Yet another feeding question

[PappaSmurf]

Yep, another feeding question & that question is,,,,,,,,,,,how often do you feed them?
Our yearlings are on weekly feeds & our 4 yr old Bredli is currently on fortnightly feeds.
Does the age denote how often they get fed?
Can they get fed less often as they age?
If fed less often obviously the feeds are larger?

I have heard of some people feeding monthly or even longer so who does what?

 

[Bredli1956]

My 9 month old bredli gets feed pinkie rats one a week

 

[andynic07]

I feed my snakes from hatchy to one year old every week and from one to two every fortnight and then on every month as a guide. At first I feed them about 15% of their body weight but it tends to get less as they get older and approach adult size. When I say a guide I was quite strict with when I fed at first until I got to know my snakes a bit more but now more feed them when they start hunting for food and I keep an eye on body condition. The formula method I found to be really good at the start and would recommend it to any person starting out.

 

[tahnia666]

I feed my 3 year old coastal once a week, a 70-80g rat, he's a huge pig and usually starts hunting for food regardless of the size of the rat like clockwork, at the very most he'll go 9 days before he gets hungry again. It oesn't seem to make a differences if his feed is 70 or 100g. What he's getting now keeps him healthy , although I'm bumping up his rat size in a couple of weeks and trying to stretch him out to f/nightly feeds. I just judge his hunger by his general condition and temperament. Otherwise I'd have an overweight snake, I'd hate to have to put a snake on a diet lol.

 

[Rogue5861]

I feed my 3 year old coastal once a week, a 70-80g rat, he's a huge pig and usually starts hunting for food regardless of the size of the rat like clockwork, at the very most he'll go 9 days before he gets hungry again. It oesn't seem to make a differences if his feed is 70 or 100g. What he's getting now keeps him healthy , although I'm bumping up his rat size in a couple of weeks and trying to stretch him out to f/nightly feeds. I just judge his hunger by his general condition and temperament. Otherwise I'd have an overweight snake, I'd hate to have to put a snake on a diet lol.

How small is your coastal? My jungle is almost 2 year old, 1.4m and eating 160g rats fortnightly. A 70g rat for a 3 year old coastal should like it is beig well underfed, good thing you feed so frequent. Would be a good idea to put him on a set of scales and see what he weights, i wouldnt be surprise if he took a 250g rat.


Rick

 

[tahnia666]

He's only roughly 3 Rick, prob 3 at the most, he's little over 1 1/2 m I've fed him bigger rats but he he still goes hunting for food weekly. He is a little small for a coastal of his age, but he's not underweight, and he's healthy and shiney Im going up to 100-120g rats 3 feeds from now. I always just feed him when he starts to hunt

 

[Rogue5861]

Its quite surprising the size meals they will eat, im sure you could go up to around 150g without drama. How long does it take him to get it all into his mouth? I noticed when i was feeding weekly and 80g rats my jungle would smash them in a couple minutes, now with bigger food he takes around 10-15mins.


Rick

 

[tahnia666]

Its quite surprising the size meals they will eat, im sure you could go up to around 150g without drama. How long does it take him to get it all into his mouth? I noticed when i was feeding weekly and 80g rats my jungle would smash them in a couple minutes, now with bigger food he takes around 10-15mins.


Rick

Yep, He smashes them, they're gone in a couple of minutes. I've tried offering him another after the first but he never takes it. I don't mind feeding him weekly for the time being though. I figure if he wasn't getting enough with one he'd take the second?

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[andynic07]

My coastal eats 200g rats once a fortnight but has just gone to 3-4 week feeds as it just turned 2.

 

[Rogue5861]

Yep, He smashes them, they're gone in a couple of minutes. I've tried offering him another after the first but he never takes it. I don't mind feeding him weekly for the time being though. I figure if he wasn't getting enough with one he'd take the second?

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I would think so, maybe try stretching him out to 2 weeks then offering 2. Mine was eating 2 80g rats weekly before the move to mediums (120-180g), didnt feed for 14 days and he took the bigger rat no issues.

I guess if what your doing works its all going ok, but be aware they can eat food up to 3-4 times the size of there head.

Rick

 

[tahnia666]

Thanks for the advice rick ill give him what I have left in the small ones first. I'm not stressed about his condition or anything though.
This is how he looks Loki loves my top deck. This is his "your deckchair is now MY deckchair" face. And he doesn't like to share...

Not underweight or anything?

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[andynic07]

Nice healthy looking snake [MENTION=39504]tahnia666[/MENTION].

 

[tahnia666]

Thank you [MENTION=34534]andynic07[/MENTION] I hope so lol

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[Rogue5861]

That is a nice looking coastal, and not underweight at all by the looks. He looks pretty wide, i reckon you could maybe get away with monthly feedings of bigger rats.


Rick

 

[tahnia666]

That is a nice looking coastal, and not underweight at all by the looks. He looks pretty wide, i reckon you could maybe get away with monthly feedings of bigger rats.


Rick

Thanks Rick, ill update when I get a bigger one into him, admittedly, the issue is mine I hate making him wait when I see him looking for food... Plus he bites me when he's hungry lol

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[andynic07]

This is a wild coastal that got into my grow out rat tubs and ate one of my 100g rats. It squeezed in through chicken wire maybe 10mm x 15mm and is in a 5 litre systiema to give you an idea of size.

 

[tahnia666]

Lol that's huge!!! Cheeky snake! I'm convinced!! I'll offer him his huge rat next feed and see what happens!!!
Out of curiosity, is feeding large meals less often, better for the health of the snake?
Do the meals need to take longer to digest to have optimal calcium absorption or anything like that? As opposed to feeding small meals more often?


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[Rogue5861]

I believe most that are feed a big meal monthly still poop within 2 weeks, takes a little longer to break down then a small meal.


Rick

 

[andynic07]

There is no study out there that I can find but a lot of vets recommend larger feeds less often to mimic what usually happens in the wild and say it gives the digestive system a rest like wild pythons. This is all heresy and anecdotal evidence until anyone a real study is conducted.

 

[tahnia666]

Thanks [MENTION=34534]andynic07[/MENTION] I see the logic