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Smaller meals how often?

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  • 09-18-2012, 11:51 PM
    clairlevee
    Smaller meals how often?
    I've had my lil' spider BP for a week now, and it's time to feed him.
    I'm sure I can find larger food in the future, but I'm starting off with fuzzies. Because that was the largest Petsmart had.
    (Now that I've joined a herpetological society, I can get my hands on larger food items after I use these 3 fuzzies)

    He was hatched in August, he weighs ~175 grams, and his last meal was a "small mouse"
    If I feed him a fuzzy tonight, when should I offer him another? Sooner than a week?
    I just don't want him to be hungry..

    Also, is there some kind of secret size/prey item chart I can use to know when he needs bigger food and stuff?
    I have googled this but not rigorously, and haven't found much useful.
    And I like the different views I get from this forum anyways.
    Thank you guys!
  • 09-18-2012, 11:53 PM
    I-KandyReptiles
    People will usually suggest 10-15% of their body weight every 5-7 days.

    Most of my bps are mousers, so I feed them every 5 days. My one girl on rats, gets one once a week.
  • 09-18-2012, 11:57 PM
    The Serpent Merchant
    I would feed him multiple fuzzies at a time honestly. if not every 4 days.
  • 09-19-2012, 01:36 AM
    Foschi Exotic Serpents
    I don't go by the weight ratio thing.. I've had the best luck feeding small meals more frequently. I believe if they eat something smaller, they digest it faster, utilize more of it, which is apparent in the smaller poops, and grow faster.

    For instance.. I have a pair of holdbacks that hatched last spring. The female is 1400 grams and slender. The male is 900 grams. They were fed meals that usually never put a visible feed lump in their bodies, and every 4-5 days. The female eats weaned rat sized food, including the occasional adult ASF, every 5-6 days still. That's a pretty small meal for her size but it's worked to get her up to size without making her look fat.

    I did the same thing with this years babies and they are all between 300-400 grams at almost 5 months old. Not too bulky looking either.

    I decided to start feeding my females and breeder females this way after talking to other breeders who had great luck with it. I also have a 9 year old female who has never been a consistent feeder. I use to give her medium rats and sometimes larger if she hadn't eaten in a few weeks. As soon I started giving her small meals she started eating more frequently for me and would gain back her weight after laying eggs faster than in years prior.
  • 09-19-2012, 02:36 AM
    clairlevee
    Alrighty he just scarfed the fuzzy after countless soakings and blow dryings!
    I guess I'll give him another in 4 days and see how that goes :)
    And then get a hopper or a mouse or something
    Thanks for the tips!
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