How much is too much (food that is)?

[Jenny]

I have become the owner of a rescued sub adult Murray Darling (she?s about 5 foot long and a bit under weight). Obviously I don?t know her history or how long it?s been since her last proper feed.

I?ve had her for 5 days. In that time she has eaten 6 adult mice and a medium sized rat yet she is looking for more.

Should I keep feeding her until she?s no longer hungry?

 

[deano351]

I was always told to let them poop then feed.She sould have a nice lump in her belly after a good feed

 

[Kenshin]

give her a chance to digest.....

 

[childreni_440]

i would be feeding medium to large rats to a snake that size. JMO

 

[Mcdowelli]

I was always told to let them poop then feed.

This probably isn't the best method in regards to feeding. Some particluar species such as adders have a tendancy to hold in faeces and poop a large amount at once. Personally, I have a jungle that does this also and poops once every 4-5 weeks. Apart from this, it is is a perfactly normal jungle. If i were to be feeding this snake once every 5 weeks, it would not be the ideal situation for the snake.

 

[childreni_440]

if is under weight i would feed weekly untill snake regains a healthy weight.

 

[glacey]

Waiting for the snake to pass a meal is a good way of knowing when to feed again - but every snake is different and as Mcdowelli said, some hold on. I've got a carpet that will hang on for 2-3 months sometimes.

 

[Jenny]

Thanks. I will be feeding medium rats in the future - she came without warning and mice were all I had on hand.

 

[childreni_440]

Pics of the snake may also give us more of an idea as to the actual condition of the snake.

 

[Brodie]

Do you wait until you Shiiit before you eat again?

 

[Jenny]

I'll do a picture on Saturday.

She's alert, active and looks good to me but I'm going to have her checked by a Vet on Saturday morning. I?ll also worm her as a precaution because who knows what she may have eaten while on the run. I have her quarantined from my other animals and will keep it that way for about 6 weeks.

 

[Ricko]

may i ask where she came from? as u said she was on the run??

 

[peterescue]

Do you wait until you Shiiit before you eat again?

I agree with Brodie,
If its hungry and it would like a big feed thats fine, just make sure you keep the heat up to it and get ready to clean up.
I had one rescue 1800mm python eat 2 bags of chicks(24) in one sitting, I left them in the enclosure while I went and did something else and forget about it for a couple of hours.

 

[deano351]

Common sence guys. All my pythons poop about 3 days after a feed. So the ones im building up get a feed a couple of days after that.They may not let it all out but its a good indication that there ready again.Nothing wrong with a big feed, but it sounded like it was getting a little bit every day(not aimed at you Jenny )

 

[ether]

The wait till it poos methond isnt that great, if you wait till it craps then it will instictivly leave the food in it's stomach longer. Just feed it once a week and it will be fine, dont wait till it craps before you feed again.

Cheers Alex

 

[Mcdowelli]

They may not let it all out but its a good indication that there ready again.

How?? Pythons are oppotunistic feeders. In the wild they do not sit infront of a rat for days until they have ****ted. If they digest fully and **** 3 days after feeding, i would not be surprised if this wasn't actually from thier previous meal.

 

[deano351]

As Mcdowelli said every snake is different. In my case all of my pythons crap well within a week. If not as ether said a weekly feed is usualy heaps

 

[deano351]

Would you recomend feeding 2 rats every 2nd day ?
I was only trying to give a idea of a feeding schedule that would give it a chance to digest the meal

 

[hugsta]

I would be giving it a couple of good sized rats every 3 or 4 days until it looks healthy again. Just be sure to keep it on heat to help it digest the food. The more you feed it the more it will poop, simple.

 

[Jenny]

not aimed at you Jenny

No offence taken.

She is much older and bigger than my other carpets so it?s a steep learning curve and I?m grateful for the help I can get in here.

I gave her 4 mice the first night (I guessed that was about the same as one rat). She kept giving me the hungry look. I gave her the other two mice a few days later but she kept giving me the hungry look. I went out and bought rats and gave her one. She's still giving me the hungry look but I will wait for a week before giving her another.

I have been keeping the heat up to help her digestion and because I?m uncertain of her condition and want to help her along a bit. Making sure that I?m feeding her appropriately is part of the same concern.

Anyway, there is no poo yet but I expect a BIG one, hopefully not one full of worms.