Sick of wasting food

[Bogertophis]

Get a Carpet Python. NO more wasted rats

[QUOTE=Zincubus;2658000]Or a dwarf Boa

Or a rat or corn snake...or a gopher/bull/pine snake...or a king snake...or almost anything that's not a BP. Sorry, I hope this isn't
heresy, but BPs are NOT "easy beginner snakes" and they manage to annoy plenty of us experienced folks too...just sayin'.
They are "equal-opportunity frustrators", lol...

[zina10]

I think once someone truly takes the time to research Ball Pythons and understands their needs, they are actually quite easy to keep.

The problem is that to many people compare them to other species and expect the same behavior and diet needs. I usually tell people new to the hobby that a Ball Python is not the easiest snake to start out with. But honestly, its not due to the snake, more so that it seems so difficult to make owners understand and deal with the fasting. And the importance of meeting the basic needs without exception. If one starts out with a healthy Ball Python and then houses it correctly, meeting their basic needs, they can be super easy to keep.

There are only a few fundamental and important needs, but they DO need to be met. Correct husbandry is a must. Heat, humidity, safety.

And then, one must understand that they are built for this "food binging/fasting". Its part of their genetic makeup. That is how they survive from where they come from. That is how they evolved to be able to survive there. They binge when food is plenty. They fast when food is scarce, non existent.

They are a species that is rather sedentary. They lie in wait until the food comes to them. They do not travel vast distances like some species. They do not climb and move about all day like some of the more "hyper" species. Their need for calories is FAR lower then a snake that expends a lot of energy every day.

On top of that when they DO eat, they usually eat rather large meals for their body size. They are stout snakes. Colubrids and more slender snakes tend to take smaller but more frequent meals. They have a much faster metabolism as well.

Ball Pythons can't keep eating year round like they do during their binges. Esp. the males that do not need that kind of fat storage needed to get gravid and grow eggs.

Since at certain times of the year or at a certain age some BP's are ravenous, it makes people think they should keep eating like this, year round, during adult hood. But that is not normal for them, not healthy. Not the way their bodies work.

So all in all, if you start with a healthy Ball Python, you set it up correctly, you don't stress it over much (that goes for any snake, really) AND you understand that they will regulate their diet needs through "binging/fasting" or sometimes just smaller meals or eating less often (and sometimes not for months) then you can be quite happy with Ball Pythons and not frustrated at all.

I feel most of the trouble with BP's is not meeting their basic needs or not understanding their physiological makeup and diet needs and then getting frustrated because of that.

If the snake is healthy, let it fast and do its thing

[Bogertophis]

...If the snake is healthy, let it fast and do its thing

But for the person with ONE pet snake, it's almost impossible not to waste food (& even with multiple snakes, "re-offering" food is a great way to share diseases
& is therefore NOT recommended either).

It takes practice to "read" a snake's behavior...new owners & even some long-time keepers have trouble with that. To offer food? or not?

There is no set length of time for a BP fast, and no set time of year for that to start & end. Does fasting start (or stop) at a certain age? Nope...

How does a person know it's a normal fast & not an illness??? And when a snake doesn't feed routinely, how long before many owners just lose interest or
even forget to offer food when they should? In a way, ball pythons "teach" their owners to neglect them.

Hey, I know they're pretty, they stay a nice size & they're mostly docile...but honestly, they're a "royal" pain too, for many people.

It's like when you try to take (& pass) a college class without first taking the prerequisite courses. Beginners BEWARE!

[zina10]

That is why I say..Not for a beginner or at least not for a beginner that isn't willing to do the homework.

We've had quite a few total beginners here that learned and now do well, though.

Yes..you will waste some food. But when the fast starts you can easily go to trying only once or twice the month.

If you can't afford to throw away that food occasionally, honestly, you shouldn't have an animal. Whether they eat it cause they need it..or they don't eat it because they don't need it. It costs you the same. But I know it's frustrating to throw it away after spending money on it.

Even if the fast would be over tomorrow..but the keeper won't try to offer for another 2 weeks. Not a problem at all to the snake. So no worries there.

How to know whether the snake is healthy or not? Goes back to doing the minimum of research. Check on your snake. Weigh it so often. You should do that with any snake. Eating or not.

There are other species that can be finicky. Or have other species specific issues. Some can have issues with regurgitation. Some brumate.

To me it comes right back to being what they are. And if one learns their stuff they are easy.

If someone stops trying to feed altogether because a snake takes their natural break...well...that kind of person is going to neglect any other animal sooner or later.

It is also personal preference. I've had all kinds of diff. species. BP's are my favorites. Doesn't mean that other people can't prefer others, though, or just cannot deal with BP quirks.

That is why it's great we have such a great variety to choose from.

It really is a lack of understanding how that species functions. You wouldn't try to wake up a bear to feed it in the winter or get offended that it rather rests and fasts then to take that yummy steak. Many reptiles brumate. BP's fast. It's simply a little different in each animal and also depends on age and Sex.

Btw. When I say "you" I mean that in general..Not anyone in particular. And now I'm going to bed because when I get tired my English gets bad and stuff may get lost in translation or doesn't come across as intendet. And I have a feeling typing in German won't really help




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[bcr229]

I second the suggestion to put her on small rats, and I'd only offer one every two weeks. At 1900 grams your girl is done growing and simply needs to maintain her weight, especially since she's not being bred.

[distaff]

I don't consider an uneaten offering to be "waste." Offer on a schedule, and don't worry about it.
Would it be any less "waste" if the animal always ate and got fat?

Admittedly, I stressed over my BP's FIRST meal. He came from a less than ideal situation, while still a hatchling, I wasn't sure of his age, and his weight was sixty-something grams. Ever since, he has been growing visibly by the week, and is stout. If he wants to take some time off, he has the reserves.

My first snakes were hatchling kings found in the kitchen (the weather had turned cold). Absurdly, ridiculously, impossibly tiny. The tiniest pinkies I could source (small pet-shop half an hour away) were too big. I went out in the yard digging for possible meals...found nothing suitable. I knew nothing...THAT was stress!

[Bogertophis]

Ball pythons should come with a "care instruction" tag, including the strong suggestion to join this forum. Doing your homework first- & not only for ball pythons-
makes for a better experience keeping snakes, especially the more difficult ones. (-if only it happened that way in real life?)

I suspect that most of us are unconsciously "human"- our maternal-paternal instincts to feed our young has to be modified to fit snakes so we don't become Marie
(Doris Roberts) on "Everybody Loves Raymond" trying to fill the world with lasagna, or in this case, rats... "here, take some home with you, dear, for later..."

[VereMyth]

Yeah, I feel you, man, I got 5 of these royal pains now. 4 eat like champs and 1 refuses to take his first meal his weight is steady so I am not too worried but he is rather young.
Husbandry is a pain at first but once you get it, you get it. xD.

[Godzilla78]

This thread helped me a bunch! I have 12 royals currently and all but One are eating. The one not eating is a large, slightly fat adult male that I bought from Ken Macek. I was worried I was doing something wrong, but was clueless since all other 11 pythons eat fine. Now I feel better knowing that big adult males often fast during the winter, and especially if they are chunky!
I got the adult male a couple months ago, and he hasn’t eaten yet for me. No big deal I guess.
this is my first time keeping a large adult male.

[jfmoore]

I got the adult male a couple months ago, and he hasn’t eaten yet for me. No big deal I guess.
this is my first time keeping a large adult male.

I have an old male (presumably wild-caught) that I got as an adult from a pet store in 1979. For the past 15 years, he's averaged 1367 grams of food per year (~5 rodents total per year). Whatever works, you know?