Grow Faster, Breed Sooner? (NOT POWER FEEDING)

[nikkubus]

Directly related to the topic.

Starts at 14:21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_SHPzzHRDw&t=861s

Here is the feast and famine example I mentioned.

Though Vin says he'll feed them as much as they will eat, it isn't a daily occurrence. He also feeds larger prey, not smaller. My friend Bryan mentioned in another thread a while back that ADULT snakes experience some metabolic and growth changes when graduating to larger prey. Obviously within reasonable limits.

Vin's feeding regime equates to about 10 meals a year according to this broadcast. From this, you can surmise he is not feeding daily.


If you've read his books THE COMPLETE/MORE COMPLETE BOA CONSTRICTOR you will read that Vin and Eugene Bassett found boas to grow more when NOT being fed.

This topic relates to royals, but it stands that energy being used to digest cannot be split with energy being used to grow. My personal opinion is that daily feeding will put a constant stress on the system and eventually have negative results no matter how small the meal.

This is why seasonal changes are so important.

There should be some agreement as to how a royal can be fed based on the seasons.

Feeding more frequently at certain times of the year will mimic a more natural pattern.

Put the animal's wellbeing first.

10 meals a year sounds really extreme to me. That doesn't even seem like enough to recover from the eggs alone, let alone the calories burnt the rest of the year, even if they are pretty large meals. How on Earth is 10 meals "as much as they will eat" in 5 months? I know he knows his stuff when it comes to boas, but I don't know anything about his experience with BPs and I'm pretty skeptical of the math here. If I feed a BP an adult rabbit, it's going to regurge. It's not like a boa or retic where they can eat proportionally massive meals.