Just hit a year old. GROWTH RATE

Here are some pictures i took about a month after getting my Yellow Anaconda. he was eating a hopper mouse, which left a huge bulge in him.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...s/2ebay090.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...s/2ebay235.jpg

And now he is a little over a year old, pushing 4 foot. (my hand is in there somewhere) eating a small rat, and looking for another.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...nuggles001.jpg

Nice, he has grown! He'll be a monster one day.

Nice, I started off smaller when I first got mine due to her being a weird eater at first, but now she's fine. I'm approaching 3ft, maybe even already there.

He is looking good!!!! :gj:

What a beauty. He is growing like a weed. You must be taking very good care of him.

THANKS EVERYONE!
he was a problem feeder at first, but he is scary now lol
he is in a 26 qt tub, about to be upgraded.
i keep him on cypress mulch, with a semi large water bowl, which he will have most his life.
i dont want to have him soaking 24/7 at 9 ft. lol
he is byfar my strongest feeder, and has not went off feed like annies are known to do.

He is gorgeous! It's crazy how fast they grow.

From a lot of people I talked to the Yellows can be problem feeders, but once you get them started they're fine. My annie hasn't went off fed either, only time she doesn't eat is if she's in shed. How much does yours weigh now fiend?

Last weight recorded was 864 grams.
but its a little inaccurate due to him not wanting to stay still and escape the bowl lol.

I need to weigh my female soon. My girl Isis will be a year October 15, but I didn't get her to eat until November 20th. I ended up assist feeding her once and haven't had anything since.

yeah, i went from
live mice (he killed and didnt eat)
live rats (killed and didnt eat)
live asf's (didnt kill, didnt eat)

i got so sick of him killing them, i left a ft mouse in there over night, and it was gone...

i kept doing that, till he started striking for food, and then attemped to switch to rats...
and that was a PAIN.
i had to gut the mouse, and rub guts or the mouse allll over the rat...
and he finally took it.

and i did that for about 3 feedings, and then now, its 1 small rat every 7-10 days. f/t of coarse. lol

I need to get ready to switch mine over, which I don't think will be a problem at all. Right now I feed her an adult mouse, which is bigger then most stores give. I think he gives me his breeders, lol. I think once she gets a little bit bigger i'm going to re-evaluate what I feed her. The adult mouse leaves a bulge, but I think sometime soon i'm going to probably up prey size.

i switched mine to rats asap.
i try to do that with most my snakes.

rats are a little more "meaty" so i went from a adult mouse, to a pup rat.
and worked my way up lol

What is equivilant to a adult mouse on the rat family?

Just weighed the mouse I usually give my anaconda, 21 grams. So I think i'm going to switch to like a Rat Pup, or maybe a tad size bigger, I want to see the size of the rats first though.

What is the weight of the rat you feed yours?

A lot of people think I grow my animals too quickly, but a mouse per feeding? A yellow? Mine had an adult mouse for a first feeding, and has been on appropriate sized rats ever since.

She's a little over 3 now, and eats super jumbo rats (3 per feeding, usually every 2 weeks), or a chicken or two. Never misses unless shedding, and feeds throughout the winter.

She's around 10 foot and probably 15 pounds. Grams. That's funny. For a yearling annie...

Chris

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

A lot of people think I grow my animals too quickly, but a mouse per feeding? A yellow? Mine had an adult mouse for a first feeding, and has been on appropriate sized rats ever since.

She's a little over 3 now, and eats super jumbo rats (3 per feeding, usually every 2 weeks), or a chicken or two. Never misses unless shedding, and feeds throughout the winter.

She's around 10 foot and probably 15 pounds. Grams. That's funny. For a yearling annie...

Chris

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I think it's funny that you feed your snakes like you do. I feed my snakes the way any other anaconda owner does, or even breeders for that matter. I refuse to powerfeed them, you may want to, and thats your issue, but not to sound like a jerk or anything but none of us listen to anything you say because of your initial post some odd months back with something similiar to this post. So please refrain from trying to give any advice to anybody in the anaconda forums, because nobody is going to listen to you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neal

I think it's funny that you feed your snakes like you do. I feed my snakes the way any other anaconda owner does, or even breeders for that matter. I refuse to powerfeed them, you may want to, and thats your issue, but not to sound like a jerk or anything but none of us listen to anything you say because of your initial post some odd months back with something similiar to this post. So please refrain from trying to give any advice to anybody in the anaconda forums, because nobody is going to listen to you.

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i agree, in some ways.
ill listen to what you have to say, but most everything i have read about how you care for you conda, i dont agree with that much...
Neal and I, are taking a 7-10 day approach. and its what we like, and what works for our animals.
i also refuse to powerfeed my snakes, and want my animals to have a healthy long life.

