I can't believe what I overheard at a show... Talk about power feeding..

While at the white plains ny show today I over heard one breeder say to someone else, "I like to feed my hatchling girls every other day for the first year to get them up to weight within that year"...

I would think if one was doing such a thing he wouldnt be broadcasting it out like that... If I heard him say that, who else did...?

Maybe I'm a noob, maybe the big guys out there breeding do this because a little $$$ clouds the senses, but every other day?

Seems excessive to me... Thoughts?

every other day is definitley power feeding

power feeding is just like taking more time of the snakes life

Geeeez - I wish I knew who that was.:taz:

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Originally Posted by JasonG

While at the white plains ny show today I over heard one breeder say to someone else, "I like to feed my hatchling girls every other day for the first year to get them up to weight within that year"...

I would think if one was doing such a thing he wouldnt be broadcasting it out like that... If I heard him say that, who else did...?

Maybe I'm a noob, maybe the big guys out there breeding do this because a little $$$ clouds the senses, but every other day?

Seems excessive to me... Thoughts?

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I'm just careful who I listen to..:rofl:

I went to a show this weekend.

Now i dont know anything about em. But a guy said he had 1 of only 10 caramel burmese pythons. And he got offered 100,000 bucks for it and he turned it down. Mind you this guy is one of the vendors there, and a small time breeder.


Youd be suprised what kind of mumbo jumbo you can hear at those things.
Maybe this was all true, but i doubt it.

there's also the debate though about what defines "power feeding". Some people are of the opinion that if you offer food to the snake (lets say... every other day), and it eats with no problems, then as long as the snake is progressing naturally (defecating,shedding,etc...), then it is okay.
.........
then there are people who will feed a snake and then as the first meal is going down, they force another one (or two) down at the same time.
.........
I'd like to throw the disclaimer out there that I'm neither supporting nor admonishing either practice as I don't believe there are enough long-term studies out there regarding the health benefits of this. If I had to guess though, I'd say that it would be better to take the more conservative approach to feeding, since snakes (of any species) are probably not eating multiple items in one sitting.

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Originally Posted by JasonG

While at the white plains ny show today I over heard one breeder say to someone else, "I like to feed my hatchling girls every other day for the first year to get them up to weight within that year"...

I would think if one was doing such a thing he wouldnt be broadcasting it out like that... If I heard him say that, who else did...?

Maybe I'm a noob, maybe the big guys out there breeding do this because a little $$$ clouds the senses, but every other day?

Seems excessive to me... Thoughts?

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I dont do it But, you can with no harm to the animal. People really need to stop and think. Books and forums dont make the snake live. The snake does! And 20-30 people will post after this about how wrong I am. LOL.. I will feed some 3-4 rats a week. Some only one. It ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.. Depends on the single animal! Just like people. Some here are FAT,some are Small,some are SHORT,some areTALL some are GAY, some are STRAIT! LOL!

If you feed smaller multible meals you can feed every other day. I like to feed twice a week if possible. 2 small rats 2 times a week is HARDLY Power feeding.

Icy - I thought that was the case at one point too. And then someone posted an article about how their hearts enlarge everytime they eat. Ill have to dig that up...

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Originally Posted by adizziedoll

Icy - I thought that was the case at one point too. And then someone posted an article about how their hearts enlarge everytime they eat. Ill have to dig that up...

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I'm all eyes! Dig it up and post it! And I'll tell you the TRUTH!!

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Originally Posted by Icyhot73

I'm all eyes! Dig it up and post it! And I'll tell you the TRUTH!!

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Considering you just joined here yesterday, perhaps you'd like to give us some time to get to know if you know the truth, who you are, or what sort of collection you work with. The truth is often a funny thing depending on whose spewing out "truths". :)

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Originally Posted by Icyhot73

I'm all eyes! Dig it up and post it! And I'll tell you the TRUTH!!

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How interesting.
I may know less than you, but you seem pretty darn sure that you know more than anyone else here.

Well, why don't you give us some solid reasoning and facts? Your previous experience and collection perhaps?

Through common sense (and what I've heard about from people here and there) usually power feeding is meant to make a snakes growth rate increase. There may be different forms of this power feeding, but it may only be meant as used as power feeding specifically on occasion. (am I making any sense?)

