Fellow Burm Owners ASSEMBLE!!!...i need some help

Hey this is my first post on the forum and first id like to say hello to everyone. I recently rescued a young burm that i came across at a rundown petshop. Ive been treating it for mites for the past week. Its about 3 feet long and about as big around as my 2ft long bp. I was wandering what you guys suggest feeding him. I gave him an adult mouse and he took it down pretty quickly i was thinkging a small rat every 2 weeks? I want him to be at a healthy weight but not get too big too fast im aiming for 10-14 ft once hes full grown. And dont worry i am prepared for him i just want some opinions. Thanks in advance McGurk

Mice are way too small for any burm.. a small rat is probably good.. aim for something about the same size around as the snake's girth at the widest point. Feed him once a week.

Definately feed him once weekly. Weaned to small rats will be the best shot. Like the above post stated about the same size as his biggest part. I would go ahead and try and start him on FT also, you will want him eating FT when he is bigger for several reasons. If he takes FT I would even suggest getting FT guinie pigs. They have always worked well for me, I even have some balls that eat them. You said you didn't want him to get too big too fast, he is going to get big. Your main concern now is for him to be healthy.

Thanks for all the help guys. Hes on f/t right now and i plan to keep him on it. Ill go ahead and give him a small rat on his next feeding day. As for the guinea pigs i used to have them as pets and i dont think i could bring myself to do it, however i appreciate the suggestion. thanks again guys

wether you would want to or not you will have to feed him guinea pigs later on, maybe even a rabbit.

Most likely rabbits, guinea pigs are fatty.

Actually i work at a petco and have access to all sizes of rats even the jumbos that are the size of guinea pigs so i can just move up to them eventually. i do know that ill have to move to rabbits and thats ok with me. I just want a lean healthy diet for him.

i saw you said you were aiming for 14 feet... they dont stop growing because of the amount of feeding or the size of the enclosure please remember this i hate seeing reptiles in the enclosure because the owner thinks this is best for them to keep them smaller.

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Originally Posted by crusher

i saw you said you were aiming for 14 feet... they dont stop growing because of the amount of feeding or the size of the enclosure please remember this i hate seeing reptiles in the enclosure because the owner thinks this is best for them to keep them smaller.

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I dunno if that's true....I've simply mentioned to all of my burms to stay under 10 feet, and they have. You just need to ask nicely. :rolleyes:

i know that the size of the enclosure doesn't affect how big they grow thats a rule for goldfish but not for reptiles. I plan on building an enclosure that is about 8ftlx4ftwx6fth. itll be cut in half heightwise so i can have my burm on the bottom and my rtb up top. so theyll each have 3 ft of height. Ive read that you can control how big a snake gets by how much you feed it thats what i was talking about. And ill make sure it gets enough food for proper nutrition i wont starve it ill just make sure its not being powerfed or anything like that

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Originally Posted by McGurk

i know that the size of the enclosure doesn't affect how big they grow thats a rule for goldfish but not for reptiles. I plan on building an enclosure that is about 8ftlx4ftwx6fth. itll be cut in half heightwise so i can have my burm on the bottom and my rtb up top. so theyll each have 3 ft of height. Ive read that you can control how big a snake gets by how much you feed it thats what i was talking about. And ill make sure it gets enough food for proper nutrition i wont starve it ill just make sure its not being powerfed or anything like that

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No, you CANNOT control their size by deciding how much you feed them. You can't feed a small child one French fry a day and think they'll stay 3 feet tall forever. You're only going to be starving this poor snake. If you ask me, you didn't rescue this snake...only moved it to a different home. Please read the care guides, and listen to the advice given here.

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Originally Posted by McGurk

i know that the size of the enclosure doesn't affect how big they grow thats a rule for goldfish but not for reptiles. I plan on building an enclosure that is about 8ftlx4ftwx6fth. itll be cut in half heightwise so i can have my burm on the bottom and my rtb up top. so theyll each have 3 ft of height. Ive read that you can control how big a snake gets by how much you feed it thats what i was talking about. And ill make sure it gets enough food for proper nutrition i wont starve it ill just make sure its not being powerfed or anything like that

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Actually, maintenance feeding any type of giant is going to leave you with a fairly irritable animal, that's almost constantly on the prowl for food, due to its hunger. Add that up with a large snake (even 8 foot) and you're asking for trouble. Feed it properly. If you can't, then look for a proper home for the animal...

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Originally Posted by McGurk

i know that the size of the enclosure doesn't affect how big they grow thats a rule for goldfish but not for reptiles.

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Hey, man, that is not true for goldfish either. It's not true for ANY animal. If you keep an animal in something too small it'll just get sick and stunted.

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Originally Posted by McGurk

Ive read that you can control how big a snake gets by how much you feed it thats what i was talking about. And ill make sure it gets enough food for proper nutrition i wont starve it ill just make sure its not being powerfed or anything like that

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if you try to stunt the snakes growth by under feeding it your starving it. and i doubt you'll power feed it if you want it under 14 WHICH won't happen. power feeding is used to make a snake grow faster

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Originally Posted by MiniJ83

No, you CANNOT control their size by deciding how much you feed them. You can't feed a small child one French fry a day and think they'll stay 3 feet tall forever. You're only going to be starving this poor snake. If you ask me, you didn't rescue this snake...only moved it to a different home. Please read the care guides, and listen to the advice given here.

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Chill, dude!!!!!! He's agreeing with you... sheesh:rolleyes::rolleye2:

McGurk acknowledges you can't keep a snake small by keeping it in a smaller cage like you can sometimes do with fish. McGurk is just stating he wants a healthy diet for his burm but no power feeding.

But, I do have to agree with April. Mice are an hors d'oeuvre to a burm...more like a cheeze and cracker snake snack. Go with the rats that are the appropriate size.

