Mysterious Missing Feces... - Page 3

KORBIN5895 · 02-29-12, 10:07 PM

No worries people don't always read all of the posts nor do they always put two and two together. Now I will say this though. Mykee comes across pretty blunt because he is pretty blunt but he knows royals hands down. He can give you some great advice but it tends to be abrasive.

Skumbo · 02-29-12, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Out of curiosity where did you get this info? All of my snakes tend to start moving around and exploring a whole lot more close to feeding day. They also get extremely active when they smell the rats defrosting and start searching the cage.

@op
No worries people don't always read all of the posts nor do they always put two and two together. Now I will say this though. Mykee comes across pretty blunt because he is pretty blunt but he knows royals hands down. He can give you some great advice but it tends to be abrasive.

Sorry had a crazy day, lol. let me rephrase that.. not sure how to word it..

Snakes don't start hunting WHEN they become hungry, they start hunting when they realize they're going to starve if they don't find food soon. Ideally a snake will be an opportunistic hunter in that is minimizes its travel (thus conserving energy) and find a good place to hide and eat. Now, if you dont feed a snake for a while (or they become "trained" to know when youre going to feed them...) they may behave differently when feeding time comes around, yes. But in general, unless a snake is a lot more than "oh hey im hungry now" in the sense the OP was thinking of (i believe) then they wont go searching for food.

hope that makes sense, i was basically saying "your snake is probably searching because you aren't feeding it enough, they don't normally do that unless..
A. they're used to a specific feeding schedule or smell you thawing food and want to find where the smell is coming from
or
B. you aren't feeding it enough.

KORBIN5895 · 02-29-12, 10:34 PM

Kk I understand that. Makes much more sense

SpOoKy · 02-29-12, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Snakes don't start hunting WHEN they become hungry, they start hunting when they realize they're going to starve if they don't find food soon. Ideally a snake will be an opportunistic hunter in that is minimizes its travel (thus conserving energy) and find a good place to hide and eat. Now, if you dont feed a snake for a while (or they become "trained" to know when youre going to feed them...) they may behave differently when feeding time comes around, yes. But in general, unless a snake is a lot more than "oh hey im hungry now" in the sense the OP was thinking of (i believe) then they wont go searching for food.

hope that makes sense, i was basically saying "your snake is probably searching because you aren't feeding it enough, they don't normally do that unless..
A. they're used to a specific feeding schedule or smell you thawing food and want to find where the smell is coming from
or
B. you aren't feeding it enough.

That was well put.

Skumbo · 02-29-12, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Kk I understand that. Makes much more sense

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpOoKy

That was well put.

thanks, lol.. Sorry for not being clear, I've been doing work since 5:30 am (woke up at 5 and stood in the shower with my face against the wall for 30 minutes first lol..) and its nearly midnight now. Stupid midterms!!

**millertime89** · 02-29-12, 11:23 PM

My apologies, I missed where you said you feed 2 mice per feed. If that is the case as you said it is, maybe you just have a clean snake and you should throw a party.

Lankyrob · 03-01-12, 05:36 AM

In my experience snakes in captivity can learn the feeding routine and will start looking for food around feed day. Because of this we have changed our set routine to a more random one, our SD retic started looking for food 2-3 days BEFORE feeding day before we changed the routine and you dont want a retic in feed mode for that long!

mattchibi · 03-01-12, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute_snakeyface

If her eating and pooping were so infrequent, don't you think I would be asking about that and not ONE case of missing poop? .

The smallest rats at my pet store are still too big for her to eat yet. The difference between small and medium rats is practically nonexistent. Also, thanks for the "$2, or so" lowball estimate. It's actually closer to $3.50.

My snake is NOT suffering. Before trying to help someone, might I suggest that you help YOURSELF to some more careful reading and critical thought.

First of all, I dont see how any of us who are helping you are trolls... $3.50 is quite a small difference from $2.00. Yet again, if you cant afford proper meals for your snake, find a way to do so, or find someone who can. And may I also say this: Pet stores are not the only place to buy rats! If you live in the states, you have plenty of shipped frozen feeder options.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute_snakeyface

Nonono, she's eaten three times since Dec. I've had her since Summer, she's eaten several times. Three times, as in: two mice in Dec [in one feed], one [the healthy mouse] in Jan.

