How's her progress?

JustMeNmySnakes · 02-17-15, 09:16 PM

Curious if my female retics making good weight gains.
On January 29 she weighed 302 grams.
Today she weighs 364 grams.
I know each owner has different expectations and how the snakes are fed, can determine a snakes growth. I'm feeding my girl a f/t rat every 4-6 days.
So, 62 grams in 19 days.
Is that a healthy amount of weight to put on for 19 days?
Thank you!

JustMeNmySnakes · 02-18-15, 07:40 PM

No takers? I guess I should weigh her after she poops before her next meal for an accurate weight, but just wanted to see if 62 grams in 19 days. Let's say, 60 grams. Is that good for the time period?

IW17 · 02-18-15, 07:52 PM

Young Retics grow insanely fast. As long as it appears and acts healthy I wouldn't put much thought into a high growth rate.

Sublimeballs · 02-19-15, 06:06 PM

What exactly is the back ground on your retic? I remember you saying SD, but I can't recall mention of locale or %.

**millertime89** · 02-19-15, 07:30 PM

Pretty sure she's pure SD. That seems about right.

JustMeNmySnakes · 02-19-15, 08:53 PM

I'm ashamed to say I don't know her locale and %. I went in blind and I honestly do wish I knew. I'd love to breed her one day with another dwarf or SD.
For now, I'm happy so long as she's healthy. Im trying to get with a local cabinet maker who's able to make my enclosures for considerably less than what I would've spent on materials and he's making them with cabinet grade 3/4" ply. Complete builds minus the staining. It's a great deal and I asked him if I can stop by and snap pics or if he can periodically.
I can't wait to give her a new and better home.

JustMeNmySnakes · 02-28-15, 02:01 PM

Well, I decided to wait till she pooped and yesterday, OMG, did she poop big. So I weighed her, and she weighed in at a whopping 372 grams, lol.
8 grams in 10 days after expelling her last meal or two. Seems decent.
I'm not worried about how fast she's gaining or trying to speed things up. I don't have a whole lot to do up here besides work and care for my critters. My SD Retic gives me something different to look forward to everyday. She likes being handled, at least she appears to enjoy it. Anyways, thanks for all your input and advice.
Aloha...

ReticulatedGuy · 03-09-15, 08:08 PM

Hello!

A lean diet is always favorable. Yes, one could argue to power feeding at a young age but it should definitely be regulated. Simple body conditioning signs such as eyes (bulging or sunken), conformation (amount of fat and/or muscle in comparison to ribs), activity (active moving and tongue) and consistency of stools can be indicators of overall health. Psychological adaptations have yet to be fully understood by researchers and considering I'm currently doing university research on salamanders I won't be hitting that topic anytime soon.

Nutritive values have also very little data as the field of study is limited but hopefully that will change to allow proper management of our beloved reptiles. Hope this helped, take care!

JustMeNmySnakes · 05-02-15, 01:49 PM

Well, she seems to be growing steadily. She weighed in today at 590 grams. She's grown almost a foot.
She's energetic, and her feeding response has changed dramatically. She would only eat the f/t rats off her hide, but I can't lay the rat down now without her meeting me half way and handling her business.
Till next time...

**EL Ziggy** · 05-02-15, 05:22 PM

So where are the pics?

JustMeNmySnakes · 05-03-15, 02:07 AM

JustMeNmySnakes · 05-03-15, 02:08 AM

JustMeNmySnakes · 05-03-15, 04:12 AM

Sorry for the poor photos

I'll post better ones soon..

JustMeNmySnakes · 05-03-15, 10:42 AM

Albert Clark · 05-03-15, 01:37 PM

Fantastic retic! A rat every 4 to 5 days sounds excessive to me. Maybe you should consider a larger rat over a 10 to 14 day interval? Just IMO. Good luck.