Carpet prey size.

[Terranaut]

Next time your thinking....this might be a little big...fear not. 30 months old....large rat. No problem ;)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/20140206_164212_zps99e04153.jpg

Now that's a lump :)

[Mikoh4792]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m961tmUFcj1r3qnxf.gif


Nice meal! How long are you going to give him until his next feeding?

[EL Ziggy]

Wow, how did he get that thing down and how long before you feed again? It looks like he swallowed a football. It amazes me how they can eat prey as large as they do. I don't know if there are major differences between species but I was just wondering if my bull snake could handle a bigger meal. I think you've answered that question. I was feeding multiple smaller prey items but I think she can handle that large hopper/ small weanling after all. It's definitely not as extreme as your example :) . Beautiful carpet btw.

[Cruddown]

That's incredible. He even looks like he's got a smug, content look on his face. I'd be really interested in daily photos of the snake shrinking that lump down.

[Terranaut]

Took him about 40 min to swallow it. I will wait a month before I feed him again. I would not feed my gopher prey like this and would stick to something smaller. My 4.5' gopher got 2 smalls last night.

[Stewjoe]

I haven't tried giving my 2 1/2 yr Bredli a large yet. He took two Mediums last weekend though because my JCP wasn't hungry.

[Mikoh4792]

Do you usually go this big with monthly interval feedings? Or do you switch from time to time between big and small meals?

[Terranaut]

He normally gets a medium every 2 weeks. I didn't realize he ate the last medium 2 weeks ago. My male jcp turned it down (he takes the winter off) so I thought why not....let's see. What a machine !!

[AussieSnake]

That's a good effort. This to me is the appeal of Morelia, if your ever concerned about something, don't be, this species is so adaptable and hardy. This sort of site is not uncommon in the wild around my parts, where coastals feed regularly on large ducks, possums, and any unwary pets (usually chickens, birds and guinea pigs). Never be afraid to upsize. I was told when I purchased my Coastal to always make sure the prey is bigger than you think it should be as this will maintain the head growth. I don't think there is much truth to this these days, but it was something I had in mind when I was feeding mine when she was growing.

[shaunyboy]

it amazes me how big a prey item a Carpet will take without issues mate

the feeding bulge don't last long either

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

Do you usually go this big with monthly interval feedings? Or do you switch from time to time between big and small meals?

i feed large prey items every 2 to 3 weeks,then every now and then leave it 4 weeks after it's last feed

i have had a few Carpets who preffered smaller prey,but most of mine thrive on large prey less often,rather than small prey more often

i keep my Carpets lean and muscular


cheers shaun

[bigbosky]

holy crap! You just answered my question about upping my jungles prey size. just out of curiosity how much does that snake weigh?

[Terranaut]

Not sure. I don't weigh my snakes unless I suspect a problem.

[Terranaut]

During...yes the glass needs cleaning.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/20140204_200643_zps75e660e5.jpg

[sharthun]

Wow! very impressive! The more I see these guys the more I want one! lol

[CK SandBoas]

Absolutely incredible, and a stunning animal!

[thinkbig317]

Amazing!!!!!!

[pdomensis]

Awesome photos. Looks like me at Thanksgiving!

[Howard Redding]

They certainly can take large prey items. I tend to feed them smaller Items however, I keep mine on the small side anyway.

[Terranaut]

Thanks for all the kind words.


I would not restrict food to try to affect snake size. This is not a good practice. Keep them lean.....sure but reduced food intake just slows the inevitable anyway.


Edit: I assume you meant for body mass but wanted to clarify for novice readers.

[Donnie]

Nice example of what they can achieve and should put a few wary keepers mind to rest when they are thinking about going up a size in prey.

[Terranaut]

Nice example of what they can achieve and should put a few wary keepers mind to rest when they are thinking about going up a size in prey.

