Feeding f/t?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Traceur

Good golly, thank you! That really helps!:D
When should I start weighing him? I read that it's important to weigh your snakes to make sure they are at the correct weight. I've heard people say to weigh them before feedings. So when would be the best time to do that?

---

Weigh snakes "dry," after they leave waste, preferably with poop and not just urine and urate. That will give you the most accurate weight. Snakes eat big meals and can take big poops. It can throw their weight off noticeably.

It's important for two reasons.

1. Appropriate sized prey (although you can use the sight method as well - with a BP, you don't want any prey item that leaves a noticeable lump. They are heavy built snakes, but not super stretchy.)

2. Are the sick?

Many BP's fast for periods of the year, usually winter. My BP Shayna fasts every winter for about 5 months and loses about 6-9% of her body weight. I do not worry unless she loses more than 10-15% and she always starts eating after about a 8-9% loss. It helps to keep track of weight loss during this period.

Additionally, if snakes are not gaining weight consistently when growing, that can point to health issues, such as internal parasites, etc.

As a side note, I’m going to try my albino on small rats again next feeding...still hoping to switch him over.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dianne

My albino still does that from time to time. I leave it in the cage overnight as he has changed his mind and eaten it later. In those cases, I always thoroughly check the cage the next morning if I don’t see the mouse where I left it. One time he only moved the mouse, under the rhp...heated dead mouse after a 12 hour shift at work was NOT pleasant.

---

Dianne,

Good to know BP's will often take several or more smaller prey items. My corns will do that happily, and I am sure my Boa would too. However, my BP is a shy eater, and usually goes and curls up after a meal. She's not exactly looking for more. However, she's always eaten appropriate sized prey for her and switched to rats super easy. So, I haven't had to test the theory. I appreciate the insight.

Secondly, you got off light!

Shayna (my BP), will, every once in a while, pull the rat into her hide, where she likes to eat, and then leave it there. The first time she did that, I didn't find it for two days! It was horrible! I give her two days to digest and leave her alone completely. Well, I used to. Now I check the next morning under all her hides to make sure it's in her belly!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dianne

My albino still does that from time to time. I leave it in the cage overnight as he has changed his mind and eaten it later. In those cases, I always thoroughly check the cage the next morning if I don’t see the mouse where I left it. One time he only moved the mouse, under the rhp...heated dead mouse after a 12 hour shift at work was NOT pleasant.

---

Sounds like that was fun XD The only thing I worry about is him accidentally eating some of his substrate. I've heard of this happening, while I have you lovely folks telling me it's completely safe and better for the snake. How likely is it for him to eat a piece of his cypress mulch?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

Weigh snakes "dry," after they leave waste, preferably with poop and not just urine and urate. That will give you the most accurate weight. Snakes eat big meals and can take big poops. It can throw their weight off noticeably.

It's important for two reasons.

1. Appropriate sized prey (although you can use the sight method as well - with a BP, you don't want any prey item that leaves a noticeable lump. They are heavy built snakes, but not super stretchy.)

2. Are the sick?

Many BP's fast for periods of the year, usually winter. My BP Shayna fasts every winter for about 5 months and loses about 6-9% of her body weight. I do not worry unless she loses more than 10-15% and she always starts eating after about a 8-9% loss. It helps to keep track of weight loss during this period.

Additionally, if snakes are not gaining weight consistently when growing, that can point to health issues, such as internal parasites, etc.

---

Sweet, I'll be sure to do that then! Should I weigh him after his first feeding when he dries? He's still pretty new, and I know you have to give them time till you could handle him. But would that be okay?

Also, what does snake poop and pee even look like? Will it be pretty noticeable?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

Dianne,

Good to know BP's will often take several or more smaller prey items. My corns will do that happily, and I am sure my Boa would too. However, my BP is a shy eater, and usually goes and curls up after a meal. She's not exactly looking for more. However, she's always eaten appropriate sized prey for her and switched to rats super easy. So, I haven't had to test the theory. I appreciate the insight.

Secondly, you got off light!

Shayna (my BP), will, every once in a while, pull the rat into her hide, where she likes to eat, and then leave it there. The first time she did that, I didn't find it for two days! It was horrible! I give her two days to digest and leave her alone completely. Well, I used to. Now I check the next morning under all her hides to make sure it's in her belly!

---

Your stories have me worry about what it'll be like if I'm able to get him to eat 2 hoppers when he reaches that point XD I still haven't figured out his personality. And if I'm being honest, I don't even have a name for him yet

RE: too much food:

There's a couple things you can do in that case.

