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trdt58

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hi all..i'am looking for a general feeling of food item size for my murry darling he is almost 12 months and 1100mm long aprox. he currently has fuzzy rats which barely show now when eaten...the next size up weaner rats are huge in comparison and much bigger than the widest part of his body..i hear stories if you dont feed big enough items their head doesnt expand enough as they grow in relation to the body...thoughs

many thanks tom
 
Havnt heard if the head expansion thing before but I'm not an expert. Generally food items about 15% of the snakes weigh are recommended
 
i feed my 1.2m Bredli small rats.. he smashes them.. fuzzies sound small for 1.1m
 
Typical suggestions I've seen around here are 15-25% of bodyweight, about as big as the thickest part of the body, or something that take about 15 minutes to get down. After a while you get a bit of a "feel" for what is right but I would say just experiment with any or all of those to see what works for you.

The head size thing you're referrirng to is called pinhead syndrome and it's a complete myth so don't worry about that.
 
Personally l believe that % system to be "SERIOUSLY" flawed and just one classic EG. my 7-8kg BHPs would be getting a 1-1.5 kg food item when in reality they get a 100-120 gm rat every week and mantain IMO excellent body condition....personally l like the idea in "young snakes" is that the prey item be 110-125% of the snakes body width. ~B~
 
Typical suggestions I've seen around here are 15-25% of bodyweight, about as big as the thickest part of the body, or something that take about 15 minutes to get down. After a while you get a bit of a "feel" for what is right but I would say just experiment with any or all of those to see what works for you.

The head size thing you're referrirng to is called pinhead syndrome and it's a complete myth so don't worry about that.

There is a scientific field study dealing with bone growth in the heads of boa constrictors in relation to prey size. The conclusion was that larger prey size DID NOT increase bone growth or head size, but the increased effort to eat did increase the size of the jaw muscles. The study is found in the book THE BIOLOGY OF BOAS AND PYTHONS.

"Pinhead Syndrome" as it relates to boa constrictors is actually the overfeeding of a BC, causing the body to hit a hyper growth spurt and grow, (not mature) much faster than it would under wild and or PROPER captive feeding practices. Too many folks in the states pummel their boa constrictors with food to have a huge snake. The result is a fat, lazy, underdeveloped, small headed BC that usually dies before 5 years of age.

I agree with saximus that this is not a concern with Aussie pythons as they can take much larger meals and process them faster than a BC. You will certainly not get a pinhead snake from under feeding, or I should say feeding conservatively!
 
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first up thanks for taking the time to reply... i do belive that you get a feel for what it is you are feeding being in a rural area we have kept many sorts of animals as pets ..this is my first snake.... the internet is full of ideas and picking through is daunting... my thought is to feed conservatively!keep the food size to as thick as his thickest part and feed 2 if need be...i figure that in the wild they take almost what passes them almost regardless of size.. but in his safe enclosure with constant temperature and lack of being able to climb large trees.. go hunting for food...we have to watch their waist lines :)
many thanks again
tom.
 
My darwin is about that size, maybe even a little smaller than that, and he smashes small rats.
 
I'm actually always curious to see what you Aussie folks do with your carpets. I consider you guys the experts as carpets are YOUR species and you guys have some of the most beautiful snakes in the world in my opinion. I also think you respect and treat them well.

I do believe that the carpets can be fed a bit more than what we here in the US would feed our boa constrictors. BCI boas are pretty rugged, but certain BCC boas are notorious for regurgitation syndrome when given large prey.

My coastal carpet mix is about 1.5 years old and a bit over 4 feet long which is about 1.2 meters. I have jumped her up to medium rats. She has all she can handle to get it down, but I don't feed her again until I'm fairly certain she's ready.

I actually rub the rat on a quail to get her interested. I'm considering switching between rats and quail as I think she'll enjoy avian prey more than rats. I have a good bit of variety mixed into my boa's diet.

trdt58, I think you should experiment a bit and find your niche. Variety will be a plus, and with my royal and boa I try to mimic nature now and then. I'll feed large prey and then give a longer break then I'll follow up with smaller prey a bit more frequently.

Though with a yearling I'd provide a more steady diet until you have a developed animal. If it takes smalls, go for it and then see how mediums go.

Best of luck raising your snake!
 
I'm actually always curious to see what you Aussie folks do with your carpets. I consider you guys the experts as carpets are YOUR species and you guys have some of the most beautiful snakes in the world in my opinion. I also think you respect and treat them well.

I do believe that the carpets can be fed a bit more than what we here in the US would feed our boa constrictors. BCI boas are pretty rugged, but certain BCC boas are notorious for regurgitation syndrome when given large prey.

My coastal carpet mix is about 1.5 years old and a bit over 4 feet long which is about 1.2 meters. I have jumped her up to medium rats. She has all she can handle to get it down, but I don't feed her again until I'm fairly certain she's ready.

I actually rub the rat on a quail to get her interested. I'm considering switching between rats and quail as I think she'll enjoy avian prey more than rats. I have a good bit of variety mixed into my boa's diet.

trdt58, I think you should experiment a bit and find your niche. Variety will be a plus, and with my royal and boa I try to mimic nature now and then. I'll feed large prey and then give a longer break then I'll follow up with smaller prey a bit more frequently.

Though with a yearling I'd provide a more steady diet until you have a developed animal. If it takes smalls, go for it and then see how mediums go.

Best of luck raising your snake!

thanks primo...i think your right variety and experiment...as i understand it they can eat a bigger item than what you think..i certanly dont want him to get fat as i have seen some Murry Darlings

allowed to get hes 12 months Christmas day so he might get a present under his tree...

many thanks MATE
:D
FROM DOWN IN OZ
 
Personally l believe that % system to be "SERIOUSLY" flawed and just one classic EG. my 7-8kg BHPs would be getting a 1-1.5 kg food item when in reality they get a 100-120 gm rat every week and mantain IMO excellent body condition....personally l like the idea in "young snakes" is that the prey item be 110-125% of the snakes body width. ~B~

I wonder about that system when someone posts about under fed snakes. If they are under weight already and then use that system to determine prey size, then it seems that they would still be underfed.
 
So "Darlyn" lets test your "LOGIC" l have a large BHP that weighs 4kgs (and is underweight as a nice weight for ir would be 6-7 kgs) so l feed it a 600-800 gm food item on your % system or one that you appear to condone l just wonder how long considering its organs are probably under stress to some extent (due to be underweight)before it gets FLS (fatty liver syndrome) and like "PRIMO" (from the states) "appears to be getting Morelia mixed in with Aspidities" and if this is not the case why is it a hot topic with "most" recogised herp vets that do pathology this FLS a REAL problem...this (IMO) is sending the wrong msg to new herpers and YES its great to have a young snake powering along "BUT" imo you/we have to learn to put the brakes on older/mature snakes "especially" Aspidities, just like as in us humans and l will say this l have "one of" the biggest coastals around and he gets a sub-adult rat weekly (150-160 gram rat) btw he is 14-15 kgs. ~B~
 
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