IS MY Snake Eating TOO OFTEN/Please Respond

ILuvMyHognose · 06-18-12, 01:43 PM

Hello Everyone,
Let’s start by saying I had a discussion with a friend last night about the amount I am feeding my snakes.
For a back round on the history of me and the snakes I will quickly discuss:
I had 2 hognose snakes shipped to me last late spring/early summer 2011. They are both 2010 hatchlings. The male will be 2 in July and the female 2 in August. The breeder I bought them from is a pretty well respected breeder. I have spoken to him several times via phone and email. He is a very nice man and seems to know what he is doing, breeding for years. When they arrived at my house they were eating live mice at the time and the male was having trouble feeding. He wasn’t taking food as often as the female and he was very skittish. I discussed with the breeder how I wanted to transition them into eating frozen. He walked me through the process and proceeded to tell me that he feeds his snakes every 2-3 days. He also told me that hoggies sometimes are picky about the size of their prey they are eating. So he told me to offer the male small pinkies every 2-3 days. (I just wanted to note that my dad has owned reptiles for 40 years and he even told me that every 2-3 days sounds like a lot.) But I did what the breeder said and the male started eating again. The female is now eating 1-2 small fuzzies every week or so but the male still only wants pinkies, I tried offering him up bigger meals but he does not want them. I even withheld food for a few weeks to see if he would get hungry enough to eat a fuzzy. He did not want the bigger mouse. He only likes pinkies, and I am talking the little red, just born pinkies. And I know he can eat bigger prey, he just doesn’t seem to want them.
I am just concerned now because my friend told me I could potentially be killing my snake feeding him that often. Is this true? And if so does anyone have any idea on why the breeder might have told me this. It is a big concern for me that he gave me this information and I could be putting my snake in danger. I am looking forward to your replies. Once I see what everyone says I will be contacting the breeder and questioning why he gave me the advice he did. Thanks everyone very much and I am looking forward to becoming a regular member of the forum. I love my little hoggies so much!!!

Snakefood · 06-18-12, 01:58 PM

I don't know if you're "killing your snake" by doing this as he will be digesting them pretty darned fast.

However, if he doesn't want anything but pinkies, maybe you could try rat pinkies as they are about twice the size of mouse pinkies and still have no hair??

Just a thought!!

BobH · 06-18-12, 01:58 PM

As long as they are still growing, they will turn extra calories into growth. Once they mature and greatly slow growth, then you might be feeding them too often. Have you tried rat pinks on the male?

StudentoReptile · 06-18-12, 02:04 PM

Not every snake species has the same metabolism. We humans like to have our snakes on 7-day eating regimens a lot of the time probably because its pretty darn convenient for us. The fact is that many younger snakes (and colubrids especially) eat a lot more often in the wild.

Now one major factor here to keep in mind is their natural diet. In the case of hognose snakes, its mostly amphibians and the occasional lizard. The content of bone (calcium) vs lean muscle meat is different than a plump fat pinky mouse with little bone structure.

So in general, more frequent meals isn't necessarily bad, as long as you offset the quantity (or size) of the prey items you're offering. In the past, I have personally seen better growth in my snakes feeding smaller prey more often then larger meals less often.

As far as hognose go, feeding every 3 days is on the high end of the scale, but if the habitat is set-up properly, and your temps are correct, this shouldn't be a major issue. There are a handful of keepers are have great success feeding their young hogs every 2-3 days, some feed every 3-4 days, others 4-5, etc. Personally, I think every 4-5 is fine, but that's just me. To each his own.

ILuvMyHognose · 06-18-12, 02:37 PM

Thank You all for you replies. I was really nervous last night after hearing my snake could die. But he seems to like to eat more often with smaller prey. I have not tried rat pinkies, at this point that may be a little big for him. But I will try it if I have to! My dad always went by his rule, feed the snake if it is hungry and looking for food. All his snakes made it to 16, 17, 18 years of age. His snakes were also corn and king snakes. This is the first time we have owned hognose. Their personalitites are quite different. They are kind of quirkie. I like em.

Snakefood · 06-18-12, 02:51 PM

Geez if I used that rule, my Okeetee corn would eat every day (she's my little piggy!!)

alessia55 · 06-18-12, 02:51 PM

For snakes that are almost 2 years old, I do think they should be eating every 7 days. My thought is that feeding them pinkies every 2-3 days is making it so that they can't/won't eat appropriately-sized meals every 7 days instead.

