New snake owner: questions regarding feeding and heating for young Stimson's python.

[sanna]

Hi guys
Just a couple of questions regarding feeding my 5 month old female stimmi. I've only had her for less than a month now and so far I've just been feeding her once a week. But from several posts on here I've read about other people feeding their young stimsons 2-3 times a week and such :S. Just a bit confused, I just want to do what is most benificial to my snake. I do want her to reach a good size but I've heard of power feeding which is apparently really bad for snakes? Anyway, from what I've read I was wondering whether feeding her every 4-5 days would be better than once a week while she is young. The first two times I fed her I gave her 1 pinkie and the last time I fed her I gave her 1 velvety (or fuzzie? unsure what they are called, the size up.) Just wondering whether I should continue giving her 1 velvet or try her with 2 pinkies?

Also, since I am new to owning a snake, I'm just curious about how the life stages are classified. Is a hatchling from birth to 1 year? What age makes a snake a juvenille or adult?

One final question. My snake likes to go under her artificial grass mat and sit directly on top of her heat mat. I've tried discouraging this by placing her rock and hide in a way that she can't get under the mat but she still manages to find her way under somehow. I'm not particulary bothered by it as I know that she won't be able to do it once she gets bigger, but if it is bad for her I will definitely put a stop to it somehow. p.s. her tank is at the right temperature with her warm side where her hide sits at about 30-32 degrees (slightly colder than I'd like, but remembering that is is currently winter.)
Thanks for any help, I am loving being a snake owner and this site is very helpful

 

[Tobe404]

I go by the rule of:

Once every five days up to six months old.
Once every six days 6-9 months old.
Once every seven days 9-12 months old.
Once every 7-10 days 1-2 years old.
Once every 14 days 2 years plus.

Provided you are offering appropriately sized meals.
I'm only new to keeping Snakes myself but it seems to be working pretty good so far.

If your Stimmie took the Velvet/Fuzzy fine I'd keep it on that.

As far as sitting directly on the heatmat... It shouldn't matter as long as it is hooked up to a thermostat so the temperature is controlled and therefore will not overheat.

 

[Skelhorn]

All depends on meal size, temperature and tank set ups. If your only feeding pinkie mice then twice a week couldn't hurt. At that age however I upgraded my two stimson's to pinkie rats...more enjoyable and increases growth. These were only fed once a week (every 6-8 days).
Keep an eye on the heat mat. If your snake looks like its underbelly is changing then it could be burns...otherwise slightly drop the temp on the heat mat if you are really that concerned. Also just properly read your post...pinkie what, velvet what? If your feeding mice upgrade to rats...so either a pinkie rat or velvet mice.

Your call!

I go by the rule of:

Once every five days up to six months old.
Once every six days 6-9 months old.
Once every seven days 9-12 months old.
Once every 7-10 days 1-2 years old.
Once every 14 days 2 years plus.

Provided you are offering appropriately sized meals.
I'm only new to keeping Snakes myself but it seems to be working pretty good so far.

In regards to this don't stress also if your snake doesn't stick to the roster. My stimson's (now just over 1 1/2 years of age) have not eaten since summer. They are perfectly fine and going strong.

 

[jonez]

Hey mate in regards to feeding id go 4-5 days on a fuzzy the quicker u get em onto somethin furry the better ( diegestion wise i am lead to belive) but just be mindful of the size of ur snake if it starts gettin plump cut back on the food. Also i do not condone power feeding it is unnessicary and very bad For the snake.

As for life stages i belive its hatchie till 6months then juvi till a year then yearling but not 100% just the way i have think it works .

With the going under the mat it might be cosier for him if the hides to big they tend not to use it. But i dont reckon its a problem with it goin there.

 

[Coppersimon]

Heat mats can burn and burn badly with direct contact. I always put a tile over my heat pads just for to be safe

 

[sanna]

Sorry, they are mice. So I'm thinking that I should go with the fuzzy's once every 5 days until she is 6 months and go from there
I've tested how hot her mat gets and it only reaches 36/37 degrees, so I doubt that would be enough to burn her (I made sure to get a good quality expensive one with the attached thermostat, reptapets I believe.) But I will keep an eye on her to make sure that is isn't. She has a 40 watt heat light over her warm area as well. I brought it to encourage her to come out of her hide/under the mat a bit more (I do know that she is nocternal however.) It's worked a bit, but mostly just keeps her ambient temperature up just that bit more, particulary with how cold it is atm.
Just regarding my question about the names of different ages? eg. hatchling, juevenile, adult. I've run searches through google and this site but can't seem to find out.

