feeding amounts
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Surfcop24
Very Well-Known Member
Amazed you havent got any responses to this..... As everyone has their own opinion....... Mine is as follows...
I have two Coastal Carpets...Near one year old... I am feeding them one "smallish rat" every 10-14 days...
As I said..that is my opinion...and everyone else will have theirs as you will find out....
I have two Coastal Carpets...Near one year old... I am feeding them one "smallish rat" every 10-14 days...
As I said..that is my opinion...and everyone else will have theirs as you will find out....
i have 1 just on a year, fed on adult mice and fuzzy rats (alternated about every 8-10days), 1 about 2yr old, on weaner rats and fed at about the same interval. and a 6-7ft adult fed on large rats, rabbits, ginuea pigs about every 2-3 weeks.
this routine came down to observation. when they deficate it out plus 2 or 3 days on top i think is a good balance for growth but not power feeding.
i dont believe in rushing to breed by power feeding. if you want to breed that much then buy a pair of adults.
this routine came down to observation. when they deficate it out plus 2 or 3 days on top i think is a good balance for growth but not power feeding.
i dont believe in rushing to breed by power feeding. if you want to breed that much then buy a pair of adults.
Surfcop24
Very Well-Known Member
eah agree with R1man in that you wait till the deficate..... plus the few days... I also notice mine get a lot more active, moving round the enclosure alot more as though they are looking for something to eat...
SNKMST
Well-Known Member
I generally feed mine then night or the day after they start hunting which is usually every 10-14 days and if you follow the rule of feeding somthing that will leave a slight bulge in the thickest part of the snake you should be ok.
I agree with boa, I have a range of coastals from hatchling to 2 1/2yr olds. The older ones get fed every 10 days give or take and the little ones get fed every 5 days give or take. Power feeding is giving it to them every 3 days. Once every 2 weeks is a bit too slow IMO, as they will take forever to gain any size compared to feeding them every 10 days if they are older. As full grown adults you can certainly feed tham a lot less and just maintain a healthy weight range for them.
The mistake some people make is assume that feeding every 4 ,5 or 6 days is bad, why is it bad ? Why does a snake have to defaecate before it can eat again ? Not to put too fine a point on it but do humans ? No, we don't. Why does a snake have to be 4 or 5 years old to breed ? Who decided this was the best age and where is the research to back it up ?
I know a great many breeders who breed their animals at a very early age, often under 2 years and with no reported ill effects.
Now don't get me wrong if people want to feed their animals every 2 weeks or whatever then that is fine. All my snakes will start to look hungry and start hunting a few days after they have been fed.
No-one will convince me that a snake in the wild wouldn't eat every single day if it had the opportunity.
There is no right or wrong, if you choose to grow your snakes at a snails pace that's OK and if you choose to feed them twice a week that is equally fine and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I know a great many breeders who breed their animals at a very early age, often under 2 years and with no reported ill effects.
Now don't get me wrong if people want to feed their animals every 2 weeks or whatever then that is fine. All my snakes will start to look hungry and start hunting a few days after they have been fed.
No-one will convince me that a snake in the wild wouldn't eat every single day if it had the opportunity.
There is no right or wrong, if you choose to grow your snakes at a snails pace that's OK and if you choose to feed them twice a week that is equally fine and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
SNKMST
Well-Known Member
I should have stated that mine are currently 2
Personally, I think we all tend to overfeed. Feeding to breed at 2.5 is fine, but not necessarily healthly for the animal. Having dissected both captive and wild pythons, the difference in body fat is scary........hardly any in the wild caught and always heaps in the captives.
Apparently ideal feeding for a python is a 25gm mouse, per 450gm snake - a fortnight.
My young ones normally get fed every 10 days and adults a rat every 3-4 weeks
Apparently ideal feeding for a python is a 25gm mouse, per 450gm snake - a fortnight.
My young ones normally get fed every 10 days and adults a rat every 3-4 weeks
ScottBec
Active Member
We have a Coastal that will be 1 year on the 1st of Feb and he is getting two fuzzies about every 12 days (in line with our time off). He was approx 40cm at the end of May (when we got him) and is now almost 75 cm. He had his second shed since we've had him (Late May till now) about a month ago.
I wouldn't mind feeding him bigger or more often as he seems to eat, then usually about three days later he is 'hunting' again...
