Power Feeding and Power Shedding

[saximus]

its not good at all to power feed.

Evidence?

 

[Gruni]

This really is one of those topics where there are a lot of opinions out there and it really comes down to preference. Although there is little definitive evidence I think the heart of the objections against power feeding come from instinct. It doesn't seem reasonable to accelerate nature. Even in nature the feast times mentioned, like mouse plagues, are not the norm and they are not a condition the snake lives in for protracted periods of time. To say there is no harm in it is like saying, because I go to a loud rock concert twice a year my hearing hasn't suffered therefore loud noises are not detrimental. I tend to believe that prolonged power feeding can't be good in the long term for a snake, that is not to say they can't do well being fed aggressively for limited periods.

Either way there is no need to start this point blank: You're 'Selfish' 'Stupid' 'Greedy' etc name calling.

 

[Red-Ink]

Bringing them up to breeding weight in an expedited manner through feeding is definitely feasible. It's the timeframe in which the OP has done it that I have an objection to. Quadrupuling body mass in 120 days? No worries.... I'm sure bones and internal organs can handle that.

Bringing a 300gm 6 month old hatchy to 2000gms in a timeframe of 18 months for breeding purposes is a different kettle of fish altogether.

 

[wokka]

I never claimed fatty rats were good or bad for snakes warwick. read my post > I said "I prefer feeding two medium to large rats Vs one huge jumbo rat full of fat" and thats my preference.

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Agreed, From reading your past posts it appears you base your opinions or preferences on fact rather that anecdotal comments, which is what i try to do. I have a particular interest in feed given my farming background and would say that the basis of any animal production starts with feed. There seems to be little factual evidence out there about the nutritional requirements of reptile with most beliefs based upon "internet fact" which get repeated again and again until they become "true"
A lot of these comments have no factual backing.
By comparison to reptiles there is a lot of reserch available relating to the factors effecting fat content of rats.Having read a lot of these papers it appears that the food fed to rats has the biggest effect of fat content of those rats as opposed to the age of the rats. A lot of rat breeders chose to feed rats veggies meat and in particular dog food. These supplements result in an inconsistent diet for the rats which in turn can result in variable fat content in the rats fed those feeds. In general rats fed a high fat diet such as dog food will have higher percentage of fat than those fed a lower fat diet, so the feed which has produced the rat is more inportant than the actual size of the rat.
A Jumbo rat fed a low fat feed such as biomare is likely to have a lower percentage of fat than a medium rat fed a high fat food such as dog kibble.