If your feeding a snake every other day to get it up to breeding size, I would believe that to be an inappropriate form of increasing growth rate quickly and ineffectively... naturally I don't think snakes are meant to grow that fast or eat that much. I don't know this as a fact, but would assume that it's probably hard on their intestinal tract as well as their heart.

I donno, thats what I think.

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Originally Posted by Icyhot73

I dont do it But, you can with no harm to the animal. People really need to stop and think. Books and forums dont make the snake live. The snake does! And 20-30 people will post after this about how wrong I am. LOL.. I will feed some 3-4 rats a week. Some only one. It ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.. Depends on the single animal! Just like people. Some here are FAT,some are Small,some are SHORT,some areTALL some are GAY, some are STRAIT! LOL!

If you feed smaller multible meals you can feed every other day. I like to feed twice a week if possible. 2 small rats 2 times a week is HARDLY Power feeding.

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so your saying its like the abs diet for snakes, mulitiple smaller meals will increase his metabolism and fat burning right?

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Originally Posted by Icyhot73

I dont do it But, you can with no harm to the animal. People really need to stop and think. Books and forums dont make the snake live. The snake does! And 20-30 people will post after this about how wrong I am. LOL.. I will feed some 3-4 rats a week. Some only one. It ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.. Depends on the single animal! Just like people. Some here are FAT,some are Small,some are SHORT,some areTALL some are GAY, some are STRAIT! LOL!

If you feed smaller multible meals you can feed every other day. I like to feed twice a week if possible. 2 small rats 2 times a week is HARDLY Power feeding.

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a parent could feed a child mcdonalds every day and the child may seem healthy but for how long? as a keeper you are the care giver to the animal and although you know that a snake can eat every other day maybe you should stop to think should the snake eat every other day.

looking healthy and actually being healthy are two different things. being overweight is unhealthy whether you are human or reptile.

maybe i am not the smartest of all out here but i guess the question is how long does it take the snake to digest the meal. How long does it take you to become hungry. We don't feed every other day. but some snakes eat twice a week like our adult female mouse eater. I have several snakes that will eat small to medium rats. These snakes take sometime to digest the meal and will not eat for about 2 weeks after that. We do have multiple pray items offered at times to animals, especially the for mentioned mouse eater. Am i power feeding this snake I don't think so because if i only feed a 2000 gram female one mouse per week she would probably drop weight and not survive. So i guess the question still is WHAT is the true definition of power feeding. Normally these snakes will find a meal in the wild once every couple of weeks from what i have heard sometimes even longer. I guess by that standard most of us powerfeed to get faster growth, or do we all just feel bad about only feeding once a month. So what is the apropriate time between feedings. Are you supposed to wait for defication before offering another prey item. Im still waiting for a scientist or a vet to tell me when and what i should feed but I've been to several vets and gotten different answers.

Here's some interesting reading by the experts, those that have studied the very complex digestive processes of multiple species of snakes (burmese python, ball python, garter snakes to name a few).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/sc...=1&oref=slogin

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/208/5/881

http://www.csulb.edu/~brourke/CMP_Research.htm

Their results seem to indicate that there is a sharp increase in blood volume, liver size, heart size (in particular the ventricle), lipid production, mucus lining of the intestines, etc.

For me that confirms what I was always taught. That the digestive process for snakes is so energy intensive, so complex and involving so many organ systems that it's just not a good idea to feed every few days or to feed what I'd call "non productive prey" - aka mouse pinks that are far too small to be worth the energy a ball python would use to consume them.

This "truth" is backed by recognized scientific study and it does say to me that giving a snake a reasonable time to digest and allow it's systems to return to a relaxed, non-digestive state for a time is a good thing for the snake and how nature designed them. I don't think that offering meals every couple of days allows for that down time.

I'd be careful about listening in and passing judgement on other peoples conversations. You can often get misinformation and come to the wrong conclusion.

We are talking Ball pythons right? Just because food is offered doesn't mean they will take it. All my animals were chow hounds as hatchlings- though I never fed them regularly more than every 3 days, but come to 500-600 gms Most went into adolesence and went on hunger strike. :mad: Every animal is different. Experienced breeders observe their animals, and know which
animals they can push a little more...
You can plan as much as you want, but in reality the animals will regulate themselves... it seems to me, the hatchling that you most want to eat and get to breeding size is the one least likely to cooperate... and just because they reach breeding size does not mean that they will actually breed and produce viable sperm/eggs. Murphy's ball python laws.

