feeding, once or twice a week?

okay, so i've been feeding dexter one mouse every 3-4 days. i'm wondering when do you change that to once a week?

i don't want to overfeed him and, while doing a search, i saw adam mention that if you overfeed males they can go off their food to 'catch up'.

so? should i continue with twice a week and if so, when do i change it.

I feed babies once a week from hatchlings..

You're better off feeding smaller stuff weekly with males. 1) they'll be less likely to go off feed and 2) if you are thinking about breeding, fat males are lazy breeders.

i would have thought that once every 3/4 days was more like power feeding lol. even my baby corns only get fed once every 5 days, it takes them almost that long to digest their 2 pinkies.

im feeding all min snakes every 5 days for now as theyre all still growing but im considering changing one of my bp's to once a week cos hes a greedy beggar and is gettin a bit too porky.

once a week is plenty for any ball python.

-adam

We feed all our balls, no matter what size, once per week. Some get one prey item, some get two....just depends on the snake but we tend to go with something that doesn't bulge them out a lot but rather just makes them nice and content.


~~Jo~~

Man, I'm glad I read this thread. I was feeding my guy medium rats (160-175g.) like once a week for quite a while, and suddenly he just stopped eating for a few months. It really drove me nuts. I decided to try going back to adult mice and he's been eating weekly for the past couple weeks... if he's fine eating adult mice, I'm definitely going to stick with that for a while.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

We feed all our balls, no matter what size, once per week. Some get one prey item, some get two....just depends on the snake but we tend to go with something that doesn't bulge them out a lot but rather just makes them nice and content.


~~Jo~~

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So, how long after your snakes swallow their first item do you offer the second? You feed F/T, correct? How would I go about offering a second helping with live mice? How do you know your snake actually wants a second mouse - do you just offer it, and if they don't eat it you take it out, or do they behave a certain way so as to make you believe they want more?

if you wanted to help a female grow faster would twice a week be ok for her? like say thursday and Sunday?

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

So, how long after your snakes swallow their first item do you offer the second? You feed F/T, correct? How would I go about offering a second helping with live mice? How do you know your snake actually wants a second mouse - do you just offer it, and if they don't eat it you take it out, or do they behave a certain way so as to make you believe they want more?

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Offer the second rodent as soon as the snake starts to 'move about' after the first feeding....f/t or live...it works the same ;) If the snake eats the second....then it wants it....if it does not eat the second....it does not want it :)

Personally, I like feeding multiple live rodents instead of multiple f/t. With multiple live, you just take the mouse out or kill it and freeze it if your snake does not want a second (or third, or fourth, etc). I don't like to refreeze f/t rodents so it seemed like a waste of money when they did not want the multiple or if you don't have other snakes that will eat the left overs :)

Remind me: what's the difference between offering 2 mice in one sitting than offering 2 mice over a week-long period?

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Originally Posted by Stings

if you wanted to help a female grow faster would twice a week be ok for her? like say thursday and Sunday?

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That is considered power feeding and is generally looked down upon. You don't want to rush growth, it isn't healthy. A female ball python will be ready to breed at three years, don't go by a length or weight, go by age. At 3 a female BP is mature enough for breeding.

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Remind me: what's the difference between offering 2 mice in one sitting than offering 2 mice over a week-long period?

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Not a thing. But there is a big difference between feeding a snake an appropriate number of food item once a week vs. an appropriate number of food items multiple times a week and spreading out the feedings of an appropriate number of food items over the course of a week. ;)

-adam

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Originally Posted by Shelby

That is considered power feeding and is generally looked down upon. You don't want to rush growth, it isn't healthy. A female ball python will be ready to breed at three years, don't go by a length or weight, go by age. At 3 a female BP is mature enough for breeding.

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Ohhh ... I couldn't disagree more there ... I have some 3 and 4 year old ball pythons that I would not even think of breeding ... a healthy weight to length ratio should ALWAYS be a factor when deciding wether or not to put a female ball python into a breeding program.

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Not a thing. But there is a big difference between feeding a snake an appropriate number of food item once a week vs. an appropriate number of food items multiple times a week and spreading out the feedings of an appropriate number of food items over the course of a week. ;)

-adam

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...eh?

Only feed once-per-week, and offer multiple mice?

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Stick to a strict once-a-week feeding schedule, but offer multiple mice? No more frequent, regardless of amount of rodents?

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Why would a higher number of rodents call for a more frequent feeding schedule?

I have some adult girls that will eat 8 mice in a sitting? ... My rodents are all picked up/delivered on Mondays ... it's most convenient for me to feed all of them one day a week ... you guessed it ... Monday.

