Are we overfeeding?

[RobNJ]

This is a subject I often think long and hard about. I personally feed my balls on a 7 day schedule from the start. The only ones I ever feed with more frequency are females that have bred in order to put weight back on them- though admittedly, I have been rethinking this part as well. So, here is my concern. Many people feed younger balls on a 4-5 day schedule up until a certain weight and then switch them over to a 7-10 day. Some people feed them whenever they "look" or "act" hungry. How do we know that our snakes aren't being overfed? With some species, feeding with this sort of frequency has proven to be downright destructive over a rather short period of time. While this isn't the case with ball pythons, I can't help but to think about the long term effects of such frequent feeding.

I can see where breeders would want to feed a little extra and get their snakes up to healthy breeding weights over a shorter period of time, but I'm not convinced that it's in the better interest of the animals. I can't understand why people who are strictly keepers would feel any inclination to feed more than once a week-in this case, all more frequent feedings amount to is money spent unnecessarily, IMO. I have yet to see a snake, let alone a ball python, kept on a 7-10 day feeding schedule and look unhealthy because of it; but I have seen plenty of ball pythons that look rather "chunky" or proportionately larger than I believe they should be.

I've also heard the argument that a snake won't eat unless it's hungry, which is ludicrous at best. There are very, very few animals, that given the opportunity, will not overeat. Also, just because an animal will eat doesn't mean it should eat.

Now here come the questions...

What advantage or benefit to more frequent feedings is there other than the snakes will grow faster?

What long term studies/observations have been made that would support more frequent feedings?

If such studies/observations have not been done, wouldn't it be better to err on the side of caution and feed less frequently than 4-5 days as the snakes are growing?

Is it possible, that with such frequent feedings, that we are acting in our own best interest rather than the animals' best interest?

[The Serpent Merchant]

I feed my young BP's every 4 days, then switch to an 8 day schedule. They grow at a decent rate but not in huge jumps. If I were over feeding I would think that I would start to get flabby snakes and maybe even see bigger jumps in weight. Do I have any emperical data to back this up? No but there also isn't any data proving that it is harmful either at this point. I kept exact feeding records along with other things on my iHerp account as well as on my own data base. Only time can tell us what will happen. If I start to see a trend that my current feeding schedule is causing issues then I will change it.

[Skittles1101]

I have absolutely nothing to back up my opinion (I'm stressing opinion here, since I'm not exactly experienced enough to really post on something like this) but ball pythons are not like most species of snakes. Most snakes are opportunistic eaters, which is why boas have a tendency to become obese. However, I have never personally seen an overweight ball python, and I've also witnessed my snakes personally stick their nose up at food even a week after feeding them. I'm convinced because of the behavior I take as "not hungry" that they will not eat if they aren't hungry (even when offered live). Even some of my younger, non-breedable ones have skipped a meal for a week or so, then go back to normal after that. However, I could probably feed my boas daily and they'd take it without thinking twice.

Again, this is simply my opinion, ball pythons aren't the best test subjects for something like this because they are pretty much the pet rocks of the snake world. I'm curious to see what others have to say, especially the people with many years of experience with other snakes as well.

I personally only offer food every 7 days, occasionally I'll go every 5 days for a few weeks for my smaller ones, but like you said, it just seems like a waste of money to offer food that often if you don't need to. Good question though.

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

What advantage or benefit to more frequent feedings is there other than the snakes will grow faster?
Well obviously the ability to breed sooner or that bigger snakes are worth more.
What long term studies/observations have been made that would support more frequent feedings?
I read a while back that snakes actually need a downtime without food in order to be able to grow, however I have not heard of any studies to prove that
If such studies/observations have not been done, wouldn't it be better to err on the side of caution and feed less frequently than 4-5 days as the snakes are growing?
I stick to the once every 7 day diet as well so I would agree that it is probably better to work off the 4-5 day schedual. However, I also remember Brian B. from BHB doing a study on corn snakes by feeding 3 sets of snakes different amounts or size of food, one being fed bigger meals more frequently, another being fed small meals but more frequently, or another being fed a big meal once a week to see which one grew faster and what not. As far as the well being of the snake goes I dont know how that will turn out.
I dont think there has been that much study on how long the snake lives or what illness or negative effects it later might have had from being overfed, but I would also be interested to know.
Is it possible, that with such frequent feedings, that we are acting in our own best interest rather than the animals' best interest?
Very Possible I think it definately needs to be taken into consideration.

[Mike41793]

I feed mine every 7 days no matter what size. Theyre all healthy weights. Ya some start "acting" hungry at day 5 or 6 but i feed them every 7. Just my 2 cents.

[Domepiece]

Only thing I can say is that for the majority of any animal, being overfed or overwieght for a long period of time can significantly decrease life expectancy.

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

Only thing I can say is that for the majority of any animal, being overfed or overwieght significantly decreases life expectancy.

Do you know if this has been proven? or where you got this information? Not that I doubt it but would be interested to read into it.

[Domepiece]

Do you know if this has been proven? or where you got this information? Not that I doubt it but would be interested to read into it.

lol, it's just plain science and yes many studies have been done on obesity. I'm not going to do your homework for you but it shouldnt be too hard for you to find some scientific studies on the matter. It has been proven with many different animals, yes. There are many negative health side effects to being obese that would lower life expectancy in many animals including humans. Plus the general breakdown of food in any living creature produces toxins and oxidants into living systems so with more food intake and obesity comes more stress on the living system (organs). I'm not saying this is the case with ball pythons but in general this is true.

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

I dont feel like you can compare snakes to every other animal though. They eat one meal then go hide out for a few days then they are off again. They break down material so much differently then other mammals that have to eat every day. Yes I know obesity isnt healthy I dont need science to tell me that. But why would he bring up this thread if he didnt also question whether or not its unhealthy for balls.

[Domepiece]

I dont feel like you can compare snakes to every other animal though. They eat one meal then go hide out for a few days then they are off again. They break down material so much differently then other mammals that have to eat every day. Yes I know obesity isnt healthy I dont need science to tell me that. But why would he bring up this thread if he didnt also question whether or not its unhealthy for balls.

Im just throwing a blanket statement about animals, obesity, and the breakdown of food in general, I dont know the science on how it affects snakes at all. Snakes may digest food differently than other animals but the basic biological systems and internal functioning of cells is essentially the same in MOST animals whether or not they have very different physiology or anatomy. Its just my belief that any animal that is obese is at risk of negative health effects. I feed my snakes every 7 days and they dont seem to be overweight at all, so I dont think feeding snakes every week will cause negative health effects but I'm not a experimental researcher either, so..... I think that someone would have to consistantly and intentionally powerfeed a ball python in order for it to become obese