Rehabilitating abandoned Darwin

[Gruni]

I think all the key advice re feeding and handling have been sensibly given so I won't repeat it but I do wish you and your new companion well as he gets the care he deserves. I think on the whole you will find this a supportive community even if you get the odd vexed or nondiplomatic reply.

I must admit one of the first things I wondered about was how do you go about sorting the paper work on a situation like this. Did the vet contact the girl and get her license number or is NPWS/DEC a bit more flexibe if it is abandoned and the vet gives a statement to that effect?

 

[Dendrobates]

Most people on this site believe that snakes eat every seven days and if you don't do that they will die. Feeding at the frequency that you are will not hurt the snakes at all in the short term, snakes are opportunistic feeders and if hungry will take food as often as it is provided. I'm not sure how big your snakes are but try and feed them the largest food item they can possible handle (a decent sized lump in the body). Darwin carpets can eat fuzzy mice from the day they hatch so that is probably too small. If you feed them often they will put on condition and grow very quickly. I prefer to feed snakes VERY irregularly.
Temperament varies between each individual snake, you can get a clutch that has very placid and absolute psychos in it.

 

[andynic07]

Sounds like everyone is telling you to feed bigger prey but not saying what size. I find it is best to weigh your snake and feed them 20%-25% of that weight.

 

[Gruni]

I would have said 15-20% Andy... but yes I missed that point and might have thought the vet would have given you a bit of advice on that one. If I fed my Mac 25% of her body weight she would look ready to pop. :lol:

To get the % (90-100gr) that I feed Sittles it is made up of 2 good sized rats or 3 large adult mice as a single rat that size would be too big for her to swallow.

 

[andynic07]

I would have said 15-20% Andy... but yes I missed that point and might have thought the vet would have given you a bit of advice on that one. If I fed my Mac 25% of her body weight she would look ready to pop. :lol:

To get the % (90-100gr) that I feed Sittles it is made up of 2 good sized rats or 3 large adult mice as a single rat that size would be too big for her to swallow.

I usually feed mine 20% as a general rule but have gone up to 25%. They usually take a while to eat a feed that is up around the 25% mark but always seem to handle it fine. My younger snakes probably stay around 18%-20% but more regular than the larger snakes get. Not saying that 15%-20% is wrong but I do not use these percentages , I guess if both lots of snakes are healthy then we are both right and it comes down to personal preference. Also I usually feed 1 whole rat until over 250g then I usually feed multiple smaller ones due to fat content, again not trying to say who is right and who is wrong as I have heard arguments for both sides that make sense.

 

[Darlyn]

Most people on this site believe that snakes eat every seven days and if you don't do that they will die. .

Wow, that is a huge generalisation and quite stupid.

 

[Dendrobates]

Wow, that is a huge generalisation and quite stupid.

Please explain to me how what I said is quite stupid? Read how often people tell others on here to feed their snakes every 7 days, or others that worry when their snake has not eaten on that 7th day.

 

[Gruni]

I know what you mean Andy and it depends a bit on the species and size of the snake too I guess. Skittles is a 2yo Mac and so I need to make up the feed in multiple items as she wouldn't manage a 100gr rat in a fit. I also wasn't trying to suggest 25% is wrong just suggesting that it needn't be quite so big for her new charge to start recovering from its previous neglect.

 

[Darlyn]

As I have already said. It is a HUGE generalisation, completely untrue and hence stupid.

 

[andynic07]

I know what you mean Andy and it depends a bit on the species and size of the snake too I guess. Skittles is a 2yo Mac and so I need to make up the feed in multiple items as she wouldn't manage a 100gr rat in a fit. I also wasn't trying to suggest 25% is wrong just suggesting that it needn't be quite so big for her new charge to start recovering from its previous neglect.

Quite true but don't underestimate your snake, obviously you know your snake a whole lot better than I do but my 3yo spotted eats 120g rats, she is 1100mm long and 620g.

 

[andynic07]

Please explain to me how what I said is quite stupid? Read how often people tell others on here to feed their snakes every 7 days, or others that worry when their snake has not eaten on that 7th day.

I think when some people state that you should feed a snake every 7 days they are mainly talking about young snakes and the true meaning is give or take a few days. People that are new to the hobby need a rule of thumb and that is the information given. There is the occasional person who takes these figures as gospel and nothing else is right but not everyone that states specific figures is meaning to be that specific.

 

[Dendrobates]

I think when some people state that you should feed a snake every 7 days they are mainly talking about young snakes and the true meaning is give or take a few days. People that are new to the hobby need a rule of thumb and that is the information given. There is the occasional person who takes these figures as gospel and nothing else is right but not everyone that states specific figures is meaning to be that specific.

