I agree with most of you that this is a very interesting topic, and also one which lacks research and data.
Where did the "rule of thumb" of 10-15% of body weight come from? I have heard this mentioned countless times, but i haven't found the source or the research on which it is based.
What exactly does "appropriately sized" mean. Is it anything smaller than its' girth or similar in size to its girth? Almost all breeder websites mention "feeding on appropriately sized prey". I don't know what this means, but it sounds horrendously ambiguous to my ears. Could anyone clarify what this parameter is? (There are some rats that are slim, and quite long. How do these equate? I understand that there is a small chance of axfixia if the prey item is too large and the snake can't regurgitate it, but it seems that the mass of the prey item would also be an important parameter, not just the girth.)
Unfortunately there is not much data on how BP live-eat in the wild. Never forgetting that Reptiles are NOT Mammals, and both have survived millions of years due to differing evolution, it is interesting that humans have evolved to quicken their metabolism when there is a high availability of food an reduce it to conserve fat when there is not. It seems snakes in the wild, and reptiles in general prefer large meals at large intervals (energy spent/reward?). I read in a science publication that aprox. 30% of produced energy from a snakes meal is used to process it. It would be interesting to see some data on this... ex (just blabbing values).
Constricting costs aprox 10kj +1kj for each additional 20gr.
Swallowing costs 20kj.
Stomach processing costs 40kj +10kj for each 20gr.
That could probably give us more information about if smaller more often is better than larger less frequent, or routine vs "whenever i remember". (All within reasonable limits).
I met a grown male bp 1.5 mts ~1200gr, that got 2 mice a month, and seemed to be content, he wasn't plump, but he didn't seem famine struck, and didn't seem lethargic. I gave the owner my .02 that she should be feeding more, but then again, perhaps she had it right all along, and we are the ones that are over feeding.
Reply With Quote