Feeding

[jpsteele80]

How long on average does the food leave a bump in your snakes stomach, I'm thinking 2 may be just a tad to much right now.

[Batessi]

I have a less is more philosophy when it comes to feeding snakes. Sure neonates need to be fed every 5-6 days to accommodate growth, but after that stage food should be offered no more frequent than every 7 days, as juveniles, most of mine will be offered food every 10 days with a few exceptions. If you are seeing a large lump, as in you notice it without really looking for it, then it's time to either go down a size on prey or reduce the frequency of feeding.

[jpsteele80]

Yeah I don't think size is a problem, she took them down no problem, I think I'm going to cut it down to one every 5 days for a while

[shaunyboy]

ive seen a large prey item leave a feeding bulge for 5 to 7 days,but you barely notice the bulge in the latter days

imo a feeding bulge should be visible for at least 2 to 3 days,anything disapearing quicker i'd up my prey size

it's Carpet Pythons i keep,other species may have faster/slower metabolisms


cheers shaun

[jpsteele80]

This is for a retic, I fed her last Saturday and the bulge is now coming down to her regular body size after 5 days

[MCB]

Originally Posted by jpsteele80

This is for a retic, I fed her last Saturday and the bulge is now coming down to her regular body size after 5 days

Hi mate, I find it's it's usually around two days. Check your hot spot temps, what size are you feeding?

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by jpsteele80

This is for a retic, I fed her last Saturday and the bulge is now coming down to her regular body size after 5 days

the above sounds perfectly ok to me mate

imo prey should leave a decent sized feeding bulge that diminishes over the following 5 to 7 days

i think your prey size is spot on


cheers shaun

[jpsteele80]

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

the above sounds perfectly ok to me mate

imo prey should leave a decent sized feeding bulge that diminishes over the following 5 to 7 days

i think your prey size is spot on


cheers shaun

Good to know, maybe I was under feeding a little before, there are just so many ways to do it and everyone has an opinion as to what's rights, I guess I'll just watch her weight and adjust accordingly

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by jpsteele80

Good to know, maybe I was under feeding a little before, there are just so many ways to do it and everyone has an opinion as to what's rights, I guess I'll just watch her weight and adjust accordingly

i watch each individual snake,if it's putting on too much weight i cut back on feeding

hatchlings i feed every 7 days

sub adults every 10 to 20 days

adults every 15 to 30 days

i keep my snakes lean and muscular (imo you don't see many fat snakes in the wild)


i also feed according to which season it is,in the winter i only give them 3 or 4 feeds

my Diamonds i only feed 6 month of the year

the longer you have your snake,the more you will learn to read your snake,so you can meet it's needs


cheers shaun

[EL Ziggy]

I don't have a strict feeding regiment for my snakes anymore. I generally feed them 10-15% of their body weight per feeding then I wait for them to start foraging for food before I feed them again. That's about every 6-7 days on average. They usually poop and lose their bumps 2-3 days after eating. My 3 colubrids are yearlings or younger.
Edit: I'm sure it's different for a retic

[millertime89]

Depending on the size of the prey, some of my bigger animals will have a bump for 4-5 days. That said those big meals usually result in another bump a few days later a little further down...

[jpsteele80]

Oh yeah, there is no doubt there is a huge bump further down just waiting for me to get to clean up, oh boy I sure can't wait