Tips for catching up in growth

[Unknownism]

Hi y'all,

I have a female that I just got who is almost 2yrs old but weighing in at 378g. The first feed since I got her seemed fine, she ate a furry rat pup & as soon as she realized it was food she grabbed it. Seller told me she was a good eater, but they practice bi-weekly feeding so she should have been hungry and was. I watched and compared to others, she took 5mins to kill this baby that could barely open its eyes, then it took her another couple minutes to figure out where the head was to eat it. Thankfully she dropped it before I had to intervene as she initially tried to eat it from the tail end. Not sure if these are signs of her having feeding issues or just a matter of happenstance. Now my main question, with all this background info, is there a plan of action other than regular feedings to try to get her up to size? I would love a great healthy method for her if there is one, if not I just hope she starts to grow well with weekly feedings.

Thanks for the time reading this & I appreciate any and all replies!

[Bogertophis]

Some snakes eat rodents backwards- it's okay & it's best you don't intervene, as it may stress the snake into not eating at all. It's awkward but most can get it down backwards, & many learn eventually to be better at finding the head. Some snakes make kills & eat faster than others too, not much you can do about that either, just be glad they eat. It's not a sign of a "feeding issue".

As far as "trying to get her up to size", I do not recommend trying to "power feed" any any snake- it's not good for them. I recommend being patient & feed at normal healthy intervals, & only giving normal sized meals.

[Unknownism]

Thank you Bogertophis! I greatly appreciate the reassurance that this was a good feed, & yes the last thing I wanted to do was intervene so I'm glad I didn't. Mainly like you said, bottom line, she did eat!

I guess it is basically what I asked about, but I do not want to "power feed", as you stated...being patient & feed at normal healthy intervals, & only giving normal sized meals" is best way. I just figure that even if I have an idea of something ridiculous I won't have an answer without asking, could have been a healthy regimen that aids underfed/underweight/malnourished snakes in getting to where they should be.

Anyway, I do have a new question if anyone cares to weigh in. & yes as an engineer I am well versed in mathematical probabilities & the variability of genetics, but how long based on personal experiences would anyone think it might take my girl to get to a good weight? I won't be upset if it's off mark at all, just a hopeful outcome that I can be happy if reached or be understanding if not. Thank y'all kindly!

[nikkubus]

Does she appear overly thin or are you just going by what her weight? Pics would help if you are unsure. I would be feeding weaned rats (30-45g) at her current weight. Did the breeder feed live? I would swap to frozen/thawed in about a month if yes. If she is used to frozen/thawed I would get her back on that asap. I generally swap to small rats at 500g and stay there inevitably unless they are particularly large adults. You could afford to bump her up to every 10 days or maybe even weekly if she is struggling to put on weight, but I would bump it up slowly so her digestive system can adjust. You don't want to overdo it, so I would make a small change and evaluate after a month. You need to find a balance where she is putting on appropriate weight without packing on fat, as being obese is really terrible for them, especially if you are considering breeding. 2-3 months should be long enough to recover from being slightly underfed if she is eating well for you. It can take significantly longer if she is emaciated. Raw weight number doesn't really help to tell that though, its the bodyfat % that's so much more important.

[Unknownism]

She does have more loose skin than my other snakes & I just measured her up before feeding. She is 4.5 inches in circumference & about 20 inches long. She is a great eater actually, fed her a fuzzy rat pup last week and had to give her a mouse today as local shop was out of rat pups. I didn't try frozen yet since I took her out for measurements but have good size frozen stocked up. I'm still new so I haven't learned how to post pics, once I figure it out I will post. I greatly appreciate the feedback!