Burm feeding frequency

Just curious to see how often the burm owners here feed theirs. Mine is a 6 year old rescue: 11 feet and ~50 pounds. She's gotten longer in the 2 years that I've had her and gained about 5 pounds or so on a feeding schedule of 1 6-7 pound rabbit every 2 1/2 - 3 months. I'm thinking about bumping her up to every 2-2 1/2 months with the same size rabbit because her growth seems to have slowed in the past 6 months or so.

My pair are around 4-5 years old I'd guess and around 9-11 feet also. I only feed retired breeder rats that are around a pound each, about 3-4 at a time about once a month.

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Originally Posted by TrpnBils

feeding schedule of 1 6-7 pound rabbit every 2 1/2 - 3 months. I'm thinking about bumping her up to every 2-2 1/2 months with the same size rabbit because her growth seems to have slowed in the past 6 months or so.

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so you feed her 4 or 5 times a year? i hope your kidding
i feed my retic every week and everyone i know with burms feeds every week
yes there burms eat rabbits and so does my retic
i would say feed her atleast once a month as a minumin

Old burm, slower metabolism. But I wouldn't feed one that little. Maybe after every dump as a minimum.

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Originally Posted by RKO

Old burm, slower metabolism. But I wouldn't feed one that little. Maybe after every dump as a minimum.

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That's just it though, I weigh her monthly and she has yet to lose weight. If I were feeding her after every time she went to the bathroom it'd be once a week. It usually takes her about 8 days to digest and pass a 6 - 7 pound meal.

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Originally Posted by TrpnBils

That's just it though, I weigh her monthly and she has yet to lose weight. If I were feeding her after every time she went to the bathroom it'd be once a week. It usually takes her about 8 days to digest and pass a 6 - 7 pound meal.

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Go with your instincts. The majority of Burms I see in captivity are overweight. They should look like snakes, not overstuffed sausages. Personally I'd feed smaller meals more often, but that's just me. As long as your snake has good muscle tone and good body shape and weight and is still growing slowly you're doing it right.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Personally I'd feed smaller meals more often, but that's just me. As long as your snake has good muscle tone and good body shape and weight and is still growing slowly you're doing it right.

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i agree with MarkS i would feed her smaller rabbits more often
maybe a 4 lb rabbit every 3 or 4 weeks

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Originally Posted by TrpnBils

That's just it though, I weigh her monthly and she has yet to lose weight. If I were feeding her after every time she went to the bathroom it'd be once a week. It usually takes her about 8 days to digest and pass a 6 - 7 pound meal.

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Well that means her metabolism is still very fast. Meaning she will require more food. 11' is small for a 6 year old female burm. And 50 pounds is probably bit on the light side.

Umm Yeah.....

A 5lb rabbit every 7 days..
She has no problems with eating or poopin..

Oh she is 16 y/o

always keep in mind when thinking about size, its only partly dependent on feeding regime, alot of a snakes (or any living thing) growth and size rate is genetically dependent. i have had snakes of all types, all different sizes and shapes. snakes are the same as dogs, cats, humans, etc in the which each snake is an individual and requires their unique microrequirements. meaning i have had female burms same age but different sizes with same basic feeding regime. some of my snakes i feed every couple weeks, some i feed every month to six weeks. due to each snake has different needs and wants

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Originally Posted by tigerretic76

always keep in mind when thinking about size, its only partly dependent on feeding regime, alot of a snakes (or any living thing) growth and size rate is genetically dependent. i have had snakes of all types, all different sizes and shapes. snakes are the same as dogs, cats, humans, etc in the which each snake is an individual and requires their unique microrequirements. meaning i have had female burms same age but different sizes with same basic feeding regime. some of my snakes i feed every couple weeks, some i feed every month to six weeks. due to each snake has different needs and wants

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Wow if your feeding every 6 weeks to a month then your feeding way to large. The thing to remember its not always cool to feed your pet as large as they can eat. Once a week all my snakes eat a average size meal. Not to over stuff then they go into food shock so to speak and stop eating for the month. Smaller but more frequent is better. I know its more work but its better for their digestive system and to keep them regular. This works for all my snakes(balls-gtp-kings-milks-burms-misc)
Again bigger food is not always better. :gj:

i do that, but mostly when they are younger. but after my trip to jakarta, indonesia and i got to observe the reticulatus species for a little while years back, i saw what size prey items these snakes do eat in the wild, and they eat whatever they can get. i saw a species of deer over there, and i saw another just slightly smaller over there eat some bird that was injured and couldnt fly. i dont feed them a strict diet of specific type and size of prey, i mix it up quite frequently as their diet is in the wild. ill go 6,8 or even 10 weeks not feeding them and give them a big meal, then ill feed freqent meals of smaller prey. i mix it up. my first 3 retics lived to be over 20 so, ive kept what im doing through my whole snake keeping life

True they eat what they can in the wild and this is why the wild ones usually eat bigger and can then go without longer. But we dont have wild ones in our cages at ourhomes. I have a 14' + & a 10' + burm not to mention 40 other snakes. They all eat every 7 days like clock work. The larger burn is eating 5 to 7 pound rabbits and then deficates usually on the thursday/friday then ready for another on the saturday like clock work. She has been growing like a weed and with no hunger shock(strikes). Smaller and more frequent seems to be the way to go. To change up their diet well that is personal choice. I tend to stay away from the birds due to the very fowl poo smells along with the squirts it causes.
I can say very cool to be able to see them in the wild I am so jealous.

well, everybody is entitled to their feeding opinion. im not saying my way is right, or wrong, just my way. others way is not right or wrong, just their way. i dont preach to people when asking feeding advice to feed my way, i simply state what has worked for me for along time. and yes that trip to raint forests in outside of jakarta was awsome. i went when i was way younger, so i didnt get the true, full appreciation i would if i was able to go now in my older, wiser years

Keep in mind everyone's recommendation is based on "ideal" feeding in captivity. In the wild burms are opportunistic eaters and will eat something huge and not eat for months, or eat something small and eat again soon. Whatever's available works in nature. So these are all great suggestions, just trying to reach a "perfect" feeding routine.

very true, i just like to keep some wild ways, or instincts in my snakes. there whole life and existence is widely based on instinct

I feed most of my snakes weekly. All baby retics, burms and condas are feed weekly here. Once they get larger my adults eat every other week. The females eat every week near breeding season to get a little more body fat so she doesnt loose everything when she throws eggs

I would feed it smaller meals more often like an appropriately sized pray every 3 weeks. Large pray 4 or 5 times a year is just not good for the animal.