When to switch to maintain weight.

[ThyTempest]

Hey everyone,

My rescue is getting pretty big now, just wondering at what weight I should start cutting back her food. I have had her since the first week of May, at 450 grams, she is now about 900. I think that I have been overfeeding her without realizing. She seems a little pin-headed, but not too round body-wise. She ate one mouse a week from the beginning of April, switching to two from mid May to around Begin/Mid July, and has had 4 for 3 weeks now. I only fed her two this week, and after 20 hours she was out cruising around looking for more. Is she getting to the point where I should cut back to a slower growth, now that she has caught up a little bit? The vet put her at around 2-3 years old when she was 450 grams, very thin.

[Mochelem]

I feed 10-15% of thier body weight in food... The snake at 900 grams is still small, I would switch to rats though try small or medium rats... It will be cheaper and you will know shes getting the right amount of food...

[ThyTempest]

We are going to be switching to rats soon. We have our breeders ready, just waiting for the females to get a little bigger, and we still have quite a few mice left. Within a couple of months she should be on rats. Does the 10% rule still apply into adulthood though? I have seen people say they feed 2000+ gram bp's only 3 or 4 mice every two weeks. My 900 gram has been getting more than that.

[Mochelem]

I dont plan on cutting thier diet back, One appropriate sized meal every week....

[SatanicIntention]

My 900 grammers only get 2-3 mice a week. They just don't need more than that. My big girls get 3-4 depending on their size and if they are recovering from laying or not. 4-20g mice is alot of food, 80g. That equals a weaned or a small rat.

Right now, she's just playing catch-up from not having proper nutrition. If you keep feeding her like that, she'll likely fast for a bit while her body catches up with the intake. 2-3 a week is all she needs, believe me...

[Mochelem]

Not trying to argue Satanic, you have helped me many times on this board, but I have a 900 gram female that eats a small to medium rat every week and doesnt go off feed... I feed her about 80-90 gram rat every week...

[SatanicIntention]

And I'm sure she defecates like a labrador on Ol' Roy. More feces equals more waste, which means they are eating too much.

If I can get 1500g of growth out of a 780g 3 year old female from May until December on 3, sometimes 4 mice a week, then why do I need to feed a snake more when it's just going to come out the other end as waste product?

Try something smaller, you'll likely get 100g a month of growth anyway and it won't be as taxing on her system.

[ThyTempest]

I have really been considering cutting back. I am satisfied with her growth and now has substantial weight to keep me worry free. I have a scale on the way, so I can get an exact weight, but what would you suggest as for feeding? I will be switching to rats as my mice supply dwindles and my rats start producing. Her last two poops have been substantially bigger than her previous, but she did go through a bit of a growth spirt, so I thought it was normal. Until she is switched to rats, should I alternate 2 and 3 mice/week?