 

[Coppersimon]

Heat mats can burn and burn badly with direct contact. I always put a tile over my heat pads just for to be safe. Just my opinion.

 

[Goth-Girl]

Get a Tile on the heat mat asap..Prevention is better than cure!! Don't risk getting her burnt!! Just my opinion..

 

[April451]

I got my stimmi when she was about 7 months and she was being fed one pinkie a week. I changed her to one pinkie every 5 days and basically went by the size of the lump in her tummy and her behaviour as to when to change her to the next size up. One thing I found when I first got her is that the size of the mice can vary a bit depending on where you get them so you have to go by what you think is appropriate. You'll get to know your snake and she'll let you know if it's not enough .
Iv'e never been completely sure about the different stages in age either tbh And from what Iv'e seen on here, there are some variations on opinion....
Congrats on your new stimmi, they're such awesome and fascinating things, snakes. You'll soon find youv'e caught the addiction . The amount of time I spend on here, and talking about pythons is mental(I feel bad for people around me but can't help it)...and my wish list just keeps growing...

 

[sanna]

It isn't a cheap heat mat that reaches high temperatures (enough to burn.) It is a high quality thermostat controlled one (reptapets) and when I have tested how hot it gets with a different thermeter probe it only reaches 37 degrees max when it is turned all the way up (I left the probe on it for over an hour.) The reason I asked was because I was more concerned about whether sitting on it is bad for her because of the electricity waves or however it is that it works (similar to how you shouldn't sleep with your electric blanket on?) Obviously I will keep a close eye on her but I'm not worried about it burning her as it is thermostat controlled. I respect your opinion, but that's just mine as I don't think my heat mat would be anywhere near warm enough with a tile over it. I've actually had trouble with it not being warm enough, thus why I purchased a heat light.

Thanks April, yeah I'm sure that I will figure out more as I go along She ate the fuzzy fine last time and digested it after about 4 days so I think I will go with the fuzzy every 5 days until she gets to 6 months then drop down to every 6 days as Tobe404 suggested. Yeah I'm super happy with my Stimmi she is gorgeous and such a placid temperment. Couple of pics at the end of the Antarestia Freaks thread if you're interesting in seeing her. At the moment I'm happy with just her as I'm new to owning snakes and still living at home but I'm sure when I move out I will get more . For now I can handle my boyfriends snakes (he has soo because his mum was very into them, my favourites of his would have to be his water pythons and bredlis.) They are very fascinating creatures indeed

 

[moussaka]

Do be aware though that even good-quality heatmats can malfunction - while the probability may be low, the potential for burns is not nonexistent. I'd really follow the advice you're being given to cover the heat mat with a tile.

 

[katjase]

defently have the heat mat run through a thermostat, the tile is great advise i do the same

 

[Skelhorn]

It isn't a cheap heat mat that reaches high temperatures (enough to burn.) It is a high quality thermostat controlled one (reptapets) and when I have tested how hot it gets with a different thermeter probe it only reaches 37 degrees max when it is turned all the way up (I left the probe on it for over an hour.)

Even an expensive BMW can ******* itself. These days it doesn't matter whether you buy the $60 heat mat from the petstore with a sticker on it or the $15 one off ebay that looks and performs exactly the same. The truth is...they both came from China/

As said above I'd def go with a tile. Regardless of thermostat. The tile also gives a larger area and perfectly disperses the heat evenly across the whole surface.

I use tiles over all my heatmats and that is where I find the snakes a lot of the time. Its a perfect heat for them.

 

[smileysnake]

hey april...(i feel bad for people around me but cant help it) lol im exactly the same thats all i talk about people comment when i dont talk about my snakes im like a little kid with a new toy i just love snakes so much i feel mental about them too lol and im almost 40 years old lol its very hard to find people who like them thats why im on here every day just to get my daily fix of all things snakes.See its happening again no punctuation at all.......