This was one of the reasons I posted this. Many new carpet keepers are worried a rat pink is to big and feed mice for a year or two. Then they have a tough time switching them over. Go rats right out of the egg. You can clearly see they are ok with bigger prey ;)

[Howard Redding]

I understand your point about the prey item size. It is astounding How big of an animal they can eat. I don't see the need in my collection to feed that large of a prey Item. my animals are not maintenance fed, stunted or malnourished. I start some of my hatchlings on rats. I prefer to start them on mice because of the increase in calcium and protein in a more developed animal. Sometimes it is difficult to switch to rats, sometimes it's a pain in the rump. We all have our own procedures that work in our collection. My best advice to anyone that is new to Carpet Pythons is to listen and try what others suggest and find what works best for your animals and how your set up.

[Terranaut]

That was why I did the edit. When I reread what I had written it seemed to suggest a maintenance diet and that was not my intention. I have found my snakes need a certain amount of food over a certain time. So lets say a snake eats 1lb of food every 2 weeks then 2 lbs would last a month. I also use time as just a guideline. Snakes have behavior patterns that show they are looking for food. I also find multiple prey sizes seem to keep them interested. Now I am a keeper of 9 snakes currently. If I was keeping 90 I would not use such methods. As said eeveryone has a slightly different situation and what works for one may not for others.

[Terranaut]

Adjusting jaw after.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/20140204_202519-1_zps96d20d31.jpg

[Howard Redding]

Well said. I agree that if you observe your animals they will let you know when it's time for them to eat. Increased activity etc. I try to keep my core animals at 20-30. Adult breeding pairs and the ones I'm growing up. Hatchling time it more than doubles (most years) I like to keep it small enough so I can still enjoy it and the Pythons get the time and attention they deserve.

[Toggsy]

It's incredible what they can get down them and I'll admit its impressive what he managed scoff and it is kind of cartoon like with the picture but I wanted to point out though be careful not to over feed or power feed your carpet as this can be just as bad as under feeding a snake.
Power feeding or over feeding them can cause all sorts of problems internally such as liver and kidney problems.
But by the sounds of it your not this was just an extra large meal.
I always try to stick to 11/2 times the girth of the snake that way it's giving it nice little lump whilst at the same time its not over feeding the snake.
Sometimes I'll miss a feed or to so it makes the snake actively seek and hunt for food it's never done my snakes any harm.

[Terranaut]

I keep my carpets lean and mean....not mean.....well you know :)
A couple of my adults.
Male
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/20130712_160452_zps48290316.jpg

Female
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/IMG_1137_zps24a5df37.jpg


Not power fed or overweight and I mix it up with them. Again Dutch had an unusual meal and I adjust the interval accordingly.

[Jinxygirl]

hahaha! That looks crazy :o It amazes me how snakes can swallow such large prey items. I love watching them pop their lower jaw back into place afterwards.

[Skits]

Wow, definitely amazing. I gave my two year old male a large rat about a week ago, and started getting worried about it when I realized just how large it was. His bump was smaller than that one, however. Really amazing snakes.

[Brett943]

Thanks Terranaut for starting this thread as tonight my girlfriends 6yr old corn didn't want his small rat (he's hungry but not interested in rats now for some reason and its been 2 weeks since his last meal) and of course I already fed my carpet her rat pup but decided to give her the small rat as well and she ate it although it took about an hour to get it down. I'm not going to make a habit of this but it is amazing what they can take! Tried offering the corn a rat pup after but didn't want it so my boa got a 2nd one as well. Looks like ill be going back to mice for the corn. And not feeding my carpet for quite some time!

[Terranaut]

As long as your not seeking the biggest meal I see nothing wrong with the occasional large meal. I have read good stuff also about smaller feeding on shorter intervals so I am going to try it as well.

[Aaron_S]

Thanks for all the kind words.


I would not restrict food to try to affect snake size. This is not a good practice. Keep them lean.....sure but reduced food intake just slows the inevitable anyway.


Edit: I assume you meant for body mass but wanted to clarify for novice readers.

This is a very good discussion to be had...

Before I say anything I want to clarify something so I don't make assumptions.

Dan, what do you mean "reduced food intake just slows the inevitable..."? What is the inevitable?

