanks

Jamie

 

[TheReptileben]

I just fed my 3 and a half foot bredli a medium rat and he took it down no problem the bulge should be noticeable

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I just fed my 3 and a half foot bredli a medium rat and he took it down no problem the bulge should be noticeable

 

[Fantazmic]

The bulge should be noticeable...but be careful you can overfeed and really 'bung them up' so watch for poo's to make sure everything is digesting and moving through

 

[eddie123]

my 5 foot 18 month bredli takes a medium or large rat a week. Sounds right
My 11 year old diamond takes a rabbit every month or two just to let you know

 

[serpenttongue]

Cougar, I agree with what your vet has said, but there is a limit. I nice size bulge is a good indication that she's had enough. Don't fall for her wanting more, though. They have big appetites and will gladly eat too much, which may lead to regurgitation. Diamonds are ALWAYS hungry, and I think it's best to keep them a little bit hungry. It keeps them alert and active.

So, one large meal, or two smaller meals. But don't give her a third.

 

[Cougar2007]

wow, i was underfeeding. Thanks guys.

 

[TheReptileben]

Snakes are opportunistic predators and will usually take whatever you offer them

 

[Nellynake]

He's right. I have a stimson python who was told to eat pinkies but theyre just to small

 

[geniix]

Seems reasonable, when I'd feed my smaller snakes they'd have huge bulges, imagine how much large carpets stretch when they take on wallabies

 

[thomasssss]

. Also asked him to sex her.

He "poped" her and gave me the news that Frank needed a name change to Franket.

Ill add she is 1yr old, just under 4ft long and a little thicker than my thumb.

Jamie

are you sure he popped it , like did you see the dangly bits :lol: or was it a metal probe shoved up its you know what which is probing , only ask because i was led to believe that popping where you see the snakes bits should only be done in the first few weeks or something before the snake gains full muscle control so at one year old it would be to late , probing on the other hand can be done with an older animal

 

[Cougar2007]

He poped her for sure, I saw him doing it, he couldn't get anything to come out. He said with males the Hemipenes ?? pop out and show up as red dots. But she had nothing at all.

I have no idea at all, i am deferring to his "expertise"

 

[saximus]

He poped her for sure, I saw him doing it, he couldn't get anything to come out. He said with males the Hemipenes ?? pop out and show up as red dots. But she had nothing at all.

I have no idea at all, i am deferring to his "expertise"

Popping is only 100% if it's a male and you see the hemipenes. Not seeing them just means it's probably a girl but only probably. A boy could just not show. Anyway, unless you're breeding, it doesn't matter. It won't mind if you paint the enclosure blue or pink

 

[KaotikJezta]

I disagree with him. Yes the bulge should be noticeable but not huge. I would feed one, definitely not 3, unless you want to powerfeed which is not good for the snakes health, IMO. There are way too many obese snakes in the hobby. As for the wallaby comment, snakes that eat huge meals in the wild are not fed weekly, it may be months and months before they eat again. How do you know he was a reptile vet and why the hell would he have quit that to open a pet shop, I'm dubious. I feed all the adult snakes where I work monthly and we have a diamond x MD in the shop at the moment I am attempting to get on to mice. At present he is getting 2 large mice every 3-4 weeks and he is in pristine condition. Admittedly young snakes are still growing fast, hence the more frequent feeds but after a year old it is still possible to overfeed.

Edit: He will be offered medium rats when he starts taking them, but he is happy with 2 large mice and at present refuses if offered a third.

 

[Cougar2007]

well saximus breeding may be a plan in the long term, but at the moment, I just wanna get her/his name right. ha ha ha

 

[thomasssss]

He poped her for sure, I saw him doing it, he couldn't get anything to come out. He said with males the Hemipenes ?? pop out and show up as red dots. But she had nothing at all.

I have no idea at all, i am deferring to his "expertise"

now im definitely no expert in this but if what i have read and been told was right then the reason nothing came out is because the animal is to in control of its muscles and wont allow it to pop out

can someone more experienced clear this up im curious can you pop a snake after the first few weeks of it hatching all the way up to a year as in this case? i was lead to believe once it is in control of the muscles of that region then you can actually damage it trying to pop it so it shouldn't even be tried

 

[saximus]

can you pop a snake after the first few weeks of it hatching all the way up to a year as in this case?

Yes you can. It's not really recommended but it is possible

 

[junglepython2]

He poped her for sure, I saw him doing it, he couldn't get anything to come out. He said with males the Hemipenes ?? pop out and show up as red dots. But she had nothing at all.

I have no idea at all, i am deferring to his "expertise"

Popping a snake of that age is far from accurate. I wouldn't bank on it being female on that evidence.

 

[BIGBANG]

12 months old and 4 foot long???? i have a diamond that i was told is out of last seasons stock and she would be 2 1/2 foot i'd say and as thick as my ring finger....think she would be around 11 months

 

[KaotikJezta]

12 months old and 4 foot long???? i have a diamond that i was told is out of last seasons stock and she would be 2 1/2 foot i'd say and as thick as my ring finger....think she would be around 11 months

Yes, 4 foot seems long compared to the thickness

 

[Cougar2007]

I'm only going off what I was told by the breeder. Remember I'm a noob.

This guy did say he thinks its closer to 3 years old. I wish I knew more, it's hard to learn when you don't have a baseline to work off