feeding amounts
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Sorry guys don't have pics of autopsies, I'm useless at remembering to carry a camera 
The figure I mentioned earlier (25g mouse for a 450 gm snake) was a figure given in a handling course I went to, it's also similar to something I read online somewhere. From memory, the 25g was all the snake needed to function, anymore would end up stored as fat.
The figure I mentioned earlier (25g mouse for a 450 gm snake) was a figure given in a handling course I went to, it's also similar to something I read online somewhere. From memory, the 25g was all the snake needed to function, anymore would end up stored as fat.
Surfcop24
Very Well-Known Member
AS I KNEW IT WOULD BE...EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT OPINIONS....
Some right...some more right....some not so right........
Interesting fact Glacey..Would love to see where that info was picked up from... Anyone know..
I dont think I underfeed mine...at between 10-14 days...One smallish Rat. Mine are Coastals just on a year old...And are aprrox 1 metre long.... Anyone else got measurements for year old coastals..???
Snakeitup...As you can see many people do different things...and most of their snakes live...that we know of... So go with what you think might be best...If something doesnt work...well you learn by it..
Have Fun..
Some right...some more right....some not so right........
Interesting fact Glacey..Would love to see where that info was picked up from... Anyone know..
I dont think I underfeed mine...at between 10-14 days...One smallish Rat. Mine are Coastals just on a year old...And are aprrox 1 metre long.... Anyone else got measurements for year old coastals..???
Snakeitup...As you can see many people do different things...and most of
their snakes live...that we know of... So go with what you think might be best...If something doesnt work...well you learn by it..Have Fun..
foxysnake
Well-Known Member
buck said:
Actually I found it to be an amusing analogy, as comparison to what the steroids are meant to do - enhance muscle growth. And don't people power feed their snakes to enhance length, colour and breeding?! That's how I meant it anyhow, not from a scientific view.
thanks
cheers guys,
i can see that it varies quiet a bit between different keepers what amount they feed their pythons, i appreciate all your replies and will take all the information on board.
james
cheers guys,
i can see that it varies quiet a bit between different keepers what amount they feed their pythons, i appreciate all your replies and will take all the information on board.
james
hi james,
thats the best way, but after that, do what you think is best, i don't think anyone can really know for sure the BEST way,
trueblue ! how do you really know they won't feed every day given the chance, how do you know they are always empty, how do you really know it's bad for them, do you know how many snakes starve to death in the wild because they are underfed, do you know the % of hatchlings that grow to adults, i'm not having a go at you, as i think most of your ways seem right, i really would like to know the answers,
if i snake gets sick and has been fed every 5 days, will it have a better chance to survive an operation then a snake that is fed every month?
in my opinion you can't really compare feeding times between a wild snake and a captive snake, weither you feed them weekly or monthly, it's still wrong, because a snake in the wild never feeds at the same time every week or month, we just can't really know?
just my opinions and some real questions i'd like answered,
and yes, i feed my snakes from every 5 days to every 14 days, but i always try to change the day and time between feeds, some times i feed on friday, sometimes on tuesday, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning, i hope you can understand what i'm asking and also the way i feed my snakes, i also change the prey ( rats and mice ) if the snake lets me, and also the size and number of prey items,
cheers,
steve......
thats the best way, but after that, do what you think is best, i don't think anyone can really know for sure the BEST way,
trueblue ! how do you really know they won't feed every day given the chance, how do you know they are always empty, how do you really know it's bad for them, do you know how many snakes starve to death in the wild because they are underfed, do you know the % of hatchlings that grow to adults, i'm not having a go at you, as i think most of your ways seem right, i really would like to know the answers,
if i snake gets sick and has been fed every 5 days, will it have a better chance to survive an operation then a snake that is fed every month?
in my opinion you can't really compare feeding times between a wild snake and a captive snake, weither you feed them weekly or monthly, it's still wrong, because a snake in the wild never feeds at the same time every week or month, we just can't really know?
just my opinions and some real questions i'd like answered,
and yes, i feed my snakes from every 5 days to every 14 days, but i always try to change the day and time between feeds, some times i feed on friday, sometimes on tuesday, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning, i hope you can understand what i'm asking and also the way i feed my snakes, i also change the prey ( rats and mice ) if the snake lets me, and also the size and number of prey items,
cheers,
steve......
Steve, I know because Ive seen it with my own eyes what over feeding can do to a python. Over fed snakes tend to have alot of medical probs later in life, they regulary lay a percentage of slugs most years and they look generally like crap. You will never see a fat obese python in the wild, some in really good condition occasionly, but not fat, yet Ive lost count how many fat snakes Ive seen in captivity.
There are a number of papers out on the stomach contence of wild snakes, everyone ive read has only found something like 10% of pythons with any trace of food what so ever, so we are talking weeks or months between feeds not hours or days!!!. A baby python only needs a half doz feeds to last the year even abit less.
There are a number of papers out on the stomach contence of wild snakes, everyone ive read has only found something like 10% of pythons with any trace of food what so ever, so we are talking weeks or months between feeds not hours or days!!!. A baby python only needs a half doz feeds to last the year even abit less.
Rob, I actually agree with most of what you say there. A fat obese snake is not a pretty sight. That is the reason I wouldn't let any of mine get fat and lazy. I have see snakes that are almost too big to move and like I say that is not a good look.
Probably the one thing I will question is the fact that a young snake only NEEDS half a dozen feeds to last the year, what it needs and what it wants are two very different things.