You JUST said in this post that you fed her three times since December. To give you some perspective, I've fed all of my 4 snakes about 8 times since January 1st. You are way under-feeding, and I don't understand why you cant accept that fact and start fixing the situation instead of calling us trolls ?!?? If your snake isn't even eating rats yet, probably means shes still small enough to eat mice. When they are that small, it is really important for them to have a consistent feeding schedule because that is when they tend to have their most important growth spurts. Either way, to answer your initial question of why she isnt pooping: She hasnt eating anywhere near enough to be pooping much!

Edit: even if the OP is feeding two mice per feed, three times since December is still too little.

KORBIN5895 · 03-01-12, 11:57 AM

Actually if you do the math at two mice per feeding since December she is still on schedule. That is four mice in January and three in February. If you would to think things through as you read the post you would see that up til three or four days ago it was three feedings. Now add the mouse from this week and viola seven mice since December! Now you have fed each of your snakes eight mice? So the op is off of the pace you set by one. I don't know squat about baby rp but seven mice over two months seems real close to proper feeding.

mattchibi · 03-01-12, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Actually if you do the math at two mice per feeding since December she is still on schedule. That is four mice in January and three in February. If you would to think things through as you read the post you would see that up til three or four days ago it was three feedings. Now add the mouse from this week and viola seven mice since December! Now you have fed each of your snakes eight mice? So the op is off of the pace you set by one. I don't know squat about baby rp but seven mice over two months seems real close to proper feeding.

You're right, korbin, shes probably doing an acceptable job.. But , there are still lots of unknown variables such as her bp's weight and prey weight before anyone can say she is feeding her snakes properly. Why settle for "acceptable" when there are clearly things you can do better? Im going to drop it though, since everyone seems to think she is on track. I think it was her comment about us being "trolls" that really riled me up. Sorry

I also feed rats and not mice. And for my hatchlings, it would be closer to 10 feedings since January, not 8.

Skumbo · 03-01-12, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute_snakeyface

Actually...it says everywhere that Balls DO go looking for food.

KORBIN, you are the only person who is paying attention. Yes, my snake normally eats TWO mice per feed, at least twice a month. She rejects a third until a few more days go by. She eats plenty.

If her eating and pooping were so infrequent, don't you think I would be asking about that and not ONE case of missing poop?.

The smallest rats at my pet store are still too big for her to eat yet. The difference between small and medium rats is practically nonexistent. Also, thanks for the "$2, or so" lowball estimate. It's actually closer to $3.50.

My snake is NOT suffering. Before trying to help someone, might I suggest that you help YOURSELF to some more careful reading and critical thought.

Thank you.

also wanted to add that I wasn't low-balling, i was actually estimating higher, tis $1.50 an adult rat where I live.

$3.50 is ONE gallon of gas, just drive a little more economic and BOOM "free" snake meal once a week

I was hardly trolling.

feeding two mice instead of one proper sized rat does not = two feedings. that = one feeding.

@ people arguing for me not reading, the big indicator I saw wasnt "Oh well im feeding it what I was told" or anything it was "I dont have the money to feed it" which indicated to me that the OP knows it should be fed more, but opted not to due to "financial" reasons.

KORBIN5895 · 03-01-12, 12:36 PM

We pay four dollars a mouse here and six dollars for a small rat.

So what if the snake was fed one mouse this week and one mouse next week as opposed to two mice this week? When I was buying locally I had to make the choice to spend twenty bucks a week on snake food or use ten of it for bread and cereal for my children. Guess what? I moved my snakes feeding schedule around because I was skint. If you have never had to choose between which kid eats the peanut butter sandwich and which kid eats the rice crispy cereal because they couldn't booth have one please don't start criticizing their decisions. Money is tight for most people these days and i dont see how staggering the snakes meal this week won't make a difference.

Again we are all jumping to conclusions again. Even I am as I don't have two clues what the op plans on doing.

Skumbo · 03-01-12, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

We pay four dollars a mouse here and six dollars for a small rat.

