Need advice about bp's growth rate

[Skittles1101]

http://squamishserpents.ca/care-info...-one-enclosure

You missed the key word. "Without any problems YET" People who house together often forget that one little key word.

Why you'd spend that amount of money of those morphs, and then risk housing them together is beyond me. You could afford the morphs, but not two different set ups?

To offer more to the thread, balls grow at different rates, especially when they are being fed smaller than normal meals. One hopper every 7 days will allow for very slow growth.

[Manasha-Bogo]

All I gotta say to that is WOW. I had heard of this, but I don't beleive I've ever seen pix like this or realized that this could happen with snakes so young and of the same size.

Thanks for showing that to me! I should print this out and give it to the local herp guys.

Lgray23, like I said, their enclosure is big enough that it can be easily split and the can be separated. I *did* think of separating them from the beginning, but believed there was plenty of time to make that decision.

It has never been a matter of money. I have 7 other pets and they all get what they need including vet visits.

Going back to the topic of growth...
do you guys base the feeder size and frequency on the size or on the weight of the snake, or on both? Is there a guide somewhere I should be looking at?

I've been meaning to get a scale for months. And not just for the snakes. I'll just go ahead and get one today.

I appreciate the help. I just want my snakes to be healthy and well taken care of.


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[Skittles1101]

Sadly, a lot of it comes with some experience. Most eye ball it, feed a prey item about the same width or slightly larger as the fattest part of your snake. I really only feed very young, like hatchlings, hopper mice, and that's only if they refuse f/t, I'll throw in a live hopper mouse to spark their interest in food. As they gain some size you just up the prey size, I'll usually go right from hoppers to adult mice, adult mice to weaned rats, so on. If you're nervous about a prey item being too large, get the size smaller and try that. If it goes down without issue and without leaving any kind of "bump" once it's swallowed, then you can usually safely use the slightly large prey item next time. It's a lot of trial and error, and as some have mentioned before, the 15-20% rule only works up to a certain size (of snake). However, having a scale is always a good thing.

Sorry, I realized after I posted the link that it should have come with a warning. I know how confusing it is to get conflicting info, especially when it comes to your pets. Good luck with everything.

[ExotixTowing]

Put them on the scale and weight them !! then feed them something preferably (rat) every 4 days, You will notice significant growth by week 2

My normal on the 4 day Schedule has put on 105 grams in just under a month, where my Lesser on smaller meals has come up but is now on the same size feeders as my normal,

they are both eating 23-26 gram rats... speaking of eating, today is feeding day

[MrLang]

Surprised nobody else has mentioned this, but please do not ever leave your snake alone with a live feeder. Someone posted a horrifying thread just last week with pictures of their snake nearly chewed in half by a rat. I realize a hopper is less dangerous, but the snake you pictured is very small and if a bite landed, say, on its eyeball...

[Manasha-Bogo]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm about to leave with the snakes to the herp store to ask them their opinion as well.

They are currently in a 55g tank and will be moved into a 75g tank this week or next. It's current inhabited by a handful of fish. Those fish are moving. I have a divider for it and will separate them then.

Here is a pic I just took 5 minutes ago.

Manasha the female is top
Bogo the Male is below.




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[Manasha-Bogo]

A tangle of snake.
Sorry if this makes you cringe.






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[Manasha-Bogo]

I meant to ask this. My kids noticed these little black critters crawling all over them as I took that pic (my eyesight sucks).

Sure enough (with the glasses on) I can see tiny little black specks crawling about. What could these be?


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[dragonboy4578]

Sounds like it could be mites... Order a can of P.A.M. (prevent a mite). Make sure you follow the directions exactly.

[DShaw]

I meant to ask this. My kids noticed these little black critters crawling all over them as I took that pic (my eyesight sucks).

Sure enough (with the glasses on) I can see tiny little black specks crawling about. What could these be?


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Those black "specks" are more than likely mites. See if your herp store sells mite spray, the one I use is called provent a mite