I wouldn't powerfeed any of my snakes simply because they don't sit there and eat 2-3+ meals in the wild that often. They eat something as needed which is weekly.

I however went from every 7 days, to every 5, for the next few weeks just to make up for a few lost meals while shedding.

I'm glad you don't want to take the advice from someone who has been keeping and breeding giants for over 20 years (over 30 with reptiles in general).

How many studies of wild anacondas have been done which show how much a baby eats and grows? None. Jesus Rivas has been studying greens in Venezuela for some time, but I haven't seen any papers published on neonate growth rates. I have, however, been witness to many species of animals which ALL grow exponentially in the first year of life, and then slow down after that. It's called "surviving in the wild". Now I don't want to hear about "that's not snakes" when I talk about wild monitors reaching sexual maturity in less than a year, or your cute puppy reaching adult size in six months. Any animal that wants to have any hope of survival will eat anything and everything it can in its first year of life. It's what nature intended. Just because a snake can survive on pawltry offerings doesn't mean it should. Do snakes ever go off food? Yes. Do you think they know what they're doing? Yes. Are problem feeders a pain in the you-know-what?

Bottom line: Allowing a snake to eat when it wants is not "powerfeeding". People who think so (like some breeders) cannot comment on the longevity of snakes because as soon as something cooler comes along they sell their old breeders for the "next cool morph", never having a snake reach a ripe old age. How long have you guys (Neal and Fiend) been keeping snakes? How many care articles have you written? How many species of reptiles have you worked with? How many lectures, presentations, or public showings have you partaken in?

Give me a break.

I know you guys won't take any advice I give, and that's fine. Your snakes certainly won't suffer from your methods, but don't go around thinking your way is the only way. Get off the computer for a couple of hours and go take in some nature...

Chris

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

I'm glad you don't want to take the advice from someone who has been keeping and breeding giants for over 20 years (over 30 with reptiles in general).

How many studies of wild anacondas have been done which show how much a baby eats and grows? None. Jesus Rivas has been studying greens in Venezuela for some time, but I haven't seen any papers published on neonate growth rates. I have, however, been witness to many species of animals which ALL grow exponentially in the first year of life, and then slow down after that. It's called "surviving in the wild". Now I don't want to hear about "that's not snakes" when I talk about wild monitors reaching sexual maturity in less than a year, or your cute puppy reaching adult size in six months. Any animal that wants to have any hope of survival will eat anything and everything it can in its first year of life. It's what nature intended. Just because a snake can survive on pawltry offerings doesn't mean it should. Do snakes ever go off food? Yes. Do you think they know what they're doing? Yes. Are problem feeders a pain in the you-know-what?

Bottom line: Allowing a snake to eat when it wants is not "powerfeeding". People who think so (like some breeders) cannot comment on the longevity of snakes because as soon as something cooler comes along they sell their old breeders for the "next cool morph", never having a snake reach a ripe old age. How long have you guys (Neal and Fiend) been keeping snakes? How many care articles have you written? How many species of reptiles have you worked with? How many lectures, presentations, or public showings have you partaken in?

Give me a break.

I know you guys won't take any advice I give, and that's fine. Your snakes certainly won't suffer from your methods, but don't go around thinking your way is the only way. Get off the computer for a couple of hours and go take in some nature...

Chris

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Chris, not to be rude, but there are many people who breed large snakes, WHOM HAVE NO CLUE ON WHAT THE PROPER CARE IS! so just because you have bred for sooo long, doesnt mean its right.
"just a point"
secondly, i will read what you say, i will read what neal says, i may not agree with it, because it YOUR ANIMAL, AND YOUR CHOICE.
i will not powerfeed MOST my animals.
i do powerfeed, but not rediculous amounts, and i do that to some of my BP females.
say they eat a weaned rat, ill feed them a small instead.
and do that for a few feedings, then switch back to weaned so they do not go off feed.

everyone has a opinion, this is a forum, STATE YOU OPINION.
but DONT state it as fact.

ive been dealing with reptiles most my life.
yes im only 18. BUT i have worked with a few breeders, and over 50 spiecies of reptiles and amphibians.
again age doesnt mean anything.
i know people into there 70's whom have had reptiles as far back as they remember,
and they couldnt compair to the amount of knowledge my 29 year old friend has on herps.

learning, is learning.
from 8 to 18 to 80.
a 8 year old could know as much as me.
is it likley... NO..
is it possible i know as much as a 80 year old? pfft... yeah...

so dont knock age, because you always do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

I'm glad you don't want to take the advice from someone who has been keeping and breeding giants for over 20 years (over 30 with reptiles in general).

