switching from one week to two weeks?

[martin82531]

Right I never said it wasn't something needed, I said look at how many people that only keep a snake or two that actually have one and that answer was not many. I know what you're saying but you're not listening to what I'm saying. A pet shop, like 90%+ will not have a scale and they don't even know the weight of their BP's much less know how to judge weight. Then to top it off they're not going to weigh their food, if you have a pet shop close to you that does that then you're one of the very very very very very few, less than 10% lucky ones. What all of you that recommend the 10-15% weight thing fail to realize is that was for a hatchling BP. Once you start getting them older, a year old bp that's underfed could weigh 400 grams that is only because it's long and not because it's thick, so that 10-15% weight thing completely goes out of the window. If people are going to recommend it then they need to state all the facts. The best rule of thumb is to stick by the thickest part of the snake and in all honesty my 8 year old nephew picked up the right food for a BP since I've been explaining BP care to him. Also ordering frozen it list a wide range of grams, and a person who has one snake isn't going to order frozen feeders, yes while you may do it and it works for you, for the newbies it needs to stop being told to unless like I said the person saying it explains that it's a guideline for hatchlings. Also just because you have a scale doesn't mean it's accurate.

For instance, I have a scale and I never use it. If I want to get a weight to see how much a snake has grown then I use it but for the most part it sits there.

You are correct, the 10-15 percent rule should be used for younger snakes, once they get older this may not be the case. Both of my balls are just around 1000 grams, they get anything from 60-90 grams every ten days. I'm not sure your point is by stating your 8 year old nephew can pick up the proper feeder. I'm sure we all can, but if their is a more efficient way of doing it (i.e. getting the exact weight of the feeder), what is wrong with that?

For your statement, "and a person who has one snake isn't going to order frozen feeders", I ordered my batch of frozen feeders when I had two ball pythons, did I have one snake at the time, no, but not a far stretch. Again I do agree with you, that the 10-15 percent rule should be explained that is more for hatchlings or younger snakes. My normal, who I just weighed today, came in at 1027 grams, 10% would equal 100 grams, something that would be too big to feed my python on its current feeding schedule.

When you say just "just because you have a scale doesn't mean it's accurate". Well of course, this statement can be applied to anything. Just because you have a thermometer, doesn't mean it's accurate. I think the thing is, we suggest the proper tools and resources for new comers to take proper care of thier new addition, this gets them one step closer to providing proper husbandry care.

Lastly: Neal please don't take anything I'm saying as being rude or trying to argue persay I'm simply just giving my perspective on the subject that is being mentioned.