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Correct me experienced keepers if I am wrong but I think snake is ok if it's not
obese.
We all know signs of obese and can prevent it.
My snake is growing and takes 30% food and looks great. No obese at all.
There may not being any signs of obesity, but that doesn't mean the animal is healthy internally.
True, however my boa was raised in less than ideal circumstances and as such his growth has been stunted. He's gained almost 200 grams over the past 3 months alone so I'm not worried about his size too much. I'm afraid that weekly feedings on small rats that's are 10% of his bodyweight will result in unhealthy growth. At the end of the day, while I do want him to reach his potential size, having a healthy snake is more important for me. I don't want to take him from one extreme where he was emaciated with his last owner and then power feed him.
You're absolutely right! Your plan is the healthiest plan for your animal. Stick to it!
There may not being any signs of obesity, but that doesn't mean the animal is healthy internally.
So if you see any great looking snake you think it's probably unhealthy internally ?
Too much food lead to obesity. How can food harm to a growing snake without signs of obesity.
Do you think snake can gain visceral fat without gaining subcutaneous fat ?
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Sorry my English Feel free to correct my mistakes.
@ Kazz- Boas and pythons have very different metabolisms. Everything I've read and heard from experienced boa breeders and keepers is that boas should be fed far less frequently than pythons. Many snakes in captivity are already overfed and with boas being more prone to obesity a slow and steady feeding regiment is probably best. Snakes need far less food than most of us give them. I know my carpets could survive just fine eating every 3-4 weeks now but I still feed them every 2-3 weeks. I'm getting my first boa today and already making the mental adjustment to feeding him less often than my other critters.
So if you see any great looking snake you think it's probably unhealthy internally ?
Too much food lead to obesity. How can food harm to a growing snake without signs of obesity.
Do you think snake can gain visceral fat without gaining subcutaneous fat ?
By the time a snake is putting on fat deposits that we can see, they have already filled reserves around their organs within their ribs, so in other words, once a snake starts to look overweight, it is actually usually obese.
omg.
I have 1.5 year carpet python. She is 500 g. Carpet's are much smaller snakes than your boa.
Boas are slow growers, and carpet owners often feed their pythons much heavier than with boas. Plus, this one is a BCC, which frequently experience diet sensitivities and often grow slower than other boa constrictors. In this particular case, this one has had a rough start, and overfeeding will do nothing but make her unhealthy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kazz
Correct me experienced keepers if I am wrong but I think snake is ok if it's not
obese.
We all know signs of obese and can prevent it.
My snake is growing and takes 30% food and looks great. No obese at all.
That is, unfortunately, wrong. Growth is not always an indicator of health, and it's not good to compare pythons to boas. Pythons can handle fat intake much better than boas.
As far as obesity, it is not always obvious. The key to preventing obesity is proper feeding regimens and exercise opportunities. Now, babies 100% can become obese, but it is less likely to happen since they are growing. I have seen boas younger than a year that were so fat they had scale separation going on, and you could easily pick out the oversaturated internal fat deposits. Boas become obese long before they get rings in their tails, and a lot of keepers only know a snake is obese when it becomes that obvious.
I'm not a carpet keeper, but I don't like feeding 30% of weight to my retics, and I'm sure it's no more healthy for a carpet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy_G
By the time a snake is putting on fat deposits that we can see, they have already filled reserves around their organs within their ribs, so in other words, once a snake starts to look overweight, it is actually usually obese.
Yup. A snake can outwardly be fit and trim, and then when you open it up it's absolutely filled with fat deposits all the way up to its neck.
So if you see any great looking snake you think it's probably unhealthy internally ?
Too much food lead to obesity. How can food harm to a growing snake without signs of obesity.
Do you think snake can gain visceral fat without gaining subcutaneous fat ?
Where on Earth did I say any great looking snake is probably unhealthy internally??
The others already answered this. I'm sorry, but you're wrong on this one. Yes, over feeding can be unhealthy before the animal shows signs of obesity.
craigafrechette, I thought snakes gain subcutaneous fat first. But if bigsnakegirl785's pic is correct then snakes gain visceral fat first and no way to know how much visceral fat a snake gained already.
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Sorry my English Feel free to correct my mistakes.
craigafrechette, I thought snakes gain subcutaneous fat first. But if bigsnakegirl785's pic is correct then snakes gain visceral fat first and no way to know how much visceral fat a snake gained already.
It is correct. We have taken animals that have evolved to store nutrients while eating relatively lean varied infrequent food and put them into small spaces in captivity and have given them a relatively unvaried diet that is high in fat, and we have offered this fatty item much more regularly than what they would eat naturally. That is why people shouldn't be feeding their snakes too much. Overfed is the hobby norm, and snakes are overweight almost by default in captivity.
I've been guilty of overfeeding my critters too and I've learned to dial it back significantly. I still probably feed them more than they actually need. I guess I feed myself more than I need too.
Andy_G, I gave a videolink above. What can you say about the video ?
Just to be clear, I was stating that what bigsnakegirl posted is correct. The video will not play for me so I can't comment on whether it is correct or not.
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