How many studies of wild anacondas have been done which show how much a baby eats and grows? None. Jesus Rivas has been studying greens in Venezuela for some time, but I haven't seen any papers published on neonate growth rates. I have, however, been witness to many species of animals which ALL grow exponentially in the first year of life, and then slow down after that. It's called "surviving in the wild". Now I don't want to hear about "that's not snakes" when I talk about wild monitors reaching sexual maturity in less than a year, or your cute puppy reaching adult size in six months. Any animal that wants to have any hope of survival will eat anything and everything it can in its first year of life. It's what nature intended. Just because a snake can survive on pawltry offerings doesn't mean it should. Do snakes ever go off food? Yes. Do you think they know what they're doing? Yes. Are problem feeders a pain in the you-know-what?

Bottom line: Allowing a snake to eat when it wants is not "powerfeeding". People who think so (like some breeders) cannot comment on the longevity of snakes because as soon as something cooler comes along they sell their old breeders for the "next cool morph", never having a snake reach a ripe old age. How long have you guys (Neal and Fiend) been keeping snakes? How many care articles have you written? How many species of reptiles have you worked with? How many lectures, presentations, or public showings have you partaken in?

Give me a break.

I know you guys won't take any advice I give, and that's fine. Your snakes certainly won't suffer from your methods, but don't go around thinking your way is the only way. Get off the computer for a couple of hours and go take in some nature...

Chris

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Just because you've kept a snake for a long time doesn't mean you have any experience. From the way you talk my niece has more knowledge then you, and I would say she's about 8 years old. What you do with your snakes isn't the proper way, end of discussion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neal

Just because you've kept a snake for a long time doesn't mean you have any experience.

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??????????????

This is the type of response I'm dealing with? You haven't answered any of my questions or stated the facts you base your "knowledge" upon. Nice try.

Chris

Before this turns into another "round and round" session of "you're wrong and I'm right", maybe everyone can agree to disagree? People will care for their animals the way they see fit, and nobody else is going to change their minds. If the animals on both sides of the argument are healthy then what's the big issue?
I see ads from breeders all of the time for 3yr old bp's that weight 500g. IMO those animals are fed less than they should be (unless it's just a problem feeder). I don't knock them for it, and it would not stop me from purchasing an animal that I really liked because I would slowly change their feeding schedule. I would not tell that breeder that they should feed more (or less) because it's their animal and it's still healthy.

I forgot to mention, nice looking Yellow. I like them way better than greens.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

??????????????

This is the type of response I'm dealing with? You haven't answered any of my questions or stated the facts you base your "knowledge" upon. Nice try.

Chris

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Well for waltahs sake, i'm not going to argue with you about it. I'm not going to answer any of your questions, because I simply don't agree with any of your methods and the way you act, or the way you are sarcastic when you referred to the weight of my anaconda, it's called disrespect. I simply have no respect for you because of how you represent yourself.

864 grams is just shy of two pounds. We are talking about a relatively large species of snake here, and I found it humorous to be using grams as the unit of measurement.

I have a 4 year old, 14 foot male burm and he weighs in the neighborhood of 20,430 grams. Understand the humor now?

Chris

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

864 grams is just shy of two pounds. We are talking about a relatively large species of snake here, and I found it humorous to be using grams as the unit of measurement.

I have a 4 year old, 14 foot male burm and he weighs in the neighborhood of 20,430 grams. Understand the humor now?

Chris

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the reason for weighing in grams, is because its used almost everywhere, where pounds are not.

after a point it becomes meaningless.
ill still weigh in grams till he is at least 5000 grams.

My scale only weighs in grams, and so that's what I type because thats what most users on here go by.

Agreed, but you still don't get the humor of it?

Oh well.

It's still a pretty snake. Wait til it ages a little more. The yellow really comes on with age, unlike a pastel ball that tends to lose the yellow with age.

No hard feelings, guys.

Chris

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

Agreed, but you still don't get the humor of it?

Oh well.

It's still a pretty snake. Wait til it ages a little more. The yellow really comes on with age, unlike a pastel ball that tends to lose the yellow with age.

No hard feelings, guys.

Chris

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lol no hard feelings

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mumps

Agreed, but you still don't get the humor of it?

Oh well.

It's still a pretty snake. Wait til it ages a little more. The yellow really comes on with age, unlike a pastel ball that tends to lose the yellow with age.

No hard feelings, guys.

Chris

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I agree, not really. Only because i'm to lazy to convert to lbs. No hard feelings either, and all of this may of been because of a small misunderstanding. Mine's not quite a year old but I hope her yellow comes out a little bit more.