Probably the one thing I will question is the fact that a young snake only NEEDS half a dozen feeds to last the year, what it needs and what it wants are two very different things.
PilbaraPythons
Very Well-Known Member
The fact remains that generally speaking snakes are opportunists i.e. will eat every bird in the nest until they physically can't fit any thing more in their now contorted body. In captivity they will do the same if given the chance but usually with out a deliberate period from the keeper to fast.
Just because a reptile may want to continuously feed it doesn?t necessarily mean that it is physically beneficial for the animal in the long term. I find that obese males seem reluctant to mate and with these, lean and mean is not a bad way to go. Having said this I do tend to over feed my youngsters until they are of breeding age and I like to keep my females a little fat.
Cheers Dave
Just because a reptile may want to continuously feed it doesn?t necessarily mean that it is physically beneficial for the animal in the long term. I find that obese males seem reluctant to mate and with these, lean and mean is not a bad way to go. Having said this I do tend to over feed my youngsters until they are of breeding age and I like to keep my females a little fat.
Cheers Dave
True Ashley but the point Im trying to make is that the baby python that has minimal feeds in the first year will in most cases live a long trouble free life yet the baby that gets stuffed full every 5 days in the first year has a dam good chance of having a greatly shortened life. I have seen this many times. 5 days is not long enough for the animal to completly digest and pass everything so you end up with a python that is 24/7 digesting food and this is definitly IMO a recipe for disaster. their metabolisim needs rest and snakes feed like that get none.
The only thing I object to is this 'the baby that gets stuffed full every 5 days in the first year has a dam good chance of having a greatly shortened life'. If you can produce independent evidence to support this I am more than happy to change my ways because I am flexible. It isn't enough to say 'I have see it many times'. I have spoken to numerous breeders who feed their animals as often and in many cases more often than I do and have suffered no ill effects because of it.
The problem is that newbies read all this and get thoroughly confused by such conflicting advice. It is obvious from replies to this thread alone and others that a great many people feed their animals every 5 days or so. All I am saying to you is prove to me it is harmful, I am more than willing to listen.
The problem is that newbies read all this and get thoroughly confused by such conflicting advice. It is obvious from replies to this thread alone and others that a great many people feed their animals every 5 days or so. All I am saying to you is prove to me it is harmful, I am more than willing to listen.
TrueBlue said:
Ive seen the proof with me own eyes and I dare say you will to in a few years time. What more can I say?. Plus a lot of breeders wont admit it when things like that happen because they know better, but greed takes over. This I have seen a number of times as well.
I think what we have to remember here is that you are obviously very passionate about your animals as am I. We both have very different views on at least 2 main subjects and in my eyes that is absolutely fine.
What we also need to remember is that I too hate to see obese overweight snakes and I certainly don't have any in my collection.
What you must do is accept there can be 2 sides to anything, there are a great many people who follow the exact same feeding regime as I do and have done for years.
As long as these discussions remain good natured they can only help the hobby as a whole.
What we also need to remember is that I too hate to see obese overweight snakes and I certainly don't have any in my collection.
What you must do is accept there can be 2 sides to anything, there are a great many people who follow the exact same feeding regime as I do and have done for years.
As long as these discussions remain good natured they can only help the hobby as a whole.
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I think it is rare to see an obese yearling and I can't over the years even remember seeing one. They just grow!!! (unless kept in completely wrong conditions, small cage, wrong temp)
That's right Allan, I think if the same regime is carried over when the snake is say 2 years old then it has the possiblilty to become a threat to it's health.
I just read a little piece by a Victorian Vet by the name of Helen McCracken, she is/ was I think employed by the Melbourne Zoo/Healesville Sanctuary. Her recommendation is to feed snake twice a week to once a fortnight depending on the size /age of the animal. This is from a Veterinary perspective.
I just read a little piece by a Victorian Vet by the name of Helen McCracken, she is/ was I think employed by the Melbourne Zoo/Healesville Sanctuary. Her recommendation is to feed snake twice a week to once a fortnight depending on the size /age of the animal. This is from a Veterinary perspective.
craig.a.c
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My yearling coastals gets 1-2 fuzzy rats every 7-10 days and is doing fine. She is a little over 3ft now. My 2.5yr old stimmie gets 1 small adult rat every 14 days and he is 3ft, not growing much anymore.
Well IMO and experiance most of the damage from over feeding is done in the first 2 years especially the first 12 months. Imo pythons need time and metobolic REST to let their organs etc develop and grow propally. Problems do occur when they are feed to frequently when young.
Ive seen many fat bodied and pin headed pythons at 12 months of age they seems to be getting more and more common in collections these days.
Ive seen many fat bodied and pin headed pythons at 12 months of age they seems to be getting more and more common in collections these days.
Absolutely, I have seen them myself but not in my reptile room. I have Diamonds, Bredli and a lone Jungle all of which are fed in the same way and they are lean and mean, no pin heads and certainly no fat. The BHP's and Womas are just big eating machines but I have been told they look good so that's alright by me.
We do actually agree that fat snakes are a no no. We do things differently thats all.
I have Diamonds, Bredli and a lone Jungle all of which are fed in the same way and they are lean and mean, no pin heads and certainly no fat. The BHP's and Womas are just big eating machines but I have been told they look good so that's alright by me.We do actually agree that fat snakes are a no no. We do things differently thats all.
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