[Terranaut]

I am talking about people who use a "maintenance" diet and feed just enough to support the snake in hopes of stunting the growth. I don't think this is in the snakes best interest and eventually that snake will grow anyway so why not feed it proper amounts of food and not a minimum. I also feel it is just as bad to power feed an animal to get it to breeding size as fast as possible.
So the inevitable is that a large snake will still grow large. Not worth risking the health of the animal for either purpose.

[Aaron_S]

I am talking about people who use a "maintenance" diet and feed just enough to support the snake in hopes of stunting the growth. I don't think this is in the snakes best interest and eventually that snake will grow anyway so why not feed it proper amounts of food and not a minimum. I also feel it is just as bad to power feed an animal to get it to breeding size as fast as possible.
So the inevitable is that a large snake will still grow large. Not worth risking the health of the animal for either purpose.

Perfect. Thanks Dan.

Me personally, I don't ever really feed this size of prey and I know Dan, Terranaut, agrees that this isn't a normal prey size.

For those people who are now thanking him to be comfortable with upping their prey sizes for animals there's a better way.

Buy a $20 scale and begin weighing your animals and their food. I personally feed roughly 10 - 15% of total body weight.

Because I'm lazy and don't want to weigh 55879487593 rats every week I found a supplier that gives me weights in a specific area. (my medium rats are 150 - 175 grams)

[CosmicOwl]

This is a very good discussion to be had...

Before I say anything I want to clarify something so I don't make assumptions.

Dan, what do you mean "reduced food intake just slows the inevitable..."? What is the inevitable?


It really is an interesting discussion. There seems to some growing evidence that caloric restriction and/or occasional fasting can have positive benefits in human. The metabolisms of snakes are so complex and different that there is probably a lot we don't yet know. What are the long term effects of different feeding techniques? What are differences between the way young and old snakes metabolize food? Are active metabolism healthy or harmful? The only thing consistent about the way snakes it in the wild is that there is nothing consistent about it. So maybe the end result is that all feeding methods are meaningless.

[red ink]

Perfect. Thanks Dan.

Me personally, I don't ever really feed this size of prey and I know Dan, Terranaut, agrees that this isn't a normal prey size.

For those people who are now thanking him to be comfortable with upping their prey sizes for animals there's a better way.

Buy a $20 scale and begin weighing your animals and their food. I personally feed roughly 10 - 15% of total body weight.

Because I'm lazy and don't want to weigh 55879487593 rats every week I found a supplier that gives me weights in a specific area. (my medium rats are 150 - 175 grams)


That's exactly how I roll with mine...

I buy from a supplier that has the approximate weight listed on the prey items. 10-15% of body weight and feed when hungry - no set schedule. I weigh every shed - well not the adults now as prey size has little effect on their growth rate more rather their condition. I weigh the adults once a year after winter and guage from there.

[Aaron_S]

In addition to the smaller meals, I do it because I find my snakes less lethargic and more consistent eaters. Better overall health and much more apt to eat on a 7 - 10 day basis.

[AussieSnake]

Yep they can certainly handle a big meal, this happened recently in my neck of the woods. Took him awhile, but he got it down.

[thinkbig317]

Wow!!!!!!!!!

[Theweinz]

Perfect. Thanks Dan.

Me personally, I don't ever really feed this size of prey and I know Dan, Terranaut, agrees that this isn't a normal prey size.

For those people who are now thanking him to be comfortable with upping their prey sizes for animals there's a better way.

Buy a $20 scale and begin weighing your animals and their food. I personally feed roughly 10 - 15% of total body weight.