For those that need to travel to a pet store to get their live feeders, I would imagine that making the trip once a week is far more convenient than multiple times a week? No?

What am I missing that is making this sooooo difficult?

-adam

.....and if you like to handle your ball pythons alot.....feeding twice a week gives you four days out of the week that you are not supposed to handle.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

What am I missing that is making this sooooo difficult?

-adam

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Condescending mockery aside, the way you decided to phrase it in your previous post was far from clear.

"[...]vs. an appropriate number of food items multiple times a week and spreading out the feedings of an appropriate number of food items over the course of a week."

That was supposed to be soooooooooooo not confusing?

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Why would a higher number of rodents call for a more frequent feeding schedule?

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I never said feeding multiple mice more than once a week. I said "what is the difference between feeding 2 mice on Monday, as opposed to 2 mice over the course of a week." It would appear that daniel understood what I was asking.

Let me bring it down a notch or four: Both scenarios = 2 mice over a 7-day period.

Obviously providing a higher number of rodents per feeding wouldn't call for an increased feeding schedule.

Oh well don't listen to me. lol

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

I never said feeding multiple mice more than once a week. I said "what is the difference between feeding 2 mice on Monday, as opposed to 2 mice over the course of a week." It would appear that daniel understood what I was asking.

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The difference that I see is that it takes a BP about 24 to 48 hours to digest (hence the no handling 48 hours post-feed). My snakes tend to lay hot for at least a day or two after feeding, not moving around much, resting after a feed, and allowing themselves to digest. If I were to feed the same amount of rodents but in two different sessions and on two different days, then it seems to me that I would be adding undue stress to my animals, and also restrict my handling sessions to only one or two days a week. (I don't handle on feeding day, or the two days following)

I don't think that feeding two mice at a time and feeding one mouse on Sunday and one on Wednesday is even close to being equal... I could be wrong of course. I've been known to be wrong before... it was a cold winter's night in '84.... or no... '89! ;)

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Condescending mockery aside

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Lighten up.

-adam

Well, looks like I'll try offering 2 mice the next time I feed, just to see if he is even interested in an extra meal. Thanks for the feedback.

Okay preface this by saying....just our way, not the "only" way. Also to clarify, yes we were feeding f/t for awhile, however, every one of our snakes other than Brannagh either refused it after the first week or cut significantly back on their intake of prey. We were just not pleased with their feeding responses at all on f/t so we've gone back to strictly live feeds. All of them barring Saoirse are back up to their normal feeding routines. We suspect Saoirse being a wild caught adult is just reacting to the season and since she is not losing weight we are not concerned at this point.

Now as to multiple prey. We offer multiples to the snake's that need them for a couple of reasons. Because we feed live we feed a smaller prey size so as to help make sure the snake is safe and can easily handle what is offered. Due to this we offer multiples to some of the snakes as they require that volume of prey. We offer the first live rat, which is generally dispatched efficiently within seconds. Once the snake has completely consumed the rat and the mass of it is well down into the body of the snake (not bulging in the neck area) and the snake has resumed a hunting position, we offer the next prey. It is usually dispatched with as much gusto as the first. If the snake doesn't go for the second prey aggressively we give it only a little time (which we monitor) then we remove the prey and wait till the next week's feeding day. If the snake doesn't look to be wanting more or goes off to it's hide then we don't even bother to offer another live prey item.

This way the snake's decide what they feel like eating each week. If they are good and hungry they go for the second one...if they aren't, then they are content with one and I'm okay with that.

We don't feed the same volume of prey over a few days as for me that would be inefficient, cut down on the days I can handle our snakes and I'm not comfortable with them have 2 prey items in them in different stages of digestion. I have feed on a less than 7 day cycle occasionally without any problems, but in the end the 7 day cycle seems to work best for us and our snakes.

Just the way we do things around here.......


~~Jo~~

Accck wrote a book in my last post LOL and still forgot this bit....

I do have to disagree Shelby on your age for breeding comment. I don't think age is an appropriate indicator. I have one female that by age could breed this year. She is in no way a candidate for breeding and it would likely end poorly.

We have been advised to use a weight/length indicator and that even that is not a "perfect" method. 1,500 grams minimum with a 500 grams per linear foot expectation is what we've been told to use as a basic starting point when judging a female's readiness for breeding. Even with that we've been told to judge our females by their "feel" and our knowledge of their health and feeding habits, etc. In other words a big fat female snake isn't any better to breed than an underage or underweight snake.


~~Jo~~

Yes Jo, Adam already told me I was incorrect. I had read that info on some article on a breeder's website.