Well the point has been proven, but here is the link that Miss Robin found for me a while back.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...02_python.html

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Originally Posted by adizziedoll

Well the point has been proven, but here is the link that Miss Robin found for me a while back.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...02_python.html

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Ahh there's that link I couldn't find! Thanks! It references the Hicks study as well.

Great article - thanks....

I never really read in any of the articles where this is a bad thing. The enlarment of the heart and liver. Seems most the studies where in realtion to the benefits of humans and really not much about the negativity to the snake. Grant it I did not read each article entirely but I did not see anything about negative effects. From the studies

I have read about snakes in the wild they are oportunist feeders. If the food is available then they eat if they are hungry. The analogy of a kid eating mc donalds every day is not remotely the same. How many artificial chemicals and what not is put into a mc donalds hamburger? Mice or Rats are a fairly organic food source.

I am not advocating power feeding in anyway. My collection of ball pythons is not huge and I am returning to hobby after a long Hiatus. I think the forcing a second food item down while the first one is going down is definatly the wrong thing to do but offering food every few days and the snake is receptive to it probly is not a bad of a action as you would think. Then again its just my opinon and is just that a opinion.

Might be an idea to read them. :)

Okay let's look at this part....

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They found that oxygen consumption rose sevenfold in lab pythons after feeding. This was accompanied by an extraordinarily rapid growth in heart size. The snakes' heart ventricle muscle mass (ventricles are the heart's pumping chambers) increased 40 percent in just two days.

The study team was able to link this sudden growth to increased production of a cardiac protein. The protein is associated with cells that enlarge the heart and boost its pumping capacity, a condition known as cardiac hypertrophy.

The researchers say feeding-induced cardiac hypertrophy likely explains why Burmese pythons pump 50 percent more blood per heartbeat while quietly digesting a meal than when slithering at full speed.

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So, basically the process is significantly more physically draining than the snake slithering at full speed. Common sense tells me that I don't want to put my snakes at full gear, burning up that sort of energy every few days. If the goal is to raise healthy snakes that gain weight in a normal manner, how do you accomplish this when encouraging them to pump that much blood, requiring that much more energy draw? How is this sensible?

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Previous studies point to why python hearts need to go into overdrive when these animals digest food. Researchers report livers growing to three times their normal size, intestines doubling in mass, and pancreatic enzyme activity increasing threefold. Such changes within the snake significantly raise the demand for oxygenated blood.

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So not only the heart (and it's push to pump more blood) go into overdrive but so do many other very vital organs. Now this is what nature intended and designed for snakes. What nature never took into consideration was humans tossing dinner at a snake every 3 days. They are predators and like any wild predator they likely miss more than they catch. Nature never likely intended any snake to eat that often and therefore I do believe that a constant swing into and out of this intensive digestive process and all it entails will eventually take a toll on a snake over it's lifetime. For me, having read all these studies, that just makes sense.

I still do not see anywhere in the points you brought up where it said it is a bad thing. Maybe it is a bad thing and I do not plan on feeding my snake every other day. But I have not seen anything where it says these things have show to decase the snakes life span or where it causes health issues. Not to sound sarcastic or trying to start anything but I would love to see the info in black and white about the negative effects on the ball python. Hopefuly it would help some of the people out there decide the right thing to do.

Again, if you read the studies you won't be finding that answer but that was not the focus of those studies so that's to be expected. The focus of them was to understand the processes at work, not follow those snakes through an entire lifetime. When and if that particular study is done (and if it has been done I'd love to read it), then you may get your definitive answer.

For me, when I read studies like this, I look for things that make sense to me. I use those grey cells to take what the scientists are telling me and translate that into a sensible captive feeding program. I was taught that weekly feeds work well for ball pythons because it gives them the downtime they require between the stresses of a feeding cycle. These studies seem to indicate that this wisdom shared by very experienced keepers with quite huge collections makes good sense considering the definitive findings on the major changes snakes go through during digestion.

I think every keeper has to make these decisions for themselves and their snakes. I like to take what people tell me, do my own research, try to make sense of what the reason behind the wisdom is and just go from there. That works for me. Seems to be working well so far for our snakes too. :)

Very well put Franky. I personaly will take the knowledge I have and with that and my snakes figure out what is the best for them. I dont think I would feed my snakes any more then 5 to 7 days apart. Depends on the snake. It all boils down to personal opinions since there doesnt seem to be anything to define it in black and white. Seriously who would like to get that het lav female and male to breeding size in one year.

