Weight/feeding questions...

[Lolo76]

I've had my BPs since February of this year (Delilah came first, then Toby in May, and finally Mona this week), and I try to feed & weigh them weekly. So I have a pretty good idea now of their progression, at least for the first two, and I'm getting a little worried about Delilah. She was gaining nicely at first, but in the last two weeks she's actually lost 4 grams! Last week she refused feed because she was about to shed, but then she got 3 hopper mice this week... she won't eat rats of any size, and we've found that live mice are her clear preference. Toby, on the other hand, is a major pig, and will literally take anything you offer - mice, rats, live, F/T, whatever. Typical man, LOL. So he is getting big REALLY quickly, while poor Delilah seems to be stuck in place.

I'll list their recent weight history below, and maybe someone can advise me on getting Delilah to fatten up? I'm not attempting to breed her for at least 2 seasons, so that's not my concern, but I'm afraid she isn't getting enough nutrients. I mean, Toby is already catching up with her, and he's about half her age! Is there a way I can get her to eat rats? I thought about trying the trick of rubbing it on a mouse, or using one of the commercial "food enhancer" products, but I'm not sure how long that is effective. And what is that formula again, regarding the weight of food vs. the snake? Anyway, here's what they have weighed over the last 2 months, and I'd appreciate any input!

4/18
Delilah: 232g

5/6
Delilah: 247g

5/17
Delilah: 266g
Toby: 174g

5/29
Delilah: 273g
Toby: 214g

6/5
Delilah: 298g
Toby: 224g

6/19
Delilah: 294g
Toby: 251g (see... he's quickly catching up with her!)

[Lolo76]

Btw, this is a little off the original topic, but I found a snake vet in San Francisco! She comes highly recommended by locals, and I'll probably switch my other pets over there too - since I wasn't thrilled with their current vet anyway. Here's the hospital's site, in case anyone else is looking around here: http://www.aphsf.com/ (the reptile specialist is Dr. Herman)

At least now I know where to take Delilah, if this becomes a serious problem...

[kc261]

They all grow at their own pace. You can't really compare them.

3 hoppers is probably not quite enough food for her. Also, it might be better if you give her adult mice instead. The nutritional content of younger mice is a little different because they have not developed as much muscle and bone density. I know when my corn got big enough for adult mice, she put on a big growth spurt, but it is possible that was just coincidence.

At nearly 300g, she should be at least close to big enough to take 2 adult mice each feeding. The general rule of thumb for feeding by weight is 10-15% of the snake's weight every 5-7 days for young growing BPs. Once they have stopped their rapid growth, you will want to slow down on that by giving less per feeding and/or feeding less often. It also depends on whether they are just pets, or are being used for breeding.

Also, 4 grams of lost weight is nothing to worry about. She probably loses more than that every time she pees or poops.

[Lolo76]

Thank you so much! I'm just a nervous new momma, I guess. I was giving her the hoppers because I thought 2 adults would be too much, but I'm glad you cleared that up. Next week I'll get her some fatties, and hopefully that will satisfy her hunger... will mice be okay forever (assuming I increase the size/number), or should I try to switch her to rats eventually?

[kc261]

Mice are ok forever. Many keepers find them inconvenient because they like being able to feed a single prey item per feeding, but nutritionally, mice are fine.

The only issue would be if you get a snake that won't take more than one item per feeding, but that is unusual.

[Vypyrz]

the males typically will hit their growth spurts first but eventually the females will catch up and pass them... I would also suggest taking your scale to the pet store to weigh the prey items when feeding multiples. The total weight of the snakes meals should be about 10-15% of the snakes weight... little guy didn't want anything to do with rats either but what I did was I got a mouse and a rat fuzzy. I put the little carrier box with the mouse in it in the tub. Once my snake got the mouse scent and became interested I used my tongs to place the rat fuzzy behind the box and very gently slid the box over exposing the rat... mission accomplished... now he will eat either one. Now if I can just convince him that F/T's really do taste good... LOL





Rob