Re: New ball python over a year old and only 166 grams!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bcr229
I feed my non-breeding adult females every two weeks, and my non-breeding adult males every three weeks. This basically matches the schedule that they put themselves on when every snake used to be offered a rat weekly. After reading about FLD I decided that I wasn't doing them any favors by overfeeding, and the vast majority of snakes are overfed in captivity anyway. Some people would call this "maintenance feeding" since the snakes aren't really growing at a fast rate any more.
FWIW to get back to the breeders I know of with the tiny babies, "maintenance feeding" meant "just enough to keep them alive". It's done strictly to save money, not to prevent health issues due to overfeeding.
This pretty much hits the nail on the head. It saves money, space and time. It saves money up until something gets sick. I don't know this for a fact but I would bet that the sick animals get culled because it is cheaper to cull them than to treat them.
I bet these animals are kept in dark tubs as well so the breeder cannot see them. Many of my young babies go ballistic if I skip a week. Especially the spiders. There is no way you could look at that and not feed if you have an ounce of humanity left.
The most entertaining excuse I have heard for not feeding was "I cannot get enough rats to feed as often as I want to." This is an actual excuse from a very well known breeder. Maybe, just maybe, if that is true, the breeder needs to rethink his/her operation.
Re: New ball python over a year old and only 166 grams!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SDA
I wonder... I have been feeding Dante every week for 7 years unless in shed or not eating from fasting.
He has since maturing maintained a very healthy weight range of 1100-1200 grams. It's just how he is. Never have had issues but...
Is there a benefit of every two weeks? I mean on my pocket book there is an obvious benefit but should every owner of a mature ball python migrate to a 2 week cycle instead of weekly? It would not harm him I know but I never really gave it much thought until I started seeing more and more adult owners switching to 2 weeks schedules. Or, is this just one of the many rules that spread around the community over the years as gospel truth and has no basis in scientific fact?
Honestly depends on the animal.
Bought mine with the breeder candidly saying he DID skip weeks already on his own. When I first got him, he ate weekly for me. But now he's back to refusing for a week or two then wanting it on the second/third week.
I think a lot of it depends on the particular animal. My male is rather lean due to these self-imposed fasts but since May he's gone from about 34" long and in the mid 600s to 37" long and in the high 700s. Some males will eat weekly or more often, probably based on the prey weight to body weight ratio and tons of other factors. Some only one a small once a month.
I'm not doing it to save cash, it's more not to waste it since he's been regularly refusing bi-weekly, leading to me having to toss a rat. So, I've swapped him to a biweekly feeding for now. Maybe through the summer he'll go back to weekly.
I just make sure to observe him at night.
In his hide watching me/the GF? Not hungry.
On top of his hide nosing the lid/glass? Probably hungry. Try offering the following weekend.
So far it's been working for him.
As an addition, to stay topical: the reason the breeder held him back 'til he was 2 was PROBABLY due to this and the fact careguides often biblically set a "once a week small rat!" guide. Pollux is not doing that. The breeder didn't underfeed him by choice, nor have I.
Something to take into consideration when getting small adults.
Re: New ball python over a year old and only 166 grams!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JodanOrNoDan
I don't know this for a fact but I would bet that the sick animals get culled because it is cheaper to cull them than to treat them.
Well... I've spoken with two exotic vets in my area and neither see a whole lot of normal ball pythons or common boas as patients, just the more expensive morphs.
Take that for what you will.
Re: New ball python over a year old and only 166 grams!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bcr229
Well... I've spoken with two exotic vets in my area and neither see a whole lot of normal ball pythons or common boas as patients, just the more expensive morphs.
Take that for what you will.
This holds true as well for the vets I know.
