cal king q's - Page 2

RaVeNo888o · 07-25-03, 12:26 AM

hmm, i might try that next time to help him out a bit, but then not after that as i want him to be able to down the adults soon.
do you squeeze horizontally or vertically? is it rather easy? how much do i squeeze i dont wanna pop the eyeballs out lol

RaVeNo888o · 07-27-03, 07:34 PM

How long should it take him to digest the 2 hoppers?
i checked this morning and he was still a bit fat, but the bulge wasnt so obvious. the skin is still stretched so that you can see the skin between the 'scales' ..He did defecate though so he is digesting, just wondering how long it should take.thxs

**Andy_G** · 07-27-03, 07:40 PM

Can take anywhere from 2-6 or 7 days, depending on what temp the hot spot is.

I crush the skulls by squeezing vertically. You won't need to squeeze too hard, you will feel the cranium give way. It's VERY easy.

RaVeNo888o · 07-27-03, 08:44 PM

Ok, thanks once again andy, its been 3 days and i just increased the temp this morning because it was low 80's. now up to about 85, i just put in 60W instead of 40W

**Andy_G** · 07-27-03, 11:57 PM

Sounds good. At 85 degrees, it will probably fully digest in 4 days and then have a few poops.

Stalabros · 07-29-03, 12:34 PM

One suggestion, I have a Female CalKing, she is about 40 inches long and about the same age as yours, when she reached about 24" I started feeding her rat pinkies, and followed that by rat pups when she reached 30" long. I noticed a huge growth spurt in her when I changed over to rats. I think that there is more meat on a rat pinkie then there is on a mouse (a lot of it is hair).

**Andy_G** · 07-29-03, 01:20 PM

There is more fat on a rat pinkie than there is on an adult mouse, much more fat and much less protein.

Vanan · 07-29-03, 02:02 PM

Andy, dya have any numbers backing that?

Cos it seems kinda odd that a snake would grow (in length) faster while on rats than mice, if what you're saying is true. More fats means a fatter snake, not a longer one. Also the Nutritional analysis between the two is uneven as most rat pinks (1-2day olds) are smaller than adult mice.

Is there anyone out there with numbers?

Ace · 07-29-03, 04:16 PM

I found this surfing around....it's in PDF format so you need an Acrobat reader to veiw it. If you go down to page 9 it starts listing all the stats for each animal. It lists domestic mice, so I'm not sure if that would be the same as a lab mouse? Anyway here's the link Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertebrate Prey

KingJaff · 07-29-03, 06:37 PM

Apart from the fat issue, it dosent matter what size food item u feed as long as its not to big.. I recomend feeding him as oftern as possible, every 4-5 days (with smaller prey items if nessisary) as u say he probably wont get fat for a good 5 months or so, also i'd handle him more...
When i got my Cal king he was very under sized for his age, about 36" three and a bit feet and he was around six years old and was shedding his skin about 3 times a year, when i decided to buy some calcium and vitamin spays and started to put them on his Mice.... and BAM he had a growth spurt started to shed every month, so I stoped the suplements and I started to handle him more and also started to feed him Hampsters, small Rats (40-60 grams) and chicks, this was 9 months ago and he hasnt slowed down at all yet, it looks like he might reach full size after all. Strange dont ya think???

**Andy_G** · 07-29-03, 07:51 PM

Vanan, if you look around on I think the food for thought forum, the numbers were posted there a while ago. It basically stated that adult mice are higher in protein and lower in fat than rat pinkies/fuzzies/pups, but once you get to weanlings, they have more developed bones and muscle, so there is more protein in them, but no matter what size rat it is, there is always more fat. I'm tired so if you can't make sense of this tell me and i'll try again tomorrow lol.

snakemann87 · 07-29-03, 08:11 PM

Ya I think I fed my hatchling corn snake that was 18'' fuzzys.......he loved them

RaVeNo888o · 07-31-03, 03:48 PM

I fed him his second meal of 2 hoppers last night, he took them alot easier. Both last time and this time, he spends alot of time in his water dish soaking, after the feeding. Im not concerned about this, but is there a reason he does this? it in the middle, not on the cool, not on the hot side. Does this help digestion or something? Do your guys do it?

**Andy_G** · 08-01-03, 12:22 AM

I would think that it soothes any strain that the snake's skin is under after eating...just my guess though.

jwsporty · 08-01-03, 05:14 AM

Andy,
although your statement on the fat content difference between an adult mouse and a rat pinky is accurate the differences as shown in the link you provided show a difference of .1%

Adult mouse >10gr 23.6 %
Rat Pinky ,10 gr 23.7 %

with an 10-50 gr. rat hitting 27.5%

I think the real issue isn't so much the fat content as it is the volume. Of course the vitamins & trace mineral elements are also important and need to be present for good growth and health, building fat stores in the snake is not a bad thing. They will expend the energy as needed and they will store the fat to carry them through the hibernation period. I have both rats and mice on the menu and have tried to adopt a policy of making both available to every snake at feeding time. Ultimately the snake will dictate how much he/she wants to eats. I have had some of my guys openly accept up to four assorted food items and not necessarily always the same size. And others that decided they only wanted one item. And then have them change the number of prey items they take in in following weeks. A heavy eater one week might be light for the next week or two, or he may just stay as a heavy eater. All are healthy, with no signs of obesity (scale distention, lumpiness, etc..) and their poops are consistent (normally 4 days after consumption) and relatively low odour, which tells me that they are absorbing the nutrient value of the prey they were given. I do not consider this power feeding as they are offered on a 5-7 day schedule. I would rather make the food available and then let them decide. Not only that, but by offering the varied menu it gives me a chance to offer mice if I am out of stock of rats, and vice versa. As I breed both mices and rats for my babies, I generally don't worry about the economic issue, just the availability issue. Some times I get a little out of sync with my food stocks and then I have to resort to buying, but I still prefer to feed them with food I have grown. Well there's my two bits...

Jim