What you have said is what I was implying, some people just take it too literally. Newbies read that they should feed their snakes around once a week and tend to worry if they can't do this or if the snake doesn't eat for a few weeks. People saying that the snake is being harmed by being fed every 3 days is just silly, yes it's metabolism will be in over drive but once it is not being fed that often it will level out. The snake will just have a sped-up growth rate. Power-feeding or 'skarfing' is not as bad as people make it out to be.
Sometimes people in this hobby need to think outside of forums and melamine boxes and learn about how snakes operate in this wonderful place called the 'wild'.

 

[Dendrobates]

No wonder so many of the knowledgable people have left because they are sick of being told that they are wrong when most of what they are trying to explain is what they have been doing for more years than those giving the wrong advice have been alive.

 

[Davesgonefishin]

Get the dry skin off by putting him in a damp pillow case & giving him a bit of a gentle rub. It might stress him again for a short time but at least after that you should be able to leave him alone for a while without the worry of the bad slough.

 

[KaotikJezta]

What you have said is what I was implying, some people just take it too literally. Newbies read that they should feed their snakes around once a week and tend to worry if they can't do this or if the snake doesn't eat for a few weeks. People saying that the snake is being harmed by being fed every 3 days is just silly, yes it's metabolism will be in over drive but once it is not being fed that often it will level out. The snake will just have a sped-up growth rate. Power-feeding or 'skarfing' is not as bad as people make it out to be.
Sometimes people in this hobby need to think outside of forums and melamine boxes and learn about how snakes operate in this wonderful place called the 'wild'.

I get what your saying, but why feed three small items a week when you could just feed one larger one. Snakes in the wild don't powerfeed, they feed when the opportunity arises. Sometimes this means a glut other times almost a famine. They also brumate properly and are not heated constantly year round. I don't think I have ever seen an obese snake in the wild but there are plenty floating around in captivity.

 

[Dendrobates]

I get what your saying, but why feed three small items a week when you could just feed one larger one. Snakes in the wild don't powerfeed, they feed when the opportunity arises. Sometimes this means a glut other times almost a famine. They also brumate properly and are not heated constantly year round. I don't think I have ever seen an obese snake in the wild but there are plenty floating around in captivity.

I wasn't referring to this snake in particular, I actually meant that you could feed 3 large items a week and get away with it for a while. Snakes in the wild will most certainly powerfeed if they have the opportunity, if food sources are plentiful then they will eat as much as they can possibly handle, sometimes eating more than once a day everyday. It depends on where they are found to whether they brumate or not or eat all year round. Snakes in northern Australia will eat all year round because of the temperatures that they experience. You are right, most snakes in captivity are way overweight but obese snakes do exist in the wild and they can be seen often after good seasons or rodent plagues.

 

[Stuart]

*Nonchalant whistling*
If you can't play nice, don't play at all. Differing opinions are fine, personal attacks are not.

 

[Gruni]

Cheers Andy my girl is as long as yours but only 476gr.

Must admit it would be nice to see some pics of Hecate next to something that gives a sense of his size and condition.

 

[Gruni]

Skinks the thing we have lost track of a bit is what the OP has said about Hecate and that is that he doesn't show interest in food as often as their other snake so power feeding this snake to start getting condition back on it probably isn't going to be an option. It will be interesting over the next couple of weeks to get some progress reports on how he is developing now that he is in an appropriately heated enclosure and being given fod of a size according to his needs.

As fr the bad shedding my advice is using some chamomile teabags make up a some mugs of tea and add cold water to it until you have enough warm water to soak Hecate in for 20mins or so. Then wet a cloth in the mix and squeeze it out and let him slither through the cloth in your hands as you hold it firmly. The chamomile oils help lift the dry skin better even though just soaking the snake in plain warm water will work.

 

[andynic07]

Skinks the thing we have lost track of a bit is what the OP has said about Hecate and that is that he doesn't show interest in food as often as their other snake so power feeding this snake to start getting condition back on it probably isn't going to be an option. It will be interesting over the next couple of weeks to get some progress reports on how he is developing now that he is in an appropriately heated enclosure and being given fod of a size according to his needs.

As fr the bad shedding my advice is using some chamomile teabags make up a some mugs of tea and add cold water to it until you have enough warm water to soak Hecate in for 20mins or so. Then wet a cloth in the mix and squeeze it out and let him slither through the cloth in your hands as you hold it firmly. The chamomile oils help lift the dry skin better even though just soaking the snake in plain warm water will work.

I think that you have hit the nail on the head here , the thread has lost track of the original facts. I would probably feed the snake once a week roughly giving it about 15% of its body weight until it is used to feeding and gets condition and strength as it would take a big effort to consume a large prey item. With the bad shed issue, I am not an expert on this partially because my snakes have never had a bad shed but if the retained shed isn't on the eye caps or tail is it a big problem? If not I guess leaving it and providing a humid hide would be less stressful than handling and bathing the snake. Also Gruni you haven't mentioned what temperature for the bath, my guess would be around 28 degrees? Would this be ok?