Should I feed more?

[BPSnape]

To preface, I'm new to owning (or is it being owned by) a reptile. I've had Professor Snape, a juvenile BP of approx. 3 - 4 months for 2 1/2 weeks. I bought him at a reptile sale from a glass sided tank with no hides that had probably 20 of them in there. It was during the day with lots of people peering at them, and all were very calm, no attempted strikes when I reached in to choose one. They were kept daily otherwise, this was just display for the sale, the point being he is super calm, captive bred, and in great physical condition, so I believe them when they said he'd been eating one adult mouse weekly, and that this is what he's used to.

So, I get him home and his first feeding is Tuesday of last week. I dropped the mouse and watched. He slowly uncoiled, reared up to weave back and forth and watched a bit before grabbing the mouse to squeeze. After squeezing he set the mouse down and nosed around to the head and got in a good position to swallow. It it did take a while to get the mouse down and it seemed almost too large, but he was fine with no regurgitation. The day after feeding he wasn't too thrilled about being handled, though he wasn't aggressive, just kind of ducked away from me trying to pet him. So I chalked it up to "I'm full, leave me alone" and put him back. Two days later, his temperament was back to super relaxed.

Fast forward to this week's feeding, on a Wednedsday because I had a hard time getting a mouse, so it's 8 days later. I'm not too worried judging by what people here have said about how long theirs sometimes goes between feeds, but he was a little skittish during handling Monday and Tuesday. Nothing alarming, just less chill than normal, so I figure maybe he's just not in the mood. Well he was in between his 2 hides when I put the mouse in, and he grabbed it before it took 2 steps. His position for gripping wasn't so great, but he got another loop over the mouse and took care of business. The second the mouse stopped squirming he tried to swallow it butt first. He became a bit agitated, trying a dozen or more times to just duck his head down and grab the mouse by all kinds of bad angles. He never would drag it out to where he could uncoil and get the mouse's head and finally performed a fairly impressive stretch straight upwards to start swallowing, and after that he was fine. The mouse was a little smaller and went down well, and I'm sure he's still learning a bit how to handle his food, but what does concern me a bit is I felt like he was so hungry he didn't bother to take his time.

I'm not interested in feeding extra just to boost his size quickly, I only want him to be healthy and comfortable. Being so new, I am wondering if I am reading his behavior correctly, because it seems to me he was just very very hungry. Given what people have said about them being finicky eaters and hunger strikes I was a bit surprised by this, but of course it's possible that's not what his behavior means at all. I'm inclined to try feeding every 5 days. Any advice?

[George1994]

No real point in feeding 5 days. Just keep it at about 7-10 days. I highly dount he was hungry if he ate well just 2 weeks before and looks healthy. Their metabolism is FAR slower than ours so their hunger is very slow to onset. Also, try not to handle him for about 24 hours after feeding, they are digesting and this can, rarely, lead to regurg.

My baby lesser gets fed every 5-7 days, my big male gets fed every 10 days. The only reason a lot of people have strict schedules is due to the volume of snakes they keep, and feeding on one day is just easier.



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[EL-Ziggy]

I feed my young snakes roughly 10-15% of their body weight every 5 days until they turn one. Then I sightly decrease the amount of food and scale back the frequency of feedings to once every 7 days. It's not a strict schedule but it's a nice guideline to follow.

[BPSnape]

Thanks for both pieces of advice. If his behavior isn't an indication of actual hunger I will get him on 7 days and keep him there. I guess he's just young and still learning, plus it's a new home to him and I didn't realize he needed 2 hides for temp maintenance until reading about it here. So it could have just been his unfamiliarity with his cage set-up. My tweaking of that is probably also why he was a little jumpier than at first.

It was a little over 24 hours after eating that I handled him, but if shows any signs of discomfort tonight I'll bump it up to 2 days. I've seen some people say they go 48 hours. I really want to have him out as much as possible everyday to keep him as sweet as he is now, and I can't just take him downstairs to hang out every day because the husband's horrible phobia is why it took me so long to get one.

[George1994]

The two hides are just for security of them really. Just so happens that they are at opposote ends as that is where the temps are most varied

All those things you mentioned may have had an effect, and also, he might of just got a really indication from the prey and struck instantly! They are animals, they can be hard to predict and judge.

I go 48 hours with my 2, just for peace of mind! One more thing, my male is very rarely handled and is puppy dog tame. It is just in their nature, handling him too much could stress him out! So long as he is eating and seems fine, then what you are doing is working perfectly! Don't worry, it all fits into place after a few months!


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[tbowman]

The mouse was a little smaller and went down well, and I'm sure he's still learning a bit how to handle his food, but what does concern me a bit is I felt like he was so hungry he didn't bother to take his time.

That is not what happened. BP is an ambush predator (often times you'll see them sitting in their hide with only their head poking out). They are also opportunistic feeders, meaning they will usually eat when they have the chance. In the wild, when a rat walks in front of their face, they may not necessarily get a second chance. BPs usually take food pretty immediately.

I don't see harm in feeding a hatchling every 5-7 days. Although if you feed a snake too much there's a better chance of it going off of food.

[George1994]

That is not what happened.

How do you know? Juvies often don't really know what to do. My female lesser stuck for her first few times then just sort of froze.

They aren't machines. They are all different. You can't make statements like that, you wasn't there when it happened.

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[tbowman]

Feeding is an instinctual behavior. Mother Ball Pythons don't teach the neonates how to constrict and eat prey. If they didn't know what to do, they would die (some do in captivity) They're on their own from the moment they hatch. And seeing as his snake is four months old and he just got it two weeks ago, I'm assuming it's eaten before.

Regardless that has nothing to do with the fact that it took the mouse immediately, which is what I was addressing.

[George1994]

Feeding is an instinctual behavior. Mother Ball Pythons don't teach the neonates how to constrict and eat prey. If they didn't know what to do, they would die (some do in captivity) They're on their own from the moment they hatch. And seeing as his snake is four months old and he just got it two weeks ago, I'm assuming it's eaten before.

I have seen a lot of juvies, for the first few feeds of their life, still not quite knowing what to do with it. They strike, that I believe is very instinctual, but after that, they all seem to go their own way about things. Learning from experience.

Depending on the breeder, they might have sold it to her after just a few feeds. Some don't make sure they are eating and shedding well etc before just offloading their animals.

Not arguing with you, just saying that each case is a far from the same, especially when you bluntly tell a person 'That isn't how it happened!' within the first sentance of the post haha.

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[Albert Clark]

Remember you have only had the guy for 3 weeks. He is still acclimating to a new environment. I would feed him every 5 days but I would switch to rat pinks or pups right away. Definitely wait until 48 hrs b4 handling after a meal.