Feeding My Sweetie

[EmeraldTurtle]

Hi there! I have a question about my daughter's kingsnake, which I also consider mine. LOL I love this snake to pieces!

She is a beautiful lavender-banded king and is, like most of her kind, voracious when it comes to eating. However, I think we may have been over feeding her. She pooped this morning (I almost said "pottied" -- can you tell I raised two kids?), and it was HUGE! It actually seems to be in slightly mouse-shaped lumps and her vent was bleeding slightly after she passed the waste. There was also a round white ball in the mess, which I know is her urine waste.

It was the bleeding that concerned me, along with the fact that the mice don't seem totally digested. We have been feeding her four small mice once a week (she is a little over three feet long and her girth is appropriate for that prey size). Is four mice too many? Could the large size of her poo be what caused the bleeding?

I just want her to be happy and healthy! Thanks so much for any responses you may have!

[scalrtn]

How much does your snake weigh? (if you don't have one, I'd suggest getting a small digital scale, e.g. available at Walmart) You say you feed all four at once? (that's likely the issue). Also, if some of the stools indicate mice aren't being totally digested, it's possible the snake doesn't have adequate heat in the enclosure (a temperature gradient is recommended - mine ranges from from 84 on the warm side to 69 - 75 (day/night) on the cool side. Kingsnakes need heat to digest properly.

As a point of departure, my Kingsnake is now approaching 250 grams, is a little over 30 inches, and gets 1 small mouse (aka "weanling") every four days. This is in keeping the Brian Hubbs book recommendation of twice-weekly feedings, with an appropriately-sized prey item or a pair of prey items. Weanling mice weigh about 13-19g each, so the snake gets roughly 15% of her body weight every 8 days. (I'm feeding her the smaller mice in my stock, and working up as she grows) She poops like clockwork, 3 days following the previous feed (knowing this, I can usually get her into a separate tub to take care of business, so I can minimize cage cleanings ) . So she always poops before getting the next meal in each 8 day cycle. So I'd suggest 2 feedings a week with 1-2 mice each, rather than 1 feeding with 4 mice, like you're now doing.

Others might have different approaches/ideas/methods, but this way has worked great for me. Hope that helps