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  • 02-06-2010, 12:32 AM
    Animals As Leaders
    Best way to put on weight?
    Well this post is actually for a snake of mine that I just took in as an adoption. She is very skinny, and needs to put weight on asap. Her muscle tone is very weak so I am pretty concerned and want to get her back to normal asap before the point of no return. She has an appetite so nothing to worry about, and doesn't seem to have any sign of RI. I don't want to power feed her or anything, but what would you guys say is the best way to get her up where she should be?
  • 02-06-2010, 12:34 AM
    Kaorte
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Just feed her between 10-15% of her body weight once a week. Do you know how old she is? what is her weight?
  • 02-06-2010, 12:44 AM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Its actually not a ball ;)

    shhh

    but, I figured its kind of the same rule of thumb w/ any snake when it comes to this subject so I posted here.

    I actually don't have a good scale at the moment. But trust me you don't need a scale to know this snake is a little bit on the light side lol. I offered her a f.t mouse and she took it with a great response which was very exciting because if her feeding response was anything like the way she looked when I first arrived home with her we were going to have a problem. I was thinking about offering one tomorrow as well, bad or good idea?
  • 02-06-2010, 02:12 AM
    Kaorte
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders View Post
    Its actually not a ball ;)

    shhh

    but, I figured its kind of the same rule of thumb w/ any snake when it comes to this subject so I posted here.

    I actually don't have a good scale at the moment. But trust me you don't need a scale to know this snake is a little bit on the light side lol. I offered her a f.t mouse and she took it with a great response which was very exciting because if her feeding response was anything like the way she looked when I first arrived home with her we were going to have a problem. I was thinking about offering one tomorrow as well, bad or good idea?

    What kind of snake is it? Do you have a picture of it?
  • 02-06-2010, 11:11 AM
    angllady2
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    The best way to get her weight up if she's very thin is to offer smaller meals more often.

    Instead of stuffing the snake with a large prey item every 7-14 days as you normally might, keep the offering small, but go every 5 days. Her digestion will have an easier time with small items, and thus you won't overfeed her on the short schedule.

    Then as the weight returns, gradually go bigger prey and less frequently.
    Best wishes with her.

    Gale
  • 02-06-2010, 12:01 PM
    singingtothewheat
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Ben and Jerry's
    Movie popcorn
    Homemade bread

    Actually if your a girl all you have to do is try not to put on wt and it just appears magically

    Oh, snake , sorry. lol jk
  • 02-06-2010, 12:29 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by singingtothewheat View Post
    Ben and Jerry's
    Movie popcorn
    Homemade bread

    Actually if your a girl all you have to do is try not to put on wt and it just appears magically

    Oh, snake , sorry. lol jk

    haha I wish that was case for this little girl lol

    shes a red tail boa actually, but there isn't a lot of traffic on the rtb section and I know you guys would have been able to answer the question faster if I put it here. Is it bad if I fed her a smaller meal today even though she ate yesterday? I've done this with other snakes with no problems at all, I was just thinking a hopper or something small like that.

    Btw, if you want to see pic you can go to the rtb section the thread is call "best rtb deal of century"

    thanks!
  • 02-06-2010, 12:37 PM
    Stewart_Reptiles
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    A snake will gain back weight by being fed with consistency start with feeding an appropriate size prey every 5 days.

    If you feed your Boa with consistency it will gain weight back unless their is another issue beside neglect/underfeeding that could cause the emaciation, having a fecal done is not a bad idea when getting a new snake especially an underweight one.
  • 02-06-2010, 06:37 PM
    BallsUnlimited
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Deborah View Post
    A snake will gain back weight by being fed with consistency start with feeding an appropriate size prey every 5 days.