If there's a reptile specialty shop nearby, sometimes you get lucky and they will trade feeders. Just may need to pay a difference in cost.

The easier option is after a couple of meals you can offer 2 hoppers for a meal. Younger Bps tend to do better with this option than the older ones. I would also consider feeding every 7-10 days for the first few meals to account for the larger meal and proper digestion. If the baby handles that well then you can go back to trying 5-7 days between meals.
And then prepare to stick to the larger and single prey after this run of hoppers is through.


Healthy poop:
Will be a nice light to dark brown 'turds' with a chunk of white chalky looking pee (reptiles pass semisolid urates) and a bit of actual liquid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Traceur

Sweet, I'll be sure to do that then! Should I weigh him after his first feeding when he dries? He's still pretty new, and I know you have to give them time till you could handle him. But would that be okay?

Also, what does snake poop and pee even look like? Will it be pretty noticeable?

---

I would avoid handling unless you need to quickly remove him and put him another container while you clean his tank.

Wait until he has three meals on consecutive tries in him before you can start gentle handling sessions.

Yeah, you won't miss the poop, but with Cypress Mulch, might miss the pee. However, pee generally comes with white chalky poop like stuff called Urates. The poop smells pretty bad, especially while they are eating mice. It's actually less unpleasant on rats.

If you are worried about him digesting cypress mulch, either use a different substrate, or offer the food over a paper plate. I am not an expert on cypress mulch, but snakes have a pretty strong digestive tract. I'll let someone else chime in on that, but I wouldn't worry too much.

For cleanliness, ease of care, and to avoid issues like digesting substrate, I use printless newspaper. I have enclosed PVC tanks so humidity stays perfect even with the paper substrate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

Dianne,

Good to know BP's will often take several or more smaller prey items. My corns will do that happily, and I am sure my Boa would too. However, my BP is a shy eater, and usually goes and curls up after a meal. She's not exactly looking for more. However, she's always eaten appropriate sized prey for her and switched to rats super easy. So, I haven't had to test the theory. I appreciate the insight.

Secondly, you got off light!

Shayna (my BP), will, every once in a while, pull the rat into her hide, where she likes to eat, and then leave it there. The first time she did that, I didn't find it for two days! It was horrible! I give her two days to digest and leave her alone completely. Well, I used to. Now I check the next morning under all her hides to make sure it's in her belly!

---

Luckily for me, it was only about 24 hours from when I introduced the prey to finding it the next evening. I’ve also experienced the regurged rodent in a hidden spot after a couple of days. Ick.

My normal male will pretty often take seconds and thirds, especially if he’s coming off a fast. If one of my others refuse their mouse or rat, I’ll offer it to him and he takes it most of the time. My new pied ate 2 live pinkies last week (all I could get at the time), but took a chunky f/t fuzzy yesterday. My hoppers just came in, so those are the plan for next week. My lemonblast is still refusing to eat anything, got her 7/21 (same day as the pied), but I’ve ordered live fuzzies for her tomorrow. I’m really doubting she ate one meal like the seller stated. I knew she was a brand new hatchling going in, so I knew there was a risk of having a problem getting her started. Patience is key in this case.

The corns and redtail will eat as much as I feed them. lol. The only boa I’ve ever had that wasn’t a chow hound is my Solomon Island ground boa. He usually eats one mouse every two weeks, but every once in a while he’ll take two. They’re very small snakes though, so that isn’t a problem. Overfeeding them can really be a health risk, so he dictates what he wants.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

I would avoid handling unless you need to quickly remove him and put him another container while you clean his tank.

Wait until he has three meals on consecutive tries in him before you can start gentle handling sessions.

Yeah, you won't miss the poop, but with Cypress Mulch, might miss the pee. However, pee generally comes with white chalky poop like stuff called Urates. The poop smells pretty bad, especially while they are eating mice. It's actually less unpleasant on rats.

If you are worried about him digesting cypress mulch, either use a different substrate, or offer the food over a paper plate. I am not an expert on cypress mulch, but snakes have a pretty strong digestive tract. I'll let someone else chime in on that, but I wouldn't worry too much.

For cleanliness, ease of care, and to avoid issues like digesting substrate, I use printless newspaper. I have enclosed PVC tanks so humidity stays perfect even with the paper substrate.

---

Sounds great! If I use a paper plate or printer less paper, how do I get him on there without stressing him out? He's always hanging around in his hides, so he's still a bit of a shy guy at the moment