Am I under feeding her?

[EL Ziggy]

I've got a feeling that I may not be feeding my female bull snake enough food. She's 2 y/o, a little over 6ft, and about 2200g even though I haven't weighed her in awhile. I've been feeding her a 100g medium rat every 7 days on average. Sometimes she gets another small rat or a chick and she still acts hungry. The last 2 weeks she's been very actively looking for more food. She's been on high alert and lunging towards me when I open her enclosure. I've had to start using a hook to get her out. Normally she's in her hide for 2-3 days after a good meal. I'm almost positive she can handle a large rat but I've got about 15 mediums left. I'd think 2 mediums would be a bit much. Any thoughts?

[Bandit]

If she's willing to take 2 mediums, I say give them to her. If it's too much she won't eat the second. I'd say to give it a try during the next feeding and see how it goes. At work, the adult Bulls and Pines would eat until we stopped feeding them. They can eat a lot, so 2 mediums will probably be fine if she is still acting hungry.

And lord, 2 years old and 6 feet? I'm starting to realize how fast my little gopher snake is growing but I guess I can plan on him being pretty big within the next couple of years.

[EL Ziggy]

Thanks B. I thought it might be OK. She's a big girl and I don't want to overfeed her but like you said they can put away some food. My male is 17 months old and he's 1187g as of today. http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/t674/EL-Ziggy/Mobile%20Uploads/CAM021201_zpsz343kdxz.jpg (http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/EL-Ziggy/media/Mobile%20Uploads/CAM021201_zpsz343kdxz.jpg.html)
http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/t674/EL-Ziggy/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150816_2121161-1_zpstdj8osrr.jpg (http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/EL-Ziggy/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150816_2121161-1_zpstdj8osrr.jpg.html)

[Bandit]

Yeah just give it a try and see how she reacts. I'm sure she'll take them without hesitation from how you describe her.

And wow, those are impressive. I know the guy I bought my gopher from said both the parents were over 6 feet. So I guess he'll get somewhere around there.

[Albert Clark]

Hey EL, that bull snake is terrific! Congrats on raising them up so healthy! Personally I would do the two mediums bc that is what you have on hand. Get the weight bc that is important even though the 15% rule doesn't apply bc of her age. She really looks like she can handle two medium rats. As long as she is not showing areas of scale separation due to overweight and bulging , fleshy accumulation of fat in the tail region I would feed her. Has she ever been bred? Maybe that is why she seems to stay hungry also. Keep us posted.

[EL Ziggy]

Thanks AL. I don't see any signs of her being overweight so I think I'll be increasing her food intake just a bit until I get some larger rats.

[SnoopySnake]

Maybe try 2 mediums every 10 days? I don't think it'd be too much if you space it out just a bit more.

[chairman]

Or you could do 1 medium every 4 days until larger food arrives. That'd increase the amount of food consumed with a little piece of mind that a single feeding wasn't too much.

I have to say, that is a seriously good looking snake.

[EL Ziggy]

Yep. I feel much better now. Thanks for the reassurances y'all. She's a bit of a bottomless pit and I just didn't want to overfeed her.I want her to have a long healthy life. :)

[sharthun]

Beautiful snakes brother!

[Aaron_S]

As everyone suggested, the extra meal won't be a bother. She's 2200 grams so I would feed about 200 grams worth of food per feeding which amounts to 10% or so.

[EL Ziggy]

Beautiful snakes brother!

Thanks amigo. ;)

[EL Ziggy]

As everyone suggested, the extra meal won't be a bother. She's 2200 grams so I would feed about 200 grams worth of food per feeding which amounts to 10% or so.

Ahh, so you maintain this method into adulthood aye?

[Aaron_S]

Ahh, so you maintain this method into adulthood aye?

Yes. I will feed this every week as I breed most of my animals on an annual basis and need them to maintain weight. I don't feed in shed.

You can space out the feedings more if it works better for you. 10 days? 14 days?

[EL Ziggy]

Yes. I will feed this every week as I breed most of my animals on an annual basis and need them to maintain weight. I don't feed in shed.

You can space out the feedings more if it works better for you. 10 days? 14 days?

Copy that Aaron. I have no plans to breed any of my snakes but that 10-15% of body weight feeding regiment has served me very well with my colubrids. Thanks again for introducing me to that approach. I was all over the map with my previous feeding techniques. My kings are eating every 10-14 days and my bulls eat every 7 days. My carpets are fed pretty similarly but they'll sometimes get larger meals. They're also the youngest of my snakes so they eat a little more often. More like every 5-7 days.

[Aaron_S]

Copy that Aaron. I have no plans to breed any of my snakes but that 10-15% of body weight feeding regiment has served me very well with my colubrids. Thanks again for introducing me to that approach. I was all over the map with my previous feeding techniques. My kings are eating every 10-14 days and my bulls eat every 7 days. My carpets are fed pretty similarly but they'll sometimes get larger meals. They're also the youngest of my snakes so they eat a little more often. More like every 5-7 days.

Very cool.

Yeah we like this approach with our animals. It seems to work really well.

I'm happy to hear it's working really well with colubrids. We've done it with a few but not as many as with our boids.