I was at a show a while back and was talking with a breeder who told me to get my female hatchlings on rat pups asap and feed them 3 times a week so i could breed them at 18 months. Needless to say i have never bought anything from him.

Well I'll be! I guess I should stop lifting weights 5 times a week as my heart rate increases everytime I lift and those protien shakes are definately out the window. :O

Thanks for that one now I have an excuse to go out and drink in the evening instead of wasting my time in the weight room! :gj:

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Originally Posted by Gloryhound

Well I'll be! I guess I should stop lifting weights 5 times a week as my heart rate increases everytime I lift and those protien shakes are definately out the window. :O

Thanks for that one now I have an excuse to go out and drink in the evening instead of wasting my time in the weight room! :gj:

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Dont forget breeding. That will really get the heart going might enlarge it and you could die. Man what a way to go.

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... It seems to me, the hatchling that you most want to eat and get to breeding size is the one least likely to cooperate... and just because they reach breeding size does not mean that they will actually breed and produce viable sperm/eggs. Murphy's ball python laws.

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I think when you look at studies and then temper it with your own experience with snakes and the qualitative experiences and anecdotes of those breeders who have put themselves out there in regards to sharing their knowledge... then yeah, I think you said it wonderfully.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

For me, when I read studies like this, I look for things that make sense to me. I use those grey cells to take what the scientists are telling me and translate that into a sensible captive feeding program.

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I need to spread more reputation around before giving it back to FrankyKeno... :) (or I would have).

Bruce

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Originally Posted by Sloburn

I have read about snakes in the wild they are oportunist feeders. If the food is available then they eat if they are hungry. The analogy of a kid eating mc donalds every day is not remotely the same. How many artificial chemicals and what not is put into a mc donalds hamburger? Mice or Rats are a fairly organic food source.

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you do not see how a parent over feeding a child may be similar to a snake keeper power feeding the animal that they care for?

i made no reference at all to the amount of chemicals put into mcdonalds or how organic rats are.

i was only trying to compare the responsibility of a parent caring for a child to the responsibility of a snake keeper caring for their snakes. something that you take care of can only be as healthy as you allow it to be. that was the point and thats pretty remote...:colbert:

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Originally Posted by bigballs

you do not see how a parent over feeding a child may be similar to a snake keeper power feeding the animal that they care for?

i made no reference at all to the amount of chemicals put into mcdonalds or how organic rats are.

i was only trying to compare the responsibility of a parent caring for a child to the responsibility of a snake keeper caring for their snakes. something that you take care of can only be as healthy as you allow it to be. that was the point and thats pretty remote...:colbert:

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I think what he was saying was that the system is different and overfeeding a child doesn't drain it of a weeks worth of energy like it does for a snake.
I don't think he was denying the responsibility meaning to that, which is completely true. :]

I'd imagine a snake's body is well equipped to deal with the changes that happen when it eats. It'd be pretty silly if an animal was harmed from eating when it was hungry, you know?

The key of course is 'when it's hungry'. We all know how well BPs can be at self regulating if they're NOT hungry...

Is there any difference in the short or long health or longevity of snakes fed more frequently as juvies versus less frequently?

Those studies say eating takes a lot of energy but it does not actually say if it's harmful or not. The only time I can imagine it would be harmful is if you were feeding a snake items that were too small- so it took more energy to digest than was actually in the food. (Sort of like how it takes more energy for us to chew and digest celery than it actually has in it!)

Does anyone have examples of young snakes that were fed appropriately sized prey more frequently (not 'force fed' or 'power fed') and ate only when they were hungry, but had health problems compared to snakes fed less frequently? (Like every 3-4 days vs every 5-7 days) In all seriousness, I'm curious.

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Originally Posted by Ivyna J Spyder

I'd imagine a snake's body is well equipped to deal with the changes that happen when it eats. It'd be pretty silly if an animal was harmed from eating when it was hungry, you know?

The key of course is 'when it's hungry'. We all know how well BPs can be at self regulating if they're NOT hungry...

Is there any difference in the short or long health or longevity of snakes fed more frequently as juvies versus less frequently?