Could you post photos of your hoggies? That might give us a better idea about their size.

My suggestion would be to start giving them pinkies every 7 days, and eventually they'll both start eating fuzzies. Yes, some snakes do better if fed more often... like hatchlings. But as ~2yr old hoggies, I'm struggling to see how feeding them so often can be good for them. I personally know lots of people who have hoggies, who live into old age, by feeding them every 7-14 days as adults.

shaunyboy · 06-18-12, 03:21 PM

i'd say feeding every 3 days is a bit much,unless the species has a fast metabolic rate

i feed carpet hatchlings every 7 days

sub adults every 14 to 21 days

adults every 20 to 30 days

feeding carpet pythons,every 3 days would be considered POWER FEEDING

cheers shaun

StudentoReptile · 06-18-12, 03:34 PM

I didn't catch in the original post that they were 2 yrs old. Yeah, 2-3 days are a bit much for a 2-yr-old, even for hognose. I say 5-7 days is fine.

BarelyBreathing · 06-18-12, 05:32 PM

I agree with Alessia and Student. Two to three days is way too much. If you're going to continue to feed smaller prey, you can feed every five to seven days. I feed my hognose every two weeks, appropriately sized prey. You don't want to risk complications as a result of too much food.

ILuvMyHognose · 06-18-12, 05:42 PM

Yes they are almost 2. The female eats less than 2-3 and she eats bigger meals. I feed her once a week. The male is my little picky pants, he is the one that I have been feeding often, that is why I contacted the breeder and he suggested feeding him small meals often. I will take everyones advice and go ahead and feed less. I found them to be small for their age. I have heard hognose grow a tad slower than other snakes, true or not?? Does anyone have any input on that? Again thanks for everyones replies!!

alessia55 · 06-18-12, 05:44 PM

If you post a photo of them, next to something for reference (like a pencil), we'll be able to tell you if they are small for their age, overweight, underweight, etc. That would help lots.

ILuvMyHognose · 06-18-12, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakefood

Geez if I used that rule, my Okeetee corn would eat every day (she's my little piggy!!)

Our corn and king snakes never seemed to want to eat as much as these hognose do though. All of our other snakes seemed to get hungry every few weeks. The hognose always seem hungry...LOL

ILuvMyHognose · 06-18-12, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alessia55

If you post a photo of them, next to something for reference (like a pencil), we'll be able to tell you if they are small for their age, overweight, underweight, etc. That would help lots.

The only reason I say I think they are smaller is because I just ran into some at a pet store and I thought, "geez, mine are almost 2 and they seem tiny compared to these." So I was just going by that. I will take some pics of them this week and go ahead and post them up. I have a few pictures of them just not next to an object.

Gregg M · 06-18-12, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

Now one major factor here to keep in mind is their natural diet. In the case of hognose snakes, its mostly amphibians and the occasional lizard. The content of bone (calcium) vs lean muscle meat is different than a plump fat pinky mouse with little bone structure.

The only thing you said that I do not agree with is this statement above. Amphibians do not even make up half of a wild hognose snakes diet. This has been studied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alessia55

My suggestion would be to start giving them pinkies every 7 days, and eventually they'll both start eating fuzzies. Yes, some snakes do better if fed more often... like hatchlings. But as ~2yr old hoggies, I'm struggling to see how feeding them so often can be good for them. I personally know lots of people who have hoggies, who live into old age, by feeding them every 7-14 days as adults.

This might be fine for corns and kings. However, hognose snakes both juvinie and adult, have very high metabolic rates, My breeders eat as often as my hatchings. They are fed every 3 days. Feeding even adults every 7 to 14 days is far too little for the species if you are keeping them with the proper basking temps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarelyBreathing

I agree with Alessia and Student. Two to three days is way too much. If you're going to continue to feed smaller prey, you can feed every five to seven days. I feed my hognose every two weeks, appropriately sized prey. You don't want to risk complications as a result of too much food.

You are underfeeding your hognose snakes BB. You should really up the feeding on them. What temps are you keeping them at?

To the OP,
Feed your hogs every 3 days. Do exactly what the breeder told you to do.