Underfeeding hatchlings

Is it common practice for breeders who breed and sell a lot of snakes to underfeed hatchlings? Maybe not exactly underfeeding, but feeding less than the normal recommended amount.

I'll often see local breeders offering snakes that they say are 6-8 months old and only weighing 100-200g. I understand that snakes will grow at different rates but that's clearly not the expected size for 8 months.

I bought one of my own snakes from a local breeder 8 months ago and he's now around the 700g mark. However, I recently visited the same breeder to potentially purchase another animal and he still had some of the clutchmates to my snake that were tiny! Maybe like 200g at most. That can't be healthy for the snakes, but I understand why people would do it in a business sense.

Many breeders keep their animals on more of a maintenance feeding regiment rather than a growth oriented feeding schedule. This is just to keep their overhead down until the animal sells. I got a yearling carpet python that was 85g on arrival. The breeder was feeding him relatively small meals every 3-4 weeks. He wasn't unhealthy just small. After 6 months at my place he was up to 675g. They usually undergo a pretty big growth spurt once they're being fed a little more.

Besides growth differences, feeding frequency and prey size can have a lot to do with it. Also depends on what you or anyone means by:

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Originally Posted by silverbill

feeding less than the normal recommended amount.

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Some people think it's normal to feed babies every 3-5 days, I think it's normal to feed every 7-10 days. (I am of the belief a slow grown snake will live longer and be healthier in the long run but they don't reach 'breeding size' as fast.)

Also some babies may be picky to start, won't feed right away or only take hopper mice while others will switch up to rat pups fast, so there are a lot of factors that go into size.

A good body structure and healthy muscle tone is more important than an arbitrary weight in my opinion.
Snakes grow their entire lives and a slow starter should still reach a good size once mature.
:)

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Many breeders keep their animals on more of a maintenance feeding regiment rather than a growth oriented feeding schedule. This is just to keep their overhead down until the animal sells.

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^Yeah this, I often see 6~8 month old snakes weighing under 200g. I had bought a hatchling that was 7 months old and weighed 120g or 160g or something.

At what point do we quit calling them hatchlings.. I mean, a breeder calling a 7month old a hatchling..is this common? Arent they more juvies at 7months?

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LOL. Some of my boys are breeding before seven months. Makes them at least teenagers right? Definitely not hatchlings any more. I consider them sub-adults at that age.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

LOL. Some of my boys are breeding before seven months. Makes them at least teenagers right? Definitely not hatchlings any more. I consider them sub-adults at that age.

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Rite! Mks total sense!

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Originally Posted by Jeanne

At what point do we quit calling them hatchlings.. I mean, a breeder calling a 7month old a hatchling..is this common? Arent they more juvies at 7months?

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Lol I think people automatically use the word hatchling if the bp is tiny, regardless of age, not much thought into it. Especially when you're a breeder trying to sell a 120g snake, you can't call them a sub-adult for selling purposes, I think. But technically, I'd call them juvies/sub-adults at 7 months too.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Lol I think people automatically use the word hatchling if the bp is tiny, regardless of age, not much thought into it. Especially when you're a breeder trying to sell a 120g snake, you can't call them a sub-adult for selling purposes, I think. But technically, I'd call them juvies/sub-adults at 7 months too.

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Yup, it's a marketing thing. It can backfire though. I will not buy a snake I deem below average weight for its age anymore regardless of what someone wants to call it. I've gotten stuck with problem feeders that way and I just won't do it anymore.

I recently received an animal that was 175 grams and (it's a September hatch) I do not consider it under fed (it looks good) but it was definitely maintenance fed. I have animals that hatched in April that are bigger than that. (holdbacks)

The difference well for one yes they all grow at their own rate and it also depend on how big they are out of the egg, how fast they get started once out of the eggs (some may take 8 weeks), feeding frequency and prey size.

Obviously I feed my future breeders a little more heavily when they are young (every 5 days) while I don't feed available animals at the same regimen (they get fed once a week) and usually most breeder do that.

I don't put much importance on the weight of the animal but I do pay attention to the overall body proportions so even 200 grams at 8 months does not mean the snake is underfed or unhealthy especially if it looks good, now if it look emaciated than there is an issue.

You can have an healthy snake at any size, but it's always a fine line between under feeding and over feeding and over feeding is a lot more common than the opposite.

Bottom line if the animal looks good that's the important.