To feed or not to feed.

[MissLeMew]

Alright, I've been raising snakes ever since I was a kid, and since the beginning I have never, EVER, gotten a clear black and white answer about powerfeeding vs feeding till your snake is full.

It's starting to drive me batty. My head is getting ready to implode.

I'm sure you've all talked about this before at some point or another, and I'm sure that some (if not, all) of you are avidly on one side or the other. I'm not looking for an argument. I just want to finally be clear in the head about this fine line that seems to have every snake owner on opposite ends of the rope.

Is feeding a snake until it's full powerfeeding? I personally don't think so, because it's eating because it wants to, not because it has to. That's just me, though (not that I feed my snakes that way... I'm too paranoid about them getting fat all the time).

So what do you guys think? I'd like to hear it from the ball python owners/breeders themselves.

And please, no fighting. I know how these kinds of threads can get sometimes, and I'd rather not be a catalyst.

[rabernet]

Powerfeeding to ME is feeding your snake, and then putting the mouth of another prey item in their mouth as their finishing the first prey item.

Feeding the animal what it wants to eat is NOT power feeding.

[angllady2]

From what I have read, my take on powerfeeding is feeding abnormally large prey items or keeping snakes warmer than usual to speed digestion so prey can be fed more frequently.

Me personally, I pretty much feed until my snakes are full. Well, except for one girl, because she really would eat until she burst if she could. If my snakes are still hungry after one standard prey item, I offer a second. If they are hungry they eat it, if they aren't, they don't.

I was very paranoid at first about powerfeeding. As you say, everyone has a different idea of it. But I rapidly learned with only one exception, my snakes just eat to be full, no more. Five of my eight have one standard size prey item every five to seven days. Two have one standard and one small prey item every week, although one of those would literally eat until she burst if I let her. One is a problem feeder, she usually has one standard prey item every five to seven days, but she will also miss feedings regularly. If she refuses once, she waits until the next scheduled feeding day.

Seven of my eight will "hunt" if offered a second prey item, but if they are not hungry, they won't strike. My snakes are growing at a consistent rate, and seem perfectly healthy.

Gale

[seeya205]

I think power feeding is feeding every 2-3 days! I think no more then every 4-5 days for young snakes and weekly for adults! That is the most you should feed in my opinion! 10-15% of body weight!

[WingedWolfPsion]

Ok, my understanding of powerfeeding is that another prey item is introduced into the snake's mouth just as it is swallowing the tail of the previous one. This induces the snake to consume twice as much food as it actually intended to.

I do not think anything that the snake does voluntarily is powerfeeding. I DO know that my hatchlings which have been on 3 to 4 day feeding schedules (I have only a couple of males I'm trying to get up to weight to catch spring breeding) have grown absolutely normally, showing none of the signs associated with powerfeeding. They eat only when they want to.

[johnsonw84]

Ok, my understanding of powerfeeding is that another prey item is introduced into the snake's mouth just as it is swallowing the tail of the previous one. This induces the snake to consume twice as much food as it actually intended to.

I do not think anything that the snake does voluntarily is powerfeeding. I DO know that my hatchlings which have been on 3 to 4 day feeding schedules (I have only a couple of males I'm trying to get up to weight to catch spring breeding) have grown absolutely normally, showing none of the signs associated with powerfeeding. They eat only when they want to.

I completely agree with you, powerfeeding is when the snakes choice to eat or not is taken away, also just for kicks what would be the associated signs of powerfeeding?

[BPelizabeth]

Powerfeeding to ME is feeding your snake, and then putting the mouth of another prey item in their mouth as their finishing the first prey item.

Feeding the animal what it wants to eat is NOT power feeding.

Ditto

[jben]

Powerfeeding to ME is feeding your snake, and then putting the mouth of another prey item in their mouth as their finishing the first prey item.

Feeding the animal what it wants to eat is NOT power feeding.

x3, as long as it's eating on it's own free will.

[MissLeMew]

Awesome, so I can stop being paranoid that I've been powerfeeding by mistake or something. I was just worried, because two of my bps are pigs, and if I don't regulate what they eat they'll eat until they pop.

I've been yelled at by my snake keeper friend about it before, too. She thinks feeding them until they're full is powerfeeding, thus the argument began. But she likes to blow smoke anyways (she's one of those I know everything in the universe personalities), so now I can rub her face in it. > Teeheee!

Thanks for the clarification guys!

[j_h_smith]

I've always known power feeding to be feeding the snake a larger prey item than it should be eating and feeding it more often. So, feeding a 500 gram ball python a medium rat every 3-5 days would be power feeding.

Jim Smith