Those studies say eating takes a lot of energy but it does not actually say if it's harmful or not. The only time I can imagine it would be harmful is if you were feeding a snake items that were too small- so it took more energy to digest than was actually in the food. (Sort of like how it takes more energy for us to chew and digest celery than it actually has in it!)

Does anyone have examples of young snakes that were fed appropriately sized prey more frequently (not 'force fed' or 'power fed') and ate only when they were hungry, but had health problems compared to snakes fed less frequently? (Like every 3-4 days vs every 5-7 days) In all seriousness, I'm curious.

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Ok, I'm not sure on this so it's a complete opinion!
I think that our humans definition of hunger is quite different from a snakes definition of hunger. See the thing is, they don't have the same kind of subconscious as we do, they have a feeding response right? So when they eat I don't think it's necessarily them telling you 'HEY I'M HUNGRY' but it's just kind of an instinct for them to take anything they can get. Perhaps?

Through common sense, I believe that any amount of stress on their system that doesn't have any time to rest for a few days is probably causing stress on the rest of the body which could lower any animals life span. Stress releases nasty chemicals from the brain, which can make us sick or run us into depression and stuff. I'm not positive, but it seems that it would be similar for animals like bps that have a very sensitive spot for stress?

:]

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

I think what he was saying was that the system is different and overfeeding a child doesn't drain it of a weeks worth of energy like it does for a snake.
:]

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I don't even have a BP yet, but have had a couple of snakes in my day. I never tried to power feed my snakes or anything like that, and had a schedule where they ate a meal once per week.

With all that said, I don't think this is an accurate statement. The digestive process wouldn't drain the snake of a week's worth of energy because it's being constantly provided with more energy (i.e., feed every couple of days). I do wonder how the digestive tract (e.g., fluids) keeps up with constant work though.

Just putting that idea out there. The statement really stood out for me and I felt that I should comment on it.

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Originally Posted by Ivyna J Spyder

I'd imagine a snake's body is well equipped to deal with the changes that happen when it eats. It'd be pretty silly if an animal was harmed from eating when it was hungry, you know?

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But that's not the point that eating "harms" a snake. The point is to understand the complexities of what happens to a snake when it does feed so we as captive keepers make smart feeding decisions. Of course eating doesn't "harm" a snake, but it does require massive organ changes, massive draws on energy for that animal. Understanding that process makes the advise that the highly experienced people share here about allowing these snakes reasonable downtimes between feeding even more sensible.

I simply don't understand I guess the need to stuff as much food as you can, as often as possible into an animal that was designed by nature to be an opportunistic, ambush predator. Sure in nature there are times when rodents are very plentiful and they get to eat pretty frequently but over the course of the year that isn't likely to be the norm. For a system designed and evolved to digest in this extreme manner, I just cannot see the sense of overly compressing the feeding cycle hoping to achieve some sort of accelerated growth pattern.

I guess the flip side question I'd propose then is - what are the benefits of feeding more often? If feeding less often (i.e once per week for snakes past hatchling stage) isn't what you do, why do you choose to feed more frequently?

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Originally Posted by branson

I don't even have a BP yet, but have had a couple of snakes in my day. I never tried to power feed my snakes or anything like that, and had a schedule where they ate a meal once per week.

With all that said, I don't think this is an accurate statement. The digestive process wouldn't drain the snake of a week's worth of energy because it's being constantly provided with more energy (i.e., feed every couple of days). I do wonder how the digestive tract (e.g., fluids) keeps up with constant work though.

Just putting that idea out there. The statement really stood out for me and I felt that I should comment on it.

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If you have read this my statement would've made more sense. ;]
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/208/5/881
I got this information not from my knowledge but from the website posted.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

But that's not the point that eating "harms" a snake. The point is to understand the complexities of what happens to a snake when it does feed so we as captive keepers make smart feeding decisions. Of course eating doesn't "harm" a snake, but it does require massive organ changes, massive draws on energy for that animal. Understanding that process makes the advise that the highly experienced people share here about allowing these snakes reasonable downtimes between feeding even more sensible.

I simply don't understand I guess the need to stuff as much food as you can, as often as possible into an animal that was designed by nature to be an opportunistic, ambush predator. Sure in nature there are times when rodents are very plentiful and they get to eat pretty frequently but over the course of the year that isn't likely to be the norm. For a system designed and evolved to digest in this extreme manner, I just cannot see the sense of overly compressing the feeding cycle hoping to achieve some sort of accelerated growth pattern.

