Tiny Lucy? [emoji15]

[Shayne]

It is true, some breeders practice "maintenance feeding". However, that does not mean they put the hatchlings on a starvation diet. Maintenance feeding should never be mistaken for a starvation diet. The term should also not be used IF someone is starving a hatchling.

It simply means that the animal isn't being pushed for rapid growth. I can guarantee that in the wild (and I know, we're not in the wild, just a example how they were designed to grow) most hatchlings get less food and grow even slower. Yet, given time and meaning years, the adults grow quite big. Many people feel that a 1.5 to 2 year old animal should be viewed as an adult, should be up to breeding size. Esp. if they purchased a morph and want to breed it. We all know that morphs go down in price each breeding season, as more of those genes are bred. So there is this race to get a animal up to size, to recoup some money before the prices fall.

Pushing size and growth is not advisable in any species, in any animal really. Parts of the body grow faster while others can't keep up. The animals become obese before they are even fully grown.

You can feed an animal heavier without pushing to much, of course. Some breeders do not and there are many reasons for it. Smaller animals are easier to house and ship. However, that does NOT mean that they are starving that animal or "stunting" the growth. Again, they do not need to reach adult size in one or even 2 years, nor should they.

Please remember, I'm talking about the reputable breeders that do this. Of course there are bad apples, there are sickly animals, starved ones. That is not what I'm talking about.

You should always look at the big picture before buying an animal. Before you even look at genetics or size, check the breeders reputation. Over the years. Are there complaints about ethics. About sick animals. Diseases. Mites. Issues with shipping. Issues with customer service.
If you do your homework you will quickly be able to weed out the bad ones or unknowns. And some breeders will stick out for having a great reputation in all aspects and over many years. THEN you look at the animals, the genes, the sizes, the prices.

Honestly, size is the least of my concerns. If there is a truly undersized animal that has feeding issues, the reputable breeders will not even market that animal, or they will advise that it is a picky one that eats only a particular feed item or refuses at times. Truly good breeders will not tarnish their reputation to make a couple hundred bucks on a questionable animal.

I have not personally purchased from this breeder. But I have seen people post their animals from that breeder and post about their experience. While the animals were on the lower end of weight / age, not a single animal looked starved, bad, sick or gave the owners any issue at all. All the ones I've seen were stunning and healthy. The ones that are updated on grew perfectly fine and HEALTHY, reached adult size just fine, weren't problem animals. Probably healthier then animals that were pushed to grow fast.

Some of my animals were purchased from breeders that didn't push for size. I prefer that as I keep growing them conservatively (obv. I don't starve them). I want them longterm healthy. They can live for over 40 years, they don't need to be breed-able adults at 2 years old. I have a 9 year old 3400+ gr male. He carries genes that allowed him to grow to that size, it was not accomplished by overfeeding him, quite the opposite. All of mine grow slow and healthy and I have yet to have a issue with that.

Long story short, look at the big picture, check the breeder out, talk to the breeder. There are many, MANY more issues more important rather than if the hatchling is 350 or 500 gr. at 1 year old.

Dynasty seems to be one of the good guys.

Thanks for clarifying the differences between "maintenance feeding" and "starvation". I can see just how easily those two can be mixed into the same category. I have no intentions of "rapid growth" either. I want all my noodles (yes, I plan on getting more...lol) to live long, healthy, happy lives. Slow & steady wins the race. Now, if it was up to Monty, he would eat practically every day. Every time I peek in the room after dark, he's curled up inside his hide with his head cocked back in the "ready" position just waiting. Yes, it's tempting but I know better.

The "size" became a concern to me for no other reason than the simple fact that I'm VERY new to this new world of snake-keeping and it was the only thing that grabbed my attention at the moment. Keep in mind, most of you guys have been doing this for many years and have tons of experience, trial & error, etc. in your arsenal of knowledge. I will eventually learn to focus on the things that don't quite stand out so obviously and are lying just below the surface. Again, it'll come with knowledge and experience.

Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me. It's much appreciated.