Can you overfeed?

[sum182]

My snake alura (the mistreated one from the pet store) Will eat ANY amount of food ANYTIME i wanna feed her....is it possible to feed her to much? she usually gets mice if my other snakes refuse them. And i was just thinking and shes had 5 adult mice and 1 jumbo mouse the last 5 days (from what i normally feed her everyweek and the turn downs), is that bad for her?

[Crazy4Herps]

Yes. Many breeders "power-feed" their snakes to make them gain a lot of weight in a short time, making them of breeding weight at a younger age. This is obesity, and, as with other animals and humans, it leads to all sorts of ailments and early death.

Obesity is actually common in bloods and other short-tailed pythons. Not so much in ball pythons, just because of their fasts, but it happens. Your snake will no doubt become obese if you feed her all she cat eat. Keep it to an appropriately-sized feeder every 7-10 days.

You are very lucky she's a good eater! I wish my girl would eat half of the things I offer her.

[Neal]

Not only that but in certain species that are powerfed to make them breeding size, it will lead to problems down the road.

[mainbutter]

There have been some limited studies showing that serious powerfeeding young BPs(some people as often as every 2-3 days for the first few months) is a very good predictor of the snake dying before 7 years old..

[PythonWallace]

There have been some limited studies showing that serious powerfeeding young BPs(some people as often as every 2-3 days for the first few months) is a very good predictor of the snake dying before 7 years old..

Can you point me to these studies? I never heard that, and I fed my male YB and bee every 3 days for the first few months. Neither are fat or bloated looking. They just look like they are older than some of my other snakes of the same age. And since my '08 bee was fed this way and currently weighs 430g, I'm wondering what people were feeding who say that their '08 animals are in the 600g-800g range.

[greghall]

my 08's are 600 + grams ,who said over feeding will kill them Ive noticed that when I feed every 3 days thye will eat then go off a week ,I do not believe a BP can be overfed they get picky when they eat alot.

[sum182]

Thanks for the responses. I figured since she wanted to eat them it wouldn't be bad, but I'll keep it to every 5 days. She is 3 and 1000 grams btw

[Crazy4Herps]

In husbandry-related debates such as this, it is useful to consider the animal's habits in the wild. And I assure you, no snake would find food every 2 days in the wild; they are equipped to go over 12mo without food, in case they are forced to.

Overfeeding is unnatural. Their bodies are not meant to handle such great food intakes. Personally, I believe adults should be fed no more than every 7-10 days.

[Kevin_Hornby]

You should switch her to weaned/small rats and she'll probly take 2 and be done.

[PythonWallace]

In husbandry-related debates such as this, it is useful to consider the animal's habits in the wild. And I assure you, no snake would find food every 2 days in the wild; they are equipped to go over 12mo without food, in case they are forced to.

Overfeeding is unnatural. Their bodies are not meant to handle such great food intakes. Personally, I believe adults should be fed no more than every 7-10 days.

Can you point me toward your research as well? I've heard reports of young balls in the wild being at and beyond the heavy end of what we consider to be healthy weights for juvies.