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  1. #4
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    Feeding just because they’ll eat it is not necessarily healthy.

    Remember that for any animal, the drive for food is not calibrated just for how many calories they need. It’s also calibrated for how much time and effort and motivation it requires for them to get that in the wild, and if possible get a bit more than they need to hold them over the lean times. Ever wonder why humans crave high-calorie foods like bacon and ice cream? Because getting enough calories was a lot of work for our ancestors up until very few generations ago, and in that context rich foods are pretty high value.

    But that becomes a problem for any animal living in a situation where food is suddenly easy and abundant - dogs with indulgent owners, snakes that aren’t picky eaters, humans who live next door to ice cream shops, etc.

    Getting the snake to put on weight as fast as it’s willing to slurp down meals is not healthy in the long term and shortens its lifespan. Weekly feeding sounds like too much for an adult - it doesn’t even let their system settle back down in between - and a double-sized meal (assuming each of those two rats would be a decent meal by itself) is even more so.

    Even if you’re thinking of breeding, there’s a limit to how much weight gain (and how quickly) is appropriate. Breeding success for any animal (especially over the longer term) depends on overall health, and overfeeding is not healthy. Just because they’re giving you those puppydog eyes and telling you they’re hungry doesn’t mean they actually need more food.

  2. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Coluber42 For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (10-10-2018),dakski (10-10-2018),GoingPostal (10-11-2018),Ronniex2 (10-10-2018)

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