So what if the snake was fed one mouse this week and one mouse next week as opposed to two mice this week? When I was buying locally I had to make the choice to spend twenty bucks a week on snake food or use ten of it for bread and cereal for my children. Guess what? I moved my snakes feeding schedule around because I was skint. If you have never had to choose between which kid eats the peanut butter sandwich and which kid eats the rice crispy cereal because they couldn't booth have one please don't start criticizing their decisions. Money is tight for most people these days and i dont see how staggering the snakes meal this week won't make a difference.

Again we are all jumping to conclusions again. Even I am as I don't have two clues what the op plans on doing.

Having been completely poor and well off at different points in my life, im going to have to say "yes i will criticize your decisions"

If you arent in the financial position to feed your snake due to anything, unstable job, having kids, etc etc.. don't get the snake or give it to somebody who can take proper care of it. It's that simple. If you weren't feeding your children child services would come and take them away, and that's how I feel about any living thing, if you're neglecting it, you made a bad decision and don't deserve the animal. It's not the snakes fault, it's yours.

peanut butter, bread, and cereal (especially with milk, which isn't good for you anyway) are very cost-inefficient choices, by the way. Get a 50 lb discounted bag of rice for $30 and feed for family for 2 months on mostly that for $0.50 a day and take care of everybody. there's a reason the majority of the world lives on rice.

having a pet is a luxury in that we can afford to get them and keep them alive and they make us happy in the process. If you are risking your family OR your pets health because you are stretching yourself too thin between the two, its time to down size and take a look at the decisions you've made.

your signature says you have a dog, three kids, a bearded dragon, a cockatiel (no idea how to keep those), 4 snakes, and a ferret..

that's a LOT of animals for somebody who just claimed they couldn't afford to feed their kids cereal and PB sandwiches. Dont go pointing fingers at me without looking at yourself. (You may be fine now, but its a good example.. you have a lot of animals and you said "snakes" when mentioning food, if you had only one snake you could have fed it fine before, so i guess it still applies)

I could afford 5-6 really awesome snakes right now, but I don't have the money in the long run or stability to keep all of them for the next few years, so Im only getting a second one and that's it until I move and settle somewhere else. I'm all budgeted out for feeding, electric bills, etc etc and will have plenty extra in case vet needs arise or anything.

The OP is paying for internet, which is probably around $30 a month if not added w/ cable.. $80 or so a month.

that's more than it would cost to feed the snake just for some "entertainment"..

now, OP could have an internet-based or reliant job, but most likely doesn't if they cant afford $3 a week for a pet.

KORBIN5895 · 03-01-12, 02:38 PM

Actually when I had to make those dcisions on food I had broke my foot and was unable to work one of my jobs for the summer. Also at that time I had three snakes, a dog, fifty mice ( a side business) a ferret, eight Guinea pigs (side business) , ring neck doves ( side business) and an aquarium of fish. I sold pretty much all of my pets at the time and kept the ferret, the dog, two snakes. I am a hustler and make money anyway I can. One thing I have noticed about you is you are very sure you know things which you so obviously don't. Now before you start telling me how to plan a grocery list maybe you should find out what things cost around here. Then you can tell me how to shop.

Skumbo · 03-01-12, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Actually when I had to make those dcisions on food I had broke my foot and was unable to work one of my jobs for the summer. Also at that time I had three snakes, a dog, fifty mice ( a side business) a ferret, eight Guinea pigs (side business) , ring neck doves ( side business) and an aquarium of fish. I sold pretty much all of my pets at the time and kept the ferret, the dog, two snakes. I am a hustler and make money anyway I can. One thing I have noticed about you is you are very sure you know things which you so obviously don't. Now before you start telling me how to plan a grocery list maybe you should find out what things cost around here. Then you can tell me how to shop.

Uh huh. grump grump

your location is Saint John NB (canada?) though your icon says USA.

If you're in NB, thats actually one of the cheapest places to live in canada, including having one of the highest average incomes. My friend lives in Monctom, and he bought a house because it was so cheap there, he spent the same as he was renting living where I'm from.

Electricity is also less per kW (10.74 c/kW hour) last year in saint john (coverted to USD) versus where I am paying 19.8 cents per hour right now, almost double electricity costs you're paying.

which is just one example..

Anyway, I'm done arguing with you off topic, my point wasn't completely pointed at you, but now it is.

If you have too many animals, you have to get your priorities in order. Don't just get a shitload of animals and expect to be able to keep them without planning. its irresponsible.