Feeding size

[PrincessBunny]

Hello darling Gumi has been with me for almost three months now!

After taking him to the vet I was advised to upgrade his feeding size slowly. He is a little over 300g now and seems to be always hungry, he used to become very active a say before feeding but now he seems to be always in hunting mode always looking for food. His feedings don’t even seem to make a bump on him anymore.

I get him packs of frozen mice but the sizes tend to vary with the biggest mice being 30g. Because of this I was wondering if it’s time to get him bigger prey and space out his feeding days.

The next size up are mice ranging between 30 and 50g, how big would be safe for him?
How often do you recommend?
Also, since the pack sometimes has mice as small as 20g, would it be safe if I feed him 2 or just discard those sizes altogether?

Thank you in advance


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[PrincessBunny]

[Bogertophis]

No reason to discard perfectly good feeders. Remember that in the wild, snakes catch whatever they can- sometimes on the large side, sometimes on the small side- but rarely "perfect". So if some feeders are way too small, you could double them up (feed 2 per meal) but better* than that would be to just feed small ones a little closer together, & the larger ones, feed with more time between meals to digest- see? *One reason it's better NOT to feed 2 items per meal is that many BPs won't accept 2 items- they'll quit after one, no matter what, so then you're just wasting food. And you don't want to accidentally feed too much either.

The BEST way IF you feed 2 items per meal is to have them both thawed & ready to go- you don't want much time to elapse between the time a snake eats the first one & the time you offer the second- for BEST results. Otherwise, it's more likely they won't take the second item, OR it's more likely to cause digestive upset if too much time goes by- & neither of those are what you want. Snakes get "pumped up" about eating- but after the first item, some get shy & are ready to go hide, & they'll refuse a 2nd item. They're most likely to take it if it's right there for them to grab as soon as they finish the first.

I'll let others here (that keep BPs & that also weigh their food) address what size a snake like yours "should" be eating- but don't be afraid to NOT stick to an exact schedule for your snake- schedules are just there to help keepers remember when it's time- the most important thing is giving your snake enough time to digest. A bigger meal- just allow a few extra days before feeding again, since over-feeding isn't good for them- and if the prey is smaller than usual, watch for your snake to be hungry & ready to eat again a bit "early".

Also, it's best not to suddenly give a larger item (just "in case")- I'd save those largest rodents for last. Looking good, by the way.

[PrincessBunny]

No reason to discard perfectly good feeders. Remember that in the wild, snakes catch whatever they can- sometimes on the large side, sometimes on the small side- but rarely "perfect". So if some feeders are way too small, you could double them up (feed 2 per meal) but better* than that would be to just feed small ones a little closer together, & the larger ones, feed with more time between meals to digest- see? *One reason it's better NOT to feed 2 items per meal is that many BPs won't accept 2 items- they'll quit after one, no matter what, so then you're just wasting food. And you don't want to accidentally feed too much either.

The BEST way IF you feed 2 items per meal is to have them both thawed & ready to go- you don't want much time to elapse between the time a snake eats the first one & the time you offer the second- for BEST results. Otherwise, it's more likely they won't take the second item, OR it's more likely to cause digestive upset if too much time goes by- & neither of those are what you want. Snakes get "pumped up" about eating- but after the first item, some get shy & are ready to go hide, & they'll refuse a 2nd item. They're most likely to take it if it's right there for them to grab as soon as they finish the first.

I'll let others here (that keep BPs & that also weigh their food) address what size a snake like yours "should" be eating- but don't be afraid to NOT stick to an exact schedule for your snake- schedules are just there to help keepers remember when it's time- the most important thing is giving your snake enough time to digest. A bigger meal- just allow a few extra days before feeding again, since over-feeding isn't good for them- and if the prey is smaller than usual, watch for your snake to be hungry & ready to eat again a bit "early".

Also, it's best not to suddenly give a larger item (just "in case")- I'd save those largest rodents for last. Looking good, by the way.

Thank you so much! I’ll try and feed him two a little more often a few times and see how he does
He seems to be super food motivated but I’ve been afraid of feeding him two, I will refrain from that if it’s OK to space it less. Would 3 days be OK or is that too soon?

Also, thank you! He has been soo good


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[Bogertophis]

Thank you so much! I’ll try and feed him two a little more often a few times and see how he does
He seems to be super food motivated but I’ve been afraid of feeding him two, I will refrain from that if it’s OK to space it less. Would 3 days be OK or is that too soon?

