Prey size & frequency for long term health

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Tabbie

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I have an albino Darwin. At the moment he/she is about 2 1/2 years old and weighs about 3300 grams. I’m feeding him 1 jumbo rat every 7-10 days.
Question:
For his long term health is it better for him to continue with this, or feed him larger prey at longer intervals?
What size and schedule would you recommend going forward?
I’ll pop some photos below.
(My husbands a fan of XXXX, it was what I had handy for scale when I took the photos)

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that's one big 2 1/2-year-old snake!- the fold in its back is a sign of an overweight snake

Definitely cut back the feeds unless you're planning to breed and know its a female
to every 2 months or more until that dent goes away, your snake can definitely go a very VERY long time (a year+ )with no feed and be absolutely fine

I'm feeding my snakes every month or so 200-500g rats (depending on the snake)
 
that's one big 2 1/2-year-old snake!- the fold in its back is a sign of an overweight snake

Definitely cut back the feeds unless you're planning to breed and know its a female
to every 2 months or more until that dent goes away, your snake can definitely go a very VERY long time (a year+ )with no feed and be absolutely fine

I'm feeding my snakes every month or so 200-500g rats (depending on the snake)
Thank you!
I feel like a terrible snake mum 😬
He’s always been super easy going. Since I got him as a hatchie he’s loved to eat only misses a feed on the week he sheds. I’ve just kept moving him up in size at each stage until well.. here we are.
Again thank you for the advice, I’ll keep him on the jumbos just every 8 weeks or so until the ridge is gone.
Another question moving forward, sorry. I have read that extra large, supers and jumbos etc are just bigger because they’re overweight and are quite fatty. Once he has lost the ridge, should I move him to say a small rabbit every 6-8 weeks or are the jumbo rats still ok for him every 4-6 weeks?
 
I'd reduce frequency for sure. That fold/dent is a sign your snake is chunky/overweight, I'm guilty of it too sometimes, and I try to be super conscious of overfeeding. What about XL Quails?
 
I'd reduce frequency for sure. That fold/dent is a sign your snake is chunky/overweight, I'm guilty of it too sometimes, and I try to be super conscious of overfeeding. What about XL Quails?
Thank you 😊
I have given him quail before as a treat instead of a rat. He was unsure at first, but as a lover of food he didn’t say no. Are they a better option for him nutrition wise? As a staple or every few meals as an alternative?
 
I'm not sure quail are better, but they aren't worse either, I assume quail have a lot of roughage in the feathers etc. and gut. People also say they may have slightly less fat and calcium compared to rat. I dunno, TBH.

I feel quail might be leaner? Some people feed mostly quail to their snakes, most feed rats, I mix it up about 50:50. One day I'll move up to rabbit and chooks only diet, maybe with the odd big rat. That'll be fine too.

I also assume Darwin's would chomp a fair few birds in the wild, so yeah, an alternative or staple or randomly are all OK, I'd introduce them into the regular rotation for sure.
 
I'm not sure quail are better, but they aren't worse either, I assume quail have a lot of roughage in the feathers etc. and gut. People also say they may have slightly less fat and calcium compared to rat. I dunno, TBH.

I feel quail might be leaner? Some people feed mostly quail to their snakes, most feed rats, I mix it up about 50:50. One day I'll move up to rabbit and chooks only diet, maybe with the odd big rat. That'll be fine too.

I also assume Darwin's would chomp a fair few birds in the wild, so yeah, an alternative or staple or randomly are all OK, I'd introduce them into the regular rotation for sure.
yes, I always use a 50/50 rotation and I have used it for 10 years now it works well!
 

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