I wouldn't mind feeding him bigger or more often as he seems to eat, then usually about three days later he is 'hunting' again...
hi scottbec,
feed him biger items, my 40 cm maccies are eating 2x 1 week old rats, your snake should be on at least weaner mice now at that size, up to you how often you feed, but the fact that he is looking for food after 3 days should be enough to tell you he needs some more food,
i feed all my snakes between 5 to 8 days, depending on other jobs i have, most get a few items, my bhp's are eating 3 x 4 week old rats at a time, they are only about 10 months old, my yearling jungle will eat adult mice, about 4 at a time and be looking for more in a weeks time,
a lot of the time will depend on the snake as to how active it is, but thats just my opinion,
cheers,
steve.......
feed him biger items, my 40 cm maccies are eating 2x 1 week old rats, your snake should be on at least weaner mice now at that size, up to you how often you feed, but the fact that he is looking for food after 3 days should be enough to tell you he needs some more food,
i feed all my snakes between 5 to 8 days, depending on other jobs i have, most get a few items, my bhp's are eating 3 x 4 week old rats at a time, they are only about 10 months old, my yearling jungle will eat adult mice, about 4 at a time and be looking for more in a weeks time,
a lot of the time will depend on the snake as to how active it is, but thats just my opinion,
cheers,
steve.......
iceman
Well-Known Member
boa thats because poeple r different to pythons thats why an feeding every 5 to 6 days is power feeding IMO.
basketcase
Well-Known Member
iceman said:
i was going to say something about anthropomorphism, but it seem iceman has said it for me.
ScottBec
Active Member
Well, the little plastic container the 'fuzzies' are/were coming in didn't exactly say if they were mice or rats... And Scott and I, not knowing much about mice/rats, assumed they were frozen mice... So we went and bought a pair of mice to breed (and maybe save a few dollars)...
Only to find that the baby mice were no where near the size of the 'pink only just furry' frozen fuzzie rodents... Now we have had to feed and keep seven little mice and the breeders for about four weeks so that they are about the same size and the frozen 'fuzzies'
(and I tell you what, these little mice have so much energy from eating ALL the time, I'm glad they're on the far end of the veranda)
Only to find that the baby mice were no where near the size of the 'pink only just furry' frozen fuzzie rodents... Now we have had to feed and keep seven little mice and the breeders for about four weeks so that they are about the same size and the frozen 'fuzzies'
(and I tell you what, these little mice have so much energy from eating ALL the time, I'm glad they're on the far end of the veranda)
foxysnake
Well-Known Member
Its been proven that snakes in the wild have an empty tract for quite a large percentage of their life, power feeding (in hatchies/juvies) is feeding them regularly without waiting for them to defecate. The reason power feeding is frowned upon by most people is because is it can be harmful to young snakes especially in their first year, as they are still forming esp their internal/reproductive organs etc. and powerfeeding tends to shorten their lifespan - something about extra stimulating the cells to split and grow rapidly in snakes whereas letting them grow at a natural rate. To use humans as an example as Boa did, think of male bodybuilders who are on large amount of steroids to stimulate muscle growth and than think of what it does to their, umm, reproductive organsHowever alot of people try to justify powerfeeding by saying they want to breed with the animal at a young age, or that they want the juvie to get its adult colours quicker. Each to their own really, I prefer to feed my snake every 2 weeks, its not quite a year old yet but than again I don't want my snake getting fat or the complications involved with having a fat snake.
Glacey, it would be really interesting to see some comparison photos of autopsies of wild lean snakes and fatty captive snakes, I know I'd personally appreciate it. Though I don't think even that would change people's minds in relation to feeding!
Glacey, it would be really interesting to see some comparison photos of autopsies of wild lean snakes and fatty captive snakes, I know I'd personally appreciate it. Though I don't think even that would change people's minds in relation to feeding!
foxysnake
Well-Known Member
Forgot to add Scottbec, the majority of people tend to prefer feeding mostly rats as they hold a 'greater nutritional value' than mice. Though a few people like to offer their reptiles a bit of variety - mice, baby chickens or baby ducks. I've been told to steer clear of chickens and ducks however, as they hold heaps of body fat, and their claws can actually do great demage if eaten by the snake - as in the claws can tear the stomach lining of the snake and cause trouble and if the chicken/duck is to big can lead to canker in snakes which is mouth rot caused by the snakes teeth breaking off because the food item is to big.
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