This may be a silly question(s) but I'm going to ask.

[EL Ziggy]

Hey everybody, I hope you are all well. When we talk about appropriately sized prey items for feeding I usually hear to only feed your snake an item that is no larger than 1 to 1 1/2 times the snakes diameter/girth. My question is are we talking about the length or width of the prey item? I'm assuming it has to be the width. Caesar is about 6months old. He's 16" long and about 1/2" in diameter, the fuzzies are about the same width, maybe a hair wider, but they're at least an inch long. Is this the right size for him? They leave a slight bulge when he's done but not too big. (Pinkies don't leave any bulge in him at all.) It takes him a while but he always eats 1-2 fuzzies every 5-7 days. Which leads me to another question. How long should it take him to finish his meals? He can sometimes take 15-25 minutes to eat one item. If he has seconds, the 2nd one usually goes a bit quicker. I've also got about (12) fuzzies left which should last me about 30-45 days. I've got (25) hoppers in the freezer after the fuzzies are gone. The hoppers are of course a little larger than the fuzzies. Should he be ok to move up once the fuzzies are gone? I'd hate to have to buy more fuzzies. I don't want the hoppers to go bad either since they've already been in the freezer for about 2 months. I know this is a long post and I've thrown a lot out there but thanks for reading and I appreciate any feedback.

[sweatshirt]

Yeah, it's width. I've seen snakes swallow things skinnier width-wise but huge in length.

[infernalis]

Not a silly question at all.

Your prey size sounds perfect. Some snakes just take longer than others to eat. No worries about your food spoiling in the freezer, I know a guy who spends his whole tax return on frozen mice every year, and the mice are still good 10 - 12 months later. If they are in a bag, then no freezer burn. :)

[infernalis]

Yeah, it's width. I've seen snakes swallow things skinnier width-wise but huge in length.

Including other snakes. :D

King snakes are well known for consuming other snakes almost the same size.

[EL Ziggy]

You all are awesome! Thanks again.

[Ourobouros]

4 days from now I'm going to record my MBK eating. Then I will post a link here. She never seems to get enough food... Always wants more lol. It's super cute to watch. =D

[sweatshirt]

Including other snakes. :D

King snakes are well known for consuming other snakes almost the same size.

I saw a video of a snake eating another one :shocked:

[Concept9]

Good morning.

All good advice give above so far. I'm not sure I can add much.

I feed all mine one prey item once a week that are 1.25 - 1.50% of the largest diameter of my animals. I prefer one large prey item over 2-3 smaller ones.

As far as time goes, I wouldn't worry about it. As along as the animal eats with no regurgitation its fine. Two of my Kings eat slow and my MBK who is eating 110 grams rats right now inhales his meal in a quarter the time as the other two.

I am curious of the weight of your King. My two babies are approx.., 5 months old, 24" long and weigh approx., 28 grams ?

[Starbuck]

My king are each almost 3 feet, and weigh about 200 grams. My corns are just over 2 feet (2'4") and weigh about 120 grams? My corns are 2 years old, my kings are 3.

[Concept9]

My king are each almost 3 feet, and weigh about 200 grams. My corns are just over 2 feet (2'4") and weigh about 120 grams? My corns are 2 years old, my kings are 3.

My little ones just reached 20 and 24 ", they will be bulking up over the next few months.

TAZ, my MBK is 4'7" and just under 700 grams. He is about 3 years old.(My little boy :))

[EL Ziggy]

I need to get a digital scale. I've never weighed Caesar. I only assume he's about (6) months old because I bought him in Feb and figured he was about 2 months old then. Petsmart doesn't have an accurate record of his hatch date. He seems to be growing pretty well. I feed him 1-2 fuzzies every 5-7 days. He will hopefully be moving up to hoppers in the next month or two.