Quick grow or long grow?

[stiffler]

Who here grows their snakes quick and who does them slow? I think way too many people pump them too quick with the aim of breeding quicker. I tend to grow them slower myself.

 

[licky]

slower here

 

[GSXR_Boy]

Define quick or slow.
Who's to say it is too fast or slow?

 

[Ewan]

How fast is too fast?

 

[GSXR_Boy]

How fast is too fast?

Jinx

 

[Renagade]

i feed mine a moderate amount, and not regular. my snakes are not big for their age

 

[stiffler]

i feed mine a moderate amount, and not regular. my snakes are not big for their age

Yeah thats pretty much what I do. Compared to alot of people who feed their snakes every 5 days I would do it once every 10 - 14 days. My MD's are around 4-5 years of age for instance and they are about 6 foot. Other people I know who had stuff from the same clutch theirs are a foot longer than mine. But theirs have pin heads compared to mine for instance.
I have heard people who feed them fast say that if you underfeed them they will get dwarfed, and others who slow feed them will say that breeding them too early because you power fed them can also cause problems.

 

[bongie555]

i converted to power feeding 2 months ago, went from feeding my pair of 6 month old bredli's every 7 to 10 days weaner mice to fuzzy rats every 4 days and i absolutely luv the growth rate they've achieved in that time. i do plan to slow it down as they get older tho...
and i have no real plans to breed in the future..

 

[Sock Puppet]

What's too fast? I feed my juvis once a week & they're growing steadily (see link below to my thread earlier with pics)

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/6-month-old-male-bredli-growth-rate-115508

 

[bundy]

as a general rule of thumb if your snake is growning wider quicker than it is growning long this is an indication that you are feeding your snake too often. the head should be about the same width as the widest part of a snakes body. a well defined neck and spine is a good indication that your snake is not overweight.

 

[jamesbecker]

question: say you have a childrens python, that would normaly grow to about 1meter, if you power fed it and it reached 1meter in just over a year, would it stop growing or would it keep growing until it gets to a certain age?

 

[DA_GRIZ]

question: say you have a childrens python, that would normaly grow to about 1meter, if you power fed it and it reached 1meter in just over a year, would it stop growing or would it keep growing until it gets to a certain age?

it would stop, the idea of powerfeeding is just to get them to a mature breeding size quicker. you should always stop at about 18months with powerfeeding and bring them back to a normal feeding. i know of a few people power feeding and there snakes are huge at very young ages and i believe they plan to stop very soon and bring them back to normal feeding.

 

[Lewy]

Most of my snakes are fed fortnightly and they are growing in what I think is a good and healthy rate

Lewy

 

[Sock Puppet]

Most of my snakes are fed fortnightly and they are growing in what I think is a good and healthy rate

Lewy

Are they adult snakes or juvis? Most things I've read indicate feeding once a week for the first year then cutting back to fortnightly thereafter.

 

[cockney red]

Me grow slow, Joe, dont you know..

 

[Retic]

That rule can't possibly apply equally to all species, Womas and BHP's for example have a narrow head. Antaresia also have a less well defined head and neck whereas a Rough Scaled Python for example has a very broad head in relation to it's neck and body.

as a general rule of thumb if your snake is growning wider quicker than it is growning long this is an indication that you are feeding your snake too often. the head should be about the same width as the widest part of a snakes body. a well defined neck and spine is a good indication that your snake is not overweight.

 

[Lewy]

That rule can't possibly apply equally to all species, Womas and BHP's for example have a narrow head. Antaresia also have a less well defined head and neck whereas a Rough Scaled Python for example has a very broad head in relation to it's neck and body.

Agree that rule doesn't work

 

[Lewy]

Are they adult snakes or juvis? Most things I've read indicate feeding once a week for the first year then cutting back to fortnightly thereafter.

I have snakes of all ages. Like I said Most of my snakes eat fortnightly, and some eat weekly and some eat ever 3-4 weeks

Cheers Lewy

 

[amy5189]

mine are growing relatively slow. i feed every week, but sometimes its 10-14 days cuz i work didn't shifts and i can't feed them.
sometimes they get 1 item per feed time and sometimes more. last night for example, i had out 6 rats to give 3 snakes 2 each. but then one of thsoe snakes was just going into shed mode, so the other 2 had 3 little rats each.
but all of my snakes still have very well defined muscles that you can see along their bodies, and no one has fat rolls yet! lol. and all of mine seem to be very long and slender and no one has started fattening up yet....

 

[Jdsixtyone]

I feed moderate. I dont like them to grow to fast i like them when there little.