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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran FollowTheSun's Avatar
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    Question Healthy or a bit fat?

    This is Noodle my 2 year old ratsnake. I have noticed she's kinda looking chunky but she's also growing pretty fast. She's always hungry. I feed her about once a week and she usually gets 2 medium mice. Last week I gave her three and she still looked like she was hungry. I've seen photos of wild ratsnakes that are stuffed to the gills after a good meal. She's never eaten that much at a time-- or anything that huge either.

    Anyway, what do you all think? Am I overfeeding her or is she just right? Or maybe she's growing like my human baby-- chunks up a bit and then gets taller and thins back out.




    2 BP's, one ratsnake, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 small caged birds, 7 chickens, and a toddler in a pear tree

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  3. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    I would recommend never feeding 3 mice per meal- many snakes (including rat snakes) will stuff themselves if allowed, because their instincts tell them to eat when they can get food- it's not guaranteed or reliable in the wild, unlike when they're our pets. (length? always harder to judge from pics- a yardstick next to her in the ground pic would be great)

    She's on the "well-fed" side - no danger of starvation- and would benefit from being fed every 10+ days from now on- especially if being fed 2 mice. I wouldn't feed 2 if feeding weekly ever- one per week would be better, but I'd still recommend every 10 days, not weekly: maybe one feeding of one mouse, the next one give 2, alternating. Meals don't have to be equal all the time, & you can back off gradually so she doesn't accuse you of neglect, lol.

    Noodle's a pretty gal, & really growing up- she looks healthy, but just don't over-do the food. Adult rat snakes (& 2 years is an adult) are best fed every 10-14 days. Wild snakes have a chance to 'work it off', not so our home-buddies.

    Thanks for the update!
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  5. #3
    BPnet Lifer dakski's Avatar
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    Re: Healthy or a bit fat?

    I agree with Bogertophis completely.

    Although they have faster metabolisms than say a BP, and grow pretty quickly, they are still efficient when it comes to food.

    I made mistakes with Figment, my Hypo-Lavendar Corn. Not only was I feeding him weekly when he got to adult size, but I was feeding him jumbo mice (too fatty). He got overweight fast. He's big for a corn, about 5FT, but he was about 660G and had "hips."

    I talked to Don Soderberg, from South Mountain Reptiles, and who I got Solana (my scaleless corn) from and he said exactly what I said above about being efficient etc. I now feed both my corns an adult mouse (about 25-30G) every two weeks. Solana is very slowly growing and at about 370G now, but I think is pretty much done. Figment took a year to go from 660G to a much leaner and healthier 590G, but I may have already done some damage . It's very hard to get a snake to lose weight and once they have fat in them, it doesn't always go away.

    This is compounded in Pythons and Boas, for example, because they have even slower metabolisms. I've heard of obese boas having 1-2 meals in a year and not losing any weight.

    Better to be safe than sorry and keep them lean and healthy. My rule of thumb is if an adult snake is losing weight on a food regiment, I will up frequency or size fo prey depending on the situation.

    To be clear, I do not think Noodle is grossly overweight or anything, I am just advising caution.

    Also, Noodle looks great! Love the coloration.
    Last edited by dakski; 03-04-2021 at 02:28 PM.

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  7. #4
    BPnet Veteran FollowTheSun's Avatar
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    Thanks for the input! Her nickname is Miss Piggy for a reason. She is acting like she's starving today and begging through the glass, but I'm not fooled. I'll be sure to only feed her every 10 days or so from now on. She's an adult now and as you both pointed out, she has a very sedentary lifestyle compared to her wild cousins. They are still more active than BP's so I was not sure how to regulate her feeding, since she's so easy to feed and not at all picky.

    I figured out with my picky BP's that a healthy snake won't allow itself to starve, and I only offer food to them every 3-4 weeks, and one of ours fasted for 5 months one winter. If I offer sooner than every 3 weeks I waste the rat more often than not. I don't bother to jump through all those hoops of using a hair dryer, etc. anymore. If it's hungry, it will eat. If not, try again in a week.
    2 BP's, one ratsnake, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 small caged birds, 7 chickens, and a toddler in a pear tree

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  9. #5
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    Re: Healthy or a bit fat?

    Quote Originally Posted by FollowTheSun View Post
    ... Her nickname is Miss Piggy for a reason. She is acting like she's starving today and begging through the glass...
    The key words here are "She is acting..." She's a rat snake...she knows exactly what she's doing! "Mom, save me! I'm going to STARVE to DEATH!" -Respond this way:
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  11. #6
    BPnet Veteran FollowTheSun's Avatar
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    Case in point

    2 BP's, one ratsnake, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 small caged birds, 7 chickens, and a toddler in a pear tree

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  13. #7
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    I think Ms. Noodle would dial your cell phone if you gave her the number! Rat snakes are very hard to ignore- don't I know it!
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  14. #8
    BPnet Veteran FollowTheSun's Avatar
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    Re: Healthy or a bit fat?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    I think Ms. Noodle would dial your cell phone if you gave her the number! Rat snakes are very hard to ignore- don't I know it!
    Oh I KNOW she would!! She's been all over her cage this morning "hunting" in the nooks and crannies, tracing her nose up and down the door opening, and making sure I see her. I'll take her out to play in the grass later this afternoon and make her get some more exercise.
    2 BP's, one ratsnake, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 small caged birds, 7 chickens, and a toddler in a pear tree

  15. #9
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    I wish all rat snakes (all snakes, actually) were as well-loved as Ms. Noodle.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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