Feeding Question

Okay, so Kaa is all set with his heating pad, and now all I have to do is fatten him up so he gains weight and grows appropriately. I am going to try feeding him Rat Fuzzies every five days, but I want to know. Is it okay to give him more then one fuzzy? Or should I stick strictly to feeding him once every five days?

You may want to give more information out. Especially since I'm assuming you posted about Kaa before and while I've never read that thread before because I was on leave that may be the case with others as well.

I have no idea how big your snake is, or the weight or the age.

Just a general idea, I will give hatchlings a rat pinkie once for the sole purpose to see if they eat f/t then a rat fuzzy to make sure again. Then after that they're eating rat pups.

It depends on how big he is, but most likely yes. Fuzzies aren't very big and they don't typically stay on that size for long. If feeding one doesn't leave a noticeable bump in his belly feed him two. I feed prey items slightly thicker than the snake. They can take down a lot more than we give them credit for.

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Kaa is underweight, and although I don't know what his age is 100%, it's obvious he wasn't being fed correctly and is rather skinny and flabby. :\ He only ways 20 or so grams, and still fits in the palm of my hand almost. :\

And this concerned me, because he should be about a month old by now.

Wow...I just got in a 3 month old female and shes at 350g. He sounds small, I wouldnt see a problem with giving him 2 each feeding if he will eat them.

Holy cow, 20 grams?! If he's skinny and boney he's more than a month old. They sometimes don't eat the entire first month of their lives and as long as they absorbed their yoke they stay a decent weight/size for a good month if not 2.

If he has eaten for you a few times I would feed him every 3 days.

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That's the thing that gets to me, Kaa was adopted/rescued from someone who was not willing to care for him anymore and was putting oil on his body during a shed, so I chose to take him. The ad posted for Kaa was posted on 2013-10-01, 8:38PM CDT. He stated Kaa was 5 weeks old. So then plus now would make him how old? I'm really terrible with math.

But I've gotten so scared of loosing him, because I'm so attached. He is the only Morph I've got, that didn't cost me an arm and a leg. And he's got a sweet temper like no other. I'd be very heart broken if I get his size of feeding and schedule wrong, and he ends up passing away on me.

Edit: I don't have any children, but, my pets are my kids. I love each and every one of them, and I just want so bad to get Kaa healthy and fat. :( This is really hard, but he's worth it.

Little over 3 months! WOW

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Originally Posted by KayleighBrown

That's the thing that gets to me, Kaa was adopted from someone was not willing to care for him anymore, so I chose to take him. The ad posted for Kaa was posted on 2013-10-01, 8:38PM CDT. He stated Kaa was 5 weeks old. So then plus now would make him how old? I'm really terrible with math.

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A little less than three months(?), that's definitely possible. They must have never fed him. I have a tiny baby that I have been force feeding for 5 months and she's 50 grams (she hatched at 40 grams) yours was probably tiny to start with as well. There's a good chance my girl won't make it, but I'm not giving up until she does. I assume your boy is eating on his own?

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You'll get him into shape in no time! I'm glad you took him in! My hatchling is around a month and a half and was bought at 87g but I have older BP's at lower weights. Try him on a fuzzie (a small one) if he takes it you can try another. If not gradually gain weight on him, as long as he is eating appropriate sized meals it'll be no time at all to get him in a good condition and a better weight!

Best of luck :)

Oh yes, he is a wonderful eater as far as I can tell. When I gave him a rat pinky last friday to start him off on rats, he didn't take it when I put it in his tank, but when I picked it up with some chop sticks and wiggled it around, he struck, constricted, and then ate with no problem. And before then, he even ate a mouse fuzzy/hopper with no problems. So I am quite certain this poor baby was starved. I refuse to give up on him, I will do everything in my power to make sure he bulks up and survives.

P.S Thank you so much for your kind words Naomi, all I need is hope, and support from all of you wonderful people.

Not at all, we all have our trials and tribulations with our pets! I think if you can't come here for support where can you go? Keep us updated on your little guys progress, I look forward to seeing him after a few months with you, he'll be like a whole different snake :D

Not the first runt and definitely not the smallest, I remember a normal male that hatched out and I swear a hatchling cali king could have eaten him plus a pinkie. We put him on rat pinkies until he hit ~25g, then fuzzies, on pups I believe at 40g...all feedings were every five days, as a personal rule I do not feeding anymore frequent than 5 days due to liver concerns, some have had success though. The little guy ended up staying with us at the store, he ended up siring at least one clutch, and was ~30 inches when someone finally bought him I believe. The body is more likely to start putting on fat when the animal has a good solid meal, so whatever you feed there needs to be a good lump in him.

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

Not the first runt and definitely not the smallest, I remember a normal male that hatched out and I swear a hatchling cali king could have eaten him plus a pinkie. We put him on rat pinkies until he hit ~25g, then fuzzies, on pups I believe at 40g...all feedings were every five days, as a personal rule I do not feeding anymore frequent than 5 days due to liver concerns, some have had success though. The little guy ended up staying with us at the store, he ended up siring at least one clutch, and was ~30 inches when someone finally bought him I believe. The body is more likely to start putting on fat when the animal has a good solid meal, so whatever you feed there needs to be a good lump in him.

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So more then likely Kaa will never be full length when he grows up?

He should be fine now that he'll be fed appropriately, don't worry so much... you said he's a good eater... he'll catch up.
Note: the above referenced snake was 30" when sold so he probably got full size. :)

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A good pointer to notice, is if he's still hanging around the feeding area after getting one rat down and looks as though he's waiting for another, you might as well give him another. I've found my BP doing so on occasion so I give him two, and he's happily devoured the second one every time.