Please look!!!!!! Need help!!!!

DeesBalls · 05-06-09, 07:00 PM

OK now so i got your attention lol i just want to show you a pic of my BP striking and a pic or 2 i just want to know if everything looks good. if i should go a bigger mouse, 2 of these? just pretty much i want to know if everything is going good, thanks!

DeesBalls · 05-06-09, 07:01 PM

video...

eleanoreeatingincage.flv video by dereck_gilliland - Photobucket

picture( do all ball pythons do this? )

sorry to make you guys click anoter link, but i dont know how to put a video right on here like the pic...

Kmef07 · 05-06-09, 07:52 PM

so your snake knows what it means when the box is rattled huh?

Kmef07 · 05-06-09, 07:53 PM

oh by the way everything does look good and i think the size is ok. you could switch to a rat of the same size or a little bigger though and it would be healthier for your snake and you could go longer in between feedings. like a day or two longer. rats are more nutritious for snakes im told.

DeesBalls · 05-06-09, 08:06 PM

huh, right now, i feed him 1 mouse that size a week... i may try a small rat next time... and yes he knowws when the box is rattleing, its time to eat!!!

*for everyone*
BTW I DONT ALWAYS FEED IN HOUSING CAGE... I JUST DID THIS THING BC IM MOVING AND THE OTHER TANKS IS AT NEW PLACE...

Will0W783 · 05-07-09, 08:02 AM

How big is he? My 4' male ball ate 2 adult mice a week until I switched him to rat pups of the same size. Snakes like the taste of mice more but they are less nutritious. Basically from what I've read mice are like snake "candy" but rats are the "meat and potatoes". So if you can switch a snake over to rats better to do it early because they can and often do get "addicted" to mice and then will refuse rats when they outgrow mice. And 1 rodent = 1 poop, so if you feed 3 mice = 3 poops vs. 1 adult rat = 1 larger poop. At least that is what I've seen with my snakes- I could be wrong with the turd numbers, so if anyone knows different feel free to call me out on it.

citysnakes · 05-07-09, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Snakes like the taste of mice more but they are less nutritious. .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmef07

rats are more nutritious for snakes im told.

dont believe everything you hear...

citysnakes · 05-07-09, 05:42 PM

Sandy, thank you for that great post! no chance im getting into another one of these...haha

citysnakes · 05-07-09, 06:11 PM

Kmef07, if your buddies put on 15 pounds in a month, the weight was definitely not muscle and was more likely a whole lot of water weight and fat. protein and carb loading with shakes and weight gainers is not necessarily healthy and if you want to put on quality weight then quality calories is where it will come from. hamburgers can be healthy(but usually aren't) and have a ton of nutritional value and in Sandy's example hamburgers could be replaced with any other highly caloric food. higher calories and a faster rate of growth do not necessarily mean better or healthier. if we do not know the nutritional requirement then nothing can be said to be better or more nutritious especially based only on "common sense" reasoning. if the animal is eating and is healthy then what, how and when you are feeding it is fine. a feeding schedule based on type prey is a little backward as opposed to a feeding schedule based on the animal that you are feeding.

but why take my word for it? i think i just posted:

Quote:

Originally Posted by citysnakes.com

dont believe everything you hear...

i would also like to add, "or read", at the end of that quote.

citysnakes · 05-09-09, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siz

Thanks for the links Sandy, I really find this topic very engaging - it's so unfortunate we don't yet have REAL SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE to support all these 'theorys'.

well research has been done on reptile nutrition so its only a matter of trying to dig up whats out there. in this case we do not know the nutritional requirements for optimal health in ball pythons.

since ball pythons are ectothermic, their metabolic rates will be determined by the temperature of their environment and their behaviour within the environment. also we would need to consider the animals age and weight and possibly sex, as in humans for example, metabolic rates vary between sexes.

we would also need to know the animals resting metabolic rate at different temperatures or possibly determine a standard resting metabolic rate at a certain temperature so that we can calculate required energy for a specific animal while at rest.

i guess we then add average behavioural energy consumption at an average temperature range(because the animals metabolic rate will increase or decrease depending on higher or lower temperatures), to our standard resting metabolic rate and we should end up with a total daily(or weekly) caloric expenditure.

based on the energy output of the specific animal we can then determine what size, amount and type of prey would meet these caloric needs but i guess we still would need to determine the macros for this animal. ball pythons are true carnivores so i would assume that the majority of their calories would come from proteins and fats with minimal amounts of carbohydrates.

even after we figure out all these factors(and most likely even more that i have missed) any prey item, be it mouse or rat, that meets the nutritional requirements will do.

so this whole rant was pointless and most likely even wrong as little to no research has been done by me on this issue. i was merely thinking about the possibility and i guess i got carried away while typing.

anyways,

Quote:

Originally Posted by citysnakes.com

dont believe everything you hear...

or read...

citysnakes · 05-09-09, 10:34 PM

oh, and im going to have to agree with mark about this thread's title.

gonesnakee · 05-09-09, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by citysnakes.com

oh, and im going to have to agree with mark about this thread's title.

I was pretty gouchy earlier

LOL but it still shouldn't be abused, but used if one actually really needs help ASAP.
You don't scream FIRE or RAPE etc. just to get Attn right?

Mark

Will0W783 · 05-07-09, 08:48 AM

Why do they become hooked on mice and refuse rats after a while of being fed mice?

Kmef07 · 05-07-09, 11:45 AM

It's true. Rats are more heavily boned and also have more meat to them. and rat pups that aren't weaned yet and are still on mother's milk are very nutritious over mice because rats have a much better milk and the snake then in turn ingests that.

Will0W783 · 05-07-09, 12:22 PM

Cool. Thanks Kyle!