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  1. #1
    Registered User iddah's Avatar
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    Feeding A 2 Month Old BP

    My spinner boy, Solidus, is 2 months old, I don't have his exact weight down because I don't have a scale yet, but I'm guesstimating he's in the 85 - 105 g range.



    His breeder advised me to buy him f/t rat pinkys, which are about 5 to 10 grams; which is what he's been fed at the breeder's, I'm just trying to figure out whether I should feed him once every 5 days, or give him a full week until I feed him again. He's been fed last this past Sunday, on August 13, and I have the intention to feed him again next Sunday, on August 20, making the time between his feeds 7 days. I do believe the breeder has /also/ kept him on the 7-day feeding schedule with the rat pinkys. I know bp's grow faster if you feed them more often, I'm not in any rush to get him to put weight on too fast, but I don't want him to get hungry, either.

    He's in the early stages of his shed (pink belly), and I'd love to get a rat pinky in him before he goes in blue, because I've heard in that stage of the shed bp's can refuse food because they can't really see well etc, and then I'd have to wait another week before offering f/t again. I told his breeder I would feed him every 7 days, and she seemed okay with this, and did not advise against it, so I guess I should go ahead and just feed him once a week? I have about 10 rat pinkys for him, if he eats every time I offer and goes thru the rat pinkys no problem, I'll upgrade to a rat fuzzy.

    Which is better for a baby, 5 days or 7 days?

    I know he's not going to /starve/ or anything, and since being fed at the breeder last Sunday, he hasn't yet shown any signs of being hungry, he's a pretty chill boy, and is apparently a good eater, as well.

    I really need to buy that scale and weigh him tho.
    1.0 SPINNER.
    "SOLIDUS"

    1.0 SUPER CHOCOLATE PEWTER.
    "LIQUID"

    1.0 ENCHI FIREFLY.
    COMING IN 2018.

  2. #2
    Registered User donnadudette2003's Avatar
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    Re: Feeding A 2 Month Old BP

    7 is fine.

    Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

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    iddah (08-17-2017)

  4. #3
    Registered User hollowlaughter's Avatar
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    Since you're keeping him as a pet and not looking to bulk him up, 7 is fine.

    Weight of prey items should be roughly 10% of snake weight or as thick as the widest part of the body. Given that, getting your hands on a digital scale ASAP may be wise, there's several good ones on Amazon in the $10-20 range. Make sure it can display grams and has a tare function (which allows you to subtract the weight of the bowl you'll need to hold him in to weigh).

    Can't say conclusively due to not knowing the animal's weight, but I'd say polish off those pinks and get him up to fuzzies asap, thus maybe moving him to a "every 5 days" until they're gone. They're probably too small for an animal of his size, try posting a pic of his midsection alongside one of them. Or if you weigh him and he is over 200g by that point, skip up to FT rat pups.

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    iddah (08-17-2017)

  6. #4
    BPnet Senior Member Hannahshissyfix's Avatar
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    Don't stress so much about a set schedule. My hatchlings average being fed every 6 days but really it can be anywhere from 4-8 days depending on my schedule. People get too worked up about a set day as if a day or 2 later will somehow hurt the snake. I also feel like switching it up a bit instead of feeding as much and frequently as possible can help hold off any fasting but you shouldn't have that happen with a baby any time soon.

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    Craiga 01453 (08-17-2017),EL-Ziggy (08-18-2017),iddah (08-17-2017)

  8. #5
    Registered User iddah's Avatar
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    @hollowlaughter: I'm not in the US so ordering from Amazon is kind of unnecessary for me, I'll go look for a good digital scale as soon as I can, I'll try to get it before Sunday, then I can weight him and compare a rat pinky with his midsection. Right now tho I suspect his prey item is slightly too small for him, if he takes his f/t pinkys w/o issues, I'll see if I can feed him those every 7 days until I'm all out (I have a bag of 10 in my freezer) or if it looks like he would prefer/need rat fuzzies instead. Thank you!


    @HannahLou: I'm not stressed about a set schedule, just trying to establish a routine, mostly for my own convenience, I will be keeping track of his weight and overall progress, it's just something I figured would help me with his care in general and help keep my husbandry on point, thanks for your advice tho, I'll keep that in mind.
    1.0 SPINNER.
    "SOLIDUS"

    1.0 SUPER CHOCOLATE PEWTER.
    "LIQUID"

    1.0 ENCHI FIREFLY.
    COMING IN 2018.

  9. #6
    Registered User hollowlaughter's Avatar
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    Definitely agreeing that it's not an art, sometimes when I pull a smaller or larger rodent (ideal atm being 61g) I'll feed him sooner or later. It's working for mine, when the breeder said he tended to skip feeding weeks in their care.

    He's going regular now, so having a non-set day seems to be working for him. Can be anywhere from 5-10 depending on the size of the rodents I have on hand (whether sourced from the local expo, or our local exotics store).

    Really, as long as your snake isn't getting emaciated or sausage-shaped, you're fine!

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