Grow Faster, Breed Sooner? (NOT POWER FEEDING)

[Bogertophis]

Here is another great interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrAoIatca6M

Time and time again you will hear experts, that not only breed, but go into the field and study various species reiterate the fact that over feeding leads to the early demise of captive snakes.

Nick drives the point home here. Listen to how long his snakes live. Listen to how he keeps his animals. He breeds a multitude of species, including royals. You will not hear him mention rapidly increasing an animals size for the snake of breeding it.

There is no mention of daily feeding here.

The emphasis, whether you hear it here or not, is on seasonality and lessons learned from field studies. Understanding your animal on a biological level is very important.

Size does not equate to maturity, and "big" should not "green light" breeding. At least not healthy breeding over the long haul.

I've spoken to Nick several times, sometimes for hours over the phone. He calls himself a nerd because he knows so much about reptiles.

He is the real deal. He goes into the field he studies the various species, he reads studies already conducted and he puts his findings into practice.

Vin Russo is like minded and a friend of Nick's.

People can choose to do what they want, but with all of the evidence proving longevity in snakes is related to proper feeding in captivity and other obvious factors, I tend to see daily feeding as a disaster in the making over time.

Thanks for sharing that interesting & intense link. And btw, he also talks about how morphs are defects & often linked with other defects as well (some of which don't support survival). It's a long listen, but worthwhile, as he touches on lots of things- including the notion that many of our captive-bred snakes are becoming "domesticated".