Also, thank you! He has been soo good


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Um, no. I wouldn't feed this snake any sooner than once a week. And if for any reason, you fed 2 items (STILL not recommended, see above) or feed on the large side, about 10 days apart is what I'd do.

According to the feeding chart on this site, at 300+ grams, a proper meal would be ONE rodent of 20-32 grams, roughly once a week.

If you don't allow enough digestion time, your snake may regurgitate, & that can HARM him.

Something to keep in mind- snakes often act hungry for hours or even a day or more AFTER they've eaten a perfectly-sized meal. (The same thing we humans do when we eat too fast- & we don't realize yet that we're full.)

Also, we cannot tell from that photo if your snake is over-fed or under-fed- but he sure doesn't look thin to me. Overfeeding a snake is bad for their health & longevity.

[dakski]

My two cents.

Feed off what you have (assuming you don't have a ton), one at a time, at weekly intervals (as Bogertophis said). I wouldn't offer two prey items.

Then, I would move to weaned rats. I wouldn't feed jumbo mice (larger than 30G). They are fatty and not as healthy for your BP.

You want to get your BP on rats sooner than later. BP's can get in the habit of liking one food item over another and you do not want to feed mice your BP's entire life.

If you have trouble switching to rats, let us know. There are tricks to get them to take them more easily. Having said that, if your BP is a good eater, I wouldn't worry about it.

You mentioned that the prey wasn't leaving a lump. That's fine. BP's aren't stretchy and I wouldn't recommend any meal that leaves a big lump. When growing, BP's can eat bigger meals relative to their size, but remember, most adult BP's don't eat more than a small rat (60-90G). My BP, Shayna, is about 1,800G (1.8kg). She eats a small rat every two weeks and maintains her weight.

As Bogertophis mentioned, a fat snake is an unhealthy snake. Better to be cautious than overly ambitious on feeding size and frequency.

Additionally, eating large meals, especially regularly, can lead to a BP refusing food. Better to eat small meals regularly than big meals infrequently.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[PrincessBunny]

My two cents.

Feed off what you have (assuming you don't have a ton), one at a time, at weekly intervals (as Bogertophis said). I wouldn't offer two prey items.

Then, I would move to weaned rats. I wouldn't feed jumbo mice (larger than 30G). They are fatty and not as healthy for your BP.

You want to get your BP on rats sooner than later. BP's can get in the habit of liking one food item over another and you do not want to feed mice your BP's entire life.

If you have trouble switching to rats, let us know. There are tricks to get them to take them more easily. Having said that, if your BP is a good eater, I wouldn't worry about it.

You mentioned that the prey wasn't leaving a lump. That's fine. BP's aren't stretchy and I wouldn't recommend any meal that leaves a big lump. When growing, BP's can eat bigger meals relative to their size, but remember, most adult BP's don't eat more than a small rat (60-90G). My BP, Shayna, is about 1,800G (1.8kg). She eats a small rat every two weeks and maintains her weight.

As Bogertophis mentioned, a fat snake is an unhealthy snake. Better to be cautious than overly ambitious on feeding size and frequency.

Additionally, eating large meals, especially regularly, can lead to a BP refusing food. Better to eat small meals regularly than big meals infrequently.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Oh OK, I guess I misunderstood what feeding meals more often meant then. I will keep it the same, he eats on a weekly basis so I was worrying his current prey size was still too small.
He was thin and malnourished when I got him so I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t up his prey size too slow or too fast. Thank you!


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[PrincessBunny]

Um, no. I wouldn't feed this snake any sooner than once a week. And if for any reason, you fed 2 items (STILL not recommended, see above) or feed on the large side, about 10 days apart is what I'd do.

According to the feeding chart on this site, at 300+ grams, a proper meal would be ONE rodent of 20-32 grams, roughly once a week.

If you don't allow enough digestion time, your snake may regurgitate, & that can HARM him.

Something to keep in mind- snakes often act hungry for hours or even a day or more AFTER they've eaten a perfectly-sized meal. (The same thing we humans do when we eat too fast- & we don't realize yet that we're full.)

Also, we cannot tell from that photo if your snake is over-fed or under-fed- but he sure doesn't look thin to me. Overfeeding a snake is bad for their health & longevity.

Oh OK sorry I misunderstood then. I will keep it the same then, thank you!


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