Adult Male BP wanting to eat often?

[jillofthejungle]

Smaug is about 4 years old at this point. He weighs about 700g right now (may have gained weight, I haven't weighed him in the last two weeks). I feed him small rats, about 50-70g, and I was offering them at a once/week schedule. However, the last three weeks, he's been giving me the signal that he's hungry about 4-5 days after his last feed - sticking his head out of his hide when he knows I'm in the vicinity, getting into an s-shape, and staring intently at wherever I'm at. These are behaviors he only displays when he's ready to eat. I finally gave in and offered him a rat today (this is 4 days after he last ate) and he struck it before it could hit the ground (he usually lets me place a rat in the tank and then waits for me to leave the room).

Last year, he went on a hunger strike and dropped to 600g before he finally started re-eating. He's back to the weight he was before the hunger strike, so I can't think of any good reason why he's suddenly wanting to eat sooner. Everything in his tank is just about perfect - 90 on the hot side, with heat tape at 90 underneath the tank, 78 on the cool side, plenty of water, humidity is around 60-70%. Nothing has changed in the last month.

Is it ok to feed him more often if he displays the signs? Or should I stick strictly to 7 days? Could something else be going on here?

[melcvt00]

What size rat are you offering?

[Spinnerman]

Maybe the size rats you are feeding him are too small? if so offer him larger prey size but i wouldn't recommend over feeding or giving him prey to big for him as that can cause problems.

[EL-Ziggy]

I like a 7-10 day feeding schedule for adult BPs but you could try offering him larger meals on occasion. Give him a medium or 2 smalls every 2nd or 3rd feeding.

[crenfrow524]

Since he has been putting on weight again, it may be beneficial to up the size of prey. That should fill him up for a longer amount of time. I like to stick to the recommended feeding times and increasing prey items size as they seem to want more.

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