Because I'm lazy and don't want to weigh 55879487593 rats every week I found a supplier that gives me weights in a specific area. (my medium rats are 150 - 175 grams)

I agree with both Aaron and Dan. Using a scale has helped give me a concept as far as feeding; always thinking in relation to the animal's body weight and making adjustments. For my slow metabolic short tails I am right at or just below 10% of body weight for feeding. They are growing fine and are less lethargic then when stuffed! For my retic and carpet I open things up a bit and feed larger but not quite as often. My four year old female Jungle is coming out of her winter slow down and is starting to give me that look. I have fed huge prey. I remember as a young boy, catching a beautiful young Fox snake in Wisconsin and not knowing what to feed it until a trip to the library clued me in! I dangled a mouse, almost equal to its body weight, in front of it (early 1970s childho od memory here!) and that Fox snake constricted and took that rodent down and hovered over my make shift heating set up for about a week-the lump was huge!!

[Sharlynn93]

I am quite careful of my feedings. Most get 10-15% body weight (I breed my own so easy pickings most of the time) but certain species or ones severely underweight get stepped up either in weight or frequency. Been doing great so far...scales and weight are the best way to go, just in my opinion...

[shaunyboy]

Thanks Terranaut for starting this thread as tonight my girlfriends 6yr old corn didn't want his small rat (he's hungry but not interested in rats now for some reason and its been 2 weeks since his last meal) and of course I already fed my carpet her rat pup but decided to give her the small rat as well and she ate it although it took about an hour to get it down. I'm not going to make a habit of this but it is amazing what they can take! Tried offering the corn a rat pup after but didn't want it so my boa got a 2nd one as well. Looks like ill be going back to mice for the corn. And not feeding my carpet for quite some time!

if your Carpets big enough to take a small rat (which you consider a large prey item for it),then it will take something bigger than a rat pup for it's normal sized feeds

over here a rat pup is a rat.that's a new born that's still to young to have hair/fur,i only feed hatchlings on rat pups,and hatchlings that are way too small to take a small rat

re rats
over here it goes

rat pup (new born no hair/fur)

small wiener (got hair/fur)

large wiener

small rat

medium rat

large rat

jumbo rat

what age is your Carpet ?

could you post some pictures of your Carpet with say a coke can to give us an idea of it's size ?

re prey size
it all depends on which species as to how it handles large prey

imo Carpets can take larger prey versus their own girth,compared to some species which are not as efficient at it

i'm thinking if your Carpet took a small rat,then you need to up it's normal feeds from pups

cheers shaun

[Mikoh4792]

Over here rat pups are about the same size as adult mice. It's goes rat pinkies, rat fuzzies, rat pups, weaned rats, small rats...etc

Snake Food, Reptile Food, Feed Carnivores, Birds of Prey : Layne Labs.com (http://www.laynelabs.com). You can see how they are weighed measure in one feeder company here.

[Brett943]

Mikoh is correct about the sizing in Canada as well.

The 1st photo is a day or 2 after I posted on here. Its crappy because I'm taking it through her tub and didn't want to disturb her.

The 2nd pic is recent and I did end up feeding her a small rat again this past Wednesday as I had my girlfriends daughter thaw the rodents and she messed up the order lol. Yesterday (46hrs after the feeding) she barely had a food bulge so I will mover her up to weaned rats when the pups run out.

The people on this forum are great and I appreciate the advice and constructive criticism. Thanks!

[Brett943]

Oh I forgot to add that I didn't get her right after she hatched and I believe the guy at the reptile store said she was about 9 months when I got her in January so she would be about 11 months old now.

[shaunyboy]

Mikoh is correct about the sizing in Canada as well.

The 1st photo is a day or 2 after I posted on here. Its crappy because I'm taking it through her tub and didn't want to disturb her.

The 2nd pic is recent and I did end up feeding her a small rat again this past Wednesday as I had my girlfriends daughter thaw the rodents and she messed up the order lol. Yesterday (46hrs after the feeding) she barely had a food bulge so I will mover her up to weaned rats when the pups run out.

The people on this forum are great and I appreciate the advice and constructive criticism. Thanks!

she looks good/right with that sized prey in her mate

good looking snake you have there


cheers shaun

[Brett943]

she looks good/right with that sized prey in her mate

good looking snake you have there


cheers shaun

Thank you! She is great, has become a dream to handle and no more striking or hissing at me.