    If you feed your Boa with consistency it will gain weight back unless their is another issue beside neglect/underfeeding that could cause the emaciation, having a fecal done is not a bad idea when getting a new snake especially an underweight one.

    agreed. http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs121...._7612496_n.jpg yawning after her meal.
  • 02-06-2010, 09:01 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BallsUnlimited View Post

    wooofa!

    thats a big snake...
  • 02-06-2010, 09:31 PM
    BallsUnlimited
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders View Post
    wooofa!

    thats a big snake...

    shes a sweet heart. shes also a rescue. :gj: you can actually see me in the reflection doing the log book for all the snakes hahah. Feeding day keeps me busy
  • 02-07-2010, 01:24 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    I'm really happy I was able to take her out of the environment she was in. She lived in a 55 gal with bark chips, a couple hides, fluorescent light, and a basking bulb. She looked like a mummy. Couldn't even see the red in her tail. But now she looks a lot better. I think she still has some stuck shed on the bottom of her neck and the top of her head, but for some reason it doesn't seem like it wants to come off. I don't know if it just loose skin from her being so skinny, or if it is old shed. I'm gonna take some pics so you guys can see what I'm talking about. This is my second rescue, but my first wasn't anything like this...He was a little underweight not like this though. I picked her up yesterday just to make sure shes doing ok and she seems just from that one meal that regained a lot of strength. Her body was very flimsy and she couldn't keep good control over her muscles but now she seems a little more stiff. I really can't wait to see her back to her old self and how she SHOULD look. But with her great attitude and her awesome feeding response we should be there in no time.
  • 02-07-2010, 05:46 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...m/101_0500.jpg

    http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...m/101_0498.jpg

    idk if you can see the loose skin. I'm going to try and soak her one more time to see if I can get it to lift up.
  • 02-07-2010, 06:04 PM
    BallsUnlimited
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders View Post
    http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...m/101_0500.jpg

    http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/...m/101_0498.jpg

    idk if you can see the loose skin. I'm going to try and soak her one more time to see if I can get it to lift up.

    yeah mine came in with some loose skin. aka a little on the skinny side. with proper feeding it will gain the weight it needs to. Dont power feed it. theres no need. in a few feedings it will be back to normal. it looks like its just on the skinny side. soak it in 84 degree water everyday for like 2 weeks to make sure its hydrated then you can stop soaking it and keep good humidity and your good to go. good to see theres people rescuing them. They really arnt the monsters every1 makes them out to be.
  • 02-07-2010, 06:56 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    There sooo not!!

    My g/f was sooo mad at me the day I told her that I was picking up a Red Tail. We went to Petco and our one friend got 3 free red tails and wanted to know if we wanted one. I wanted to handle the snake before I agreed just because I heard some back and forth on their temperament. As soon as he took him out he was very active and I kind of had a hard time keeping up with him. I think he wasn't happy with how I was supporting him and he let me know about it with a couple of bites. Ever since she didn't like them. She said there was something about their eyes that makes them just look mean she said. That all changed when I brought this one home. There something about her, I'm not sure what it is but she has this calmness. She doesn't squirm she just hangs out and observes everything around her. She completely redefined the red tail definition in my g/f's head so for that I'm grateful.

    She is soaking right now. I am going to continue soaking like you said until I see that shes looking a little better. All petco had was f/t hoppers so I am going to feed her one every three days. I'm actually thinking this might be a little more effective in terms of keeping her appetite up and wanting to feed. I think I am going to name her Maggie :)
  • 02-07-2010, 08:02 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Well I got a poop and pee out of her!!

    And her skin looks great!! Each time she comes out of these baths she looks that much better. I'd give 3 weeks and you would never even know she came from a neglect home. So excited!!:taz:
  • 02-07-2010, 08:07 PM
    BallsUnlimited
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    yeah shes deff prob dehydrated so the soaking is going to help her out and take care of that big time. In no time shell be over 8 feet and your gonna be like is this the same snake hahah. there gentle giants.
  • 02-07-2010, 08:11 PM
    Animals As Leaders
    Re: Best way to put on weight?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BallsUnlimited View Post
    yeah shes deff prob dehydrated so the soaking is going to help her out and take care of that big time. In no time shell be over 8 feet and your gonna be like is this the same snake hahah. there gentle giants.

    This is my first "Giant" so the next couple of years are gonna be interesting...

    I also was feeding some of my other smaller babies and had an extra hopper thawed so I offered it to her and she nailed it hard. It was a small one too so it was perfect for a little extra "boost" in terms of nourishment.
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