I guess the flip side question I'd propose then is - what are the benefits of feeding more often? If feeding less often (i.e once per week for snakes past hatchling stage) isn't what you do, why do you choose to feed more frequently?

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Well you know how to say things better than I do.. thats for sure. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Well you know how to say things better than I do.. thats for sure. :rolleyes:

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Years of practise Jess, far too many years of practise. :rolleyes: :rofl:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

But that's not the point that eating "harms" a snake. The point is to understand the complexities of what happens to a snake when it does feed so we as captive keepers make smart feeding decisions. Of course eating doesn't "harm" a snake, but it does require massive organ changes, massive draws on energy for that animal. Understanding that process makes the advise that the highly experienced people share here about allowing these snakes reasonable downtimes between feeding even more sensible.

I simply don't understand I guess the need to stuff as much food as you can, as often as possible into an animal that was designed by nature to be an opportunistic, ambush predator. Sure in nature there are times when rodents are very plentiful and they get to eat pretty frequently but over the course of the year that isn't likely to be the norm. For a system designed and evolved to digest in this extreme manner, I just cannot see the sense of overly compressing the feeding cycle hoping to achieve some sort of accelerated growth pattern.

I guess the flip side question I'd propose then is - what are the benefits of feeding more often? If feeding less often (i.e once per week for snakes past hatchling stage) isn't what you do, why do you choose to feed more frequently?

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Very well put and hope you know what im doing here. Playing the devils advocate stimluating a good conversation so maybe everyone will learn a little more.

Most people would power feed mostly for their benefit more then the snakes. Like I previously stated who wouldnt like to bred that het lav female as soon as possible. But there was also another point that was made. Yes snakes are oportunistic feeders and although they probly are not able to make a reasonable decision I imagine they know when they are hungry and when they are not. Snakes do not consume much energy other then eating. I imagine part of the reason the heart enlarges when they feed is the fact it needs to move more blood per beat which would make each beat more efficent right? They snakes body does these things naturaly and are more then likely streamlined to consume the amount of food and get the energy needed as well as leave some over to grow. Someone said about feeing the snake smaller meals compaired to larger ones. I imagine larger ones will be more beneficial to the snake several small meals not so much.

I guess my main point is. It boils down to opinions for the most part. Untill there is a study about the benefits and the negative effects its pure specilation(sp?). You are right we only have personal experience to go on when its all said and done.

One thing I noticed, the articles all mentioned very big meals. The bigger the meal the harder it was on digestion. I think the size of the meal is key we might be putting alot less stress on our snakes if we feed them smaller prey.

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Originally Posted by Emilio

One thing I noticed, the articles all mentioned very big meals. The bigger the meal the harder it was on digestion. I think the size of the meal is key we might be putting alot less stress on our snakes if we feed them smaller prey.

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Not only that - only one article was based on a study using Ball Pythons (our subject of discussion).

Now, while a Burmese Python (the subject of study in the other three articles) are more than likely very closely related to the Ball Python, hence them both carrying the tag 'Python,' I'm sure they aren't exactly the same in bodily function. So as far as I'm concerned, those two articles aren't really of use to us here (unless of course we're talking about Burmese, which we aren't).

I noticed a few things in the study about Ball Pythons on as well.

First and foremost, it never says that this change is strenuous on the snake's body. Sure, you can assume that such a drastic change means that it's body is stressed out, but this may not necessarily be correct.

Second, these snakes were fed once every four weeks! That's vastly different from how often they are fed by most breeders and owners (5-7 days, as opposed to a month). How do we know this change in diet doesn't effect the digestion process?

Third, most (if not all) of the changes that occur during digestion take upwards of two weeks to return to their natural homeostasis. Again, this is twice as long (if not slightly more) than the average captive feeding cycle. Unless you're waiting two weeks or more to feed your python, you're already overfeeding them according to this article.

Basically, these articles aren't that relevant to ball python care, in my eyes anyways.

Thought this thread would be dead. Anywho, blackcrystal I still don't see where it states that digestion takes a week's worth of energy. That just doesn't make sense... Not here to argue or anything like that. And for the record, a meal once per week is my plan once I get a BP.