As for the g. pigs, for me here in this area, they're sold as pets and would be too costly....more than XXL rats, or the pigs I could buy online and receive FT. By the time Ricky our retic needs large prey, it will be the 2XL rats, pigs, and then rabbits.

Yeah, but just so he knows. Burms can get 20 feet. Be prepared for a 20 foot snake. If you want a 10-14 foot snake, don't get a burm.

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Originally Posted by norm

Yeah, but just so he knows. Burms can get 20 feet. Be prepared for a 20 foot snake. If you want a 10-14 foot snake, don't get a burm.

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If it is a male he can feed it healthy and it should stay under 14 ft. Females will typically get larger, 18-20ft. The 20ft + burms are normally power fed.

Thanks for the defense sweety, it is a male thats why i said i wanted it around 11 feet if it was a female id expect to get in the 18-20's range. And actually the rule is true for goldfish, they wont outgrow their tank and theyll do just fine if taken care of properly, and i know this from experience. And i said i was AIMING for 11 feet it he acts irritable and needs to be fed more i will feed him more.

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Originally Posted by McGurk

Thanks for the defense sweety, it is a male thats why i said i wanted it around 11 feet if it was a female id expect to get in the 18-20's range. And actually the rule is true for goldfish, they wont outgrow their tank and theyll do just fine if taken care of properly, and i know this from experience. And i said i was AIMING for 11 feet it he acts irritable and needs to be fed more i will feed him more.

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I'm lost... why in the world are you aiming for anything here? You have ZERO control in how large this animal gets. You cannot aim for 11 feet and hope he stays that small!

Sweety, I think you mistunderstood what Mini was pointing out.

McGurk stated

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Ive read that you can control how big a snake gets by how much you feed it thats what i was talking about.

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That is false and that is what everyone here, including Mini, is trying to point out.

Then he clarified further

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And i said i was AIMING for 11 feet it he acts irritable and needs to be fed more i will feed him more.

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By what McGurk considers "controlling how big" is starving the snake to prevent growth, because that's just about the only way you can prevent any animal from growing is by not feeding it, or not feeding it enough.

Please, Mc, explain exactly what you mean here. From what I've gleaned, you intend to control how large this animal grows by not feeding it properly. Is this what you intend on doing? Or is that what you were told, because neither of those notions is right or humane for the animal.

You honestly sound like you shouldnt have taken this animal in to keep for yourself. The way it's reading to me is that you have very little concept of how burms grow and need feeding.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

That is false and that is what everyone here, including Mini, is trying to point out.

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Thank you.

And I completely agree with your point. From the facts presented...I dont think this snake is better off with him than where it was rescued from. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Well you can no longer see its spine sticking out of its back and its no longer covered in old shed, ticks and mites and its in a properly sized enclosure with proper heating and humidity. Would that qualify as better off? I was just trying to get to the bottom of the myth i guarantee that no matter how big he gets hell be properly fed and cared for. I didnt mean to start an argument or anything.

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Originally Posted by McGurk

Well you can no longer see its spine sticking out of its back and its no longer covered in old shed, ticks and mites and its in a properly sized enclosure with proper heating and humidity. Would that qualify as better off? I was just trying to get to the bottom of the myth i guarantee that no matter how big he gets hell be properly fed and cared for. I didnt mean to start an argument or anything.

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Thats wonderful to hear! I know my posts don't always come off as all sunshine and carebears, but I was really concerned you believed you could keep the animal however big you wanted it.

I am glad to hear you are taking the best measures for the animal's sake. :gj:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I know my posts never always come off as all sunshine and carebears,

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:D never always eh :D sorry couldn't resist :P

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Originally Posted by snakey68

:D never always eh :D sorry couldn't resist :P

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:8: Eh ya got me LOL

I knew what I meant!

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

:8: Eh ya got me LOL

I knew what I meant!

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I knew what you meant as well its the Scots mischieviousness in me I am just teasing :D

I am going to get me porridge now as I need to grow a couple of more inches for a game tomorrow :P

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Originally Posted by snakey68

I knew what you meant as well its the Scots mischieviousness in me I am just teasing :D

I am going to get me porridge now as I need to grow a couple of more inches for a game tomorrow :P

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Is that the Scotsmans secret? Porridge? I might have to see if my boyfriend will take up eating porridge... :8:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Is that the Scotsmans secret? Porridge? I might have to see if my boyfriend will take up eating porridge... :8:

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its one of the secrets sssshhhhh ;)

McGurk: welcome to the wonderful world of Ball-pythons.net glad your doing well with the Burm best of luck there.

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Originally Posted by snakey68

McGurk: welcome to the wonderful world of Ball-pythons.net glad your doing well with the Burm best of luck there.

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Ditto!

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I won't add opinion but just share personal experience. I have a 6ish year old male (we're not sure of the exact age) who was kept on a minimal maintenance diet until we got him in jan 2007. He weighed about 25lbs and was...um...9' I think? He was ALWAYS prowling for food and was "cage aggressive" - he's never bitten us, but you'd be surprised how fast a big snake moves when he thinks food is coming in his cage door when it opens.

Since then, we've kept him on a diet better suited for his size, while definitely not overfeeding him. Lourdes is currently 35ish lbs (or was it 45? i really can't remember) and somewhere in the 11' range (tiny, really, for his age), eating a large rabbit every 3 weeks.

He still prowls (he is a burm, for heaven's sake...you could feed them everyday and they'd still prowl :rolleyes:), but he's calmed down quite a bit, is fun to handle and way less cage agressive (we can refill his water bowl or spot clean without having to remove him first).

Anyway...good luck with your guy. The good news with burms is you can always bump up their prey size and they'll eat it, hehe...=)