Too big?

Lizzy001 · 05-13-03, 01:30 PM

i couple of days ago a fed my cornsnake a bigger mouse than he had eva had. he took about 20mins to eat it? was this to big? how do you know when the mouse is too big....when it doesnt eat it or the lump stays there for more than 48 hours?

Help!

Tim and Julie B · 05-13-03, 01:57 PM

As long as he doesn't regurdge (sp) he should be alright. The first time I fed my six foot Everglades a rat it took her 45 min to eat it. Now it takes her way less time. I think it is a learning process as well on how to manipulate prey so it can be easily swallowed.

Lisa · 05-13-03, 02:01 PM

My experiance has been that the snake won't eat something that's too big to swallow, except once when the snake regurged after eating... immagine trying to eat something too big and then throwing it back up, whole.

Edwin · 05-13-03, 02:14 PM

Yup, like Tim, Julie and Lisa said, your corn should be fine. If he does regurge, wait a few days and offer a smaller prey item.

Check out this link, it is a bit old, but I still get astounded everytime I see it.

http://www.bobclark.com/bcforums/top...=Picture+Forum

vanderkm · 05-13-03, 04:49 PM

The one thing that we have found when feeding an oversize prey item is that it will likely push the snake into a shed earlier than what they are due for. While we try to keep prey for adults to the correct size, we have seen this with baby snakes when we mis-judged the prey size. Most of our colubrids will refuse a prey item that is too large. Twenty minutes is not that long and some variation in prey size can be good for them. You might not need to feed again for 2 weeks instead of 1 after a big meal though,

mary v.

unknownclown · 05-13-03, 05:57 PM

Dear lord Edwin that poor snake I cant help but wonder if she could even move after a meal like that. DANG!

Edwin · 05-13-03, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by unknownclown
Dear lord Edwin that poor snake I cant help but wonder if she could even move after a meal like that. DANG!

Doesnt it just blow your mind? I would never dare try such a big prey item on my snakes..

reptilez · 05-13-03, 06:24 PM

Do you know how long that lump stayed Edwin? Its friggin huge

stretch · 05-13-03, 10:38 PM

It's not safe for you to feed your snake suc a huge meal. Even if they don't regurge. If the lump stays more than 3 days it was to big. It's not a learning process a snake will eat just about anything it comes across. Be careful the next time you feed your snake. It should't be that much larger than the thickest part of your snake, or if it can't coil right then it's too big.

NewLineReptile · 05-13-03, 11:07 PM

This reminds me of a picture i saw of a Rock python eating a elk
has anyone seen that pic i have been looking for that pic for ever if some one has that pic could you post it please
But to get back on the subject i agree with Stretch on this one

Lisa · 05-13-03, 11:18 PM

I dunno if i would say it's dangerous, but it probably isn't good to do for a regular practice. I'd love to see any scientific studies on the subject though.

Edwin · 05-14-03, 06:57 AM

Reptilez, I am not sure how long the lump stayed on, but I would assume for at least a week?

Burmese, I have seen that picture you are talking about, and there was a documentary on Discovery as well. I will post it if I find it.

Lisa, I agree that it probably isnt good to do it consistently. Almost every caresheet I have read usually advise feeding prey that is roughly about the size of the thickest part of the snake. From my experience, boids are more tolerant of larger prey items than colubrids. Ya, I would like to see studies on this subject too.

Lizzy001 · 05-14-03, 09:24 AM

thanks for the replys...all very helpful!

Lizzy xxx

jncoclub · 05-19-03, 02:07 PM

I was first amazed at the pictures, I mean come on, who wouldn't be? But then I was shocked that everyone in that thread thought it was a great thing to feed that big. Stretch is right, it's not safe and it can stress the snake. Some people may underfeed, but that is just ridiculously overfeeding!