When it comes to feeding, is there a healthier/better chioce?

[4theSNAKElady]

I have been seeing a lot of controversy lately regarding feeding. Some say feeding a prey item a little larger less often is fine, some say NO WAY to that, some say feed every week a smaller prey item, and some say NO WAY to that. ???? So when I see these things, I begin to think of snakes in the wild. They eat when an opportunity to eat comes along. And prey items just don't show up very week in the wild. Also, the size of the prey items isn't always going to be constant either...right? So, say a prey item comes along tha's a little bigger.....Is the snake going to say "well, that meal is just a little to big for me right now. I think I'l wait till something a little smaller comes along"...heck no! If it can be eaten, aren't they just going to eat it? I mean to survive they can't be too picky about the size and frequency of prey, right? i hardly doubt snakes would have survived and evolved to become what they are if they only opted to have that 1 med rat-sized prey once every week. I mean is offering your snake a larger prey item less often as "harmful" as people say? And what about feeding smaller prey more often????? Is that really healthy? Personally, Not every single one of my snakes accepts food offered every week. Sometimes, they'll eat every five days, and sometimes they refuse a meal for two weeks.I am not knocking anyone's chioce on how often or how big when it comes to feeding. I'm just wondering if one chioce is "better" or "healthier" over the other choice. Just my

[Adam_Wysocki]

Comparing what snakes do in the wild is not valid. In the wild they have free will to roam and hunt when they need to ... in captivity, they can not and have no ability to express their needs to their keeper.

-adam

[amercnwmn]

For me, I choose to feed prey equal to, (or very close to equal) the girth of my snake. Prey too large can cause regurge. Prey to small is, well, too small..and your snake wont appear malnourished.
I've heard all kinds of crappy info, "feed prey the size of the snake's head" Well In that case, my 4ft Corn snake would be eating a pinky mouse.. LOL! I feed her a small rat every 10days. I had a friend that was feeding his FEMALE Burm by this rule, and wondering why she wasnt shedding properly..

My understanding based on other more experienced keepers is ONE appropriately sized prey item vs several smaller prey. This gives the gut flora a chance to replenish. I'm not a gut flora, so I don't know.. I just try to go by what more experienced keepers recommend.

[elevatethis]

Will a ball python survive on a small rat every week? Yes.
Will a ball python survive on a medium rat every other week? Yes.
Will a ball python survive on a large rat once a month? Yes. (I have one that was fed like that with its previous owner- she's 8-9 y/o now)

The "controversy" your talking about involves a theory that feeding ball pythons multiple smaller items causes them to be overall more consistent feeders, a desireable trait especially if you are considering breeding them.

While your arguement that when in the wild, ball pythons can't be picky as far as what size prey to eat, does have some merit to it, there's one thing about that premise that kind of knocks it all down: this isn't the wild. When talking about ball pythons in captivity, its really a whole new ball game (no pun intended!).

I'm a believer that consistant husbandry for ball pythons in captivity lowers stress and allows them to thrive in a relatively unnatural setting. Consistant temperatures, maintenance routines, and consistant feeding. If you choose to feed your ball pythons multiple smaller items, great. If you decide to feed them something larger every 10-14 days, thats ok too. Some have observed that the "multiple smaller items" makes for more consistant feeders, since I switched to that routine I've noticed more growth and consistency in feeding, and at the same time you aren't hurting them by feeding larger stuff at a longer interval.

[SarahMB]

Another thing to think about is that a good number of snakes in the wild don't survive long. Some definitely perish due to bad meal choices.
Some of us humans have that problem as well!

[4theSNAKElady]

Well, the biggest problem with people is obesity....Stdies are starting to show more and more pets are becoming obese, which, in many cases, corelates to an obese owner as well. Some snakes, esp. burms seem to have a tendency to become obese. I went to a small zoo one time while going to visit my boyfriend's mother on vac. The zoo was indded small, but specialized mostly in reptiles, so I was excited to see all the animals there. The animals were all well kept, and seemed happy, except for one thing....Most of the animals there were obese..esp.many of the snakes....they looked like stuffed sausages!

[SarahMB]

You are absolutely right about that. I was amazed at how many obese animals were at the vet's office last time I went in. I'm not a huge supporter of free-feeding.

[elevatethis]

Fortunately, ball pythons are very good at knowing when they are "full" and tend to regulate their food intake on their own.

[JLC]

I think this is one of those instances where there isn't a specific "right way" to do it. Many different people have had success with a variety of different feeding methods...which is why you hear so many adamant claims for one over another.


Personally, I find following the advice of someone I trust to be the best method of feeding my BP. (Which in this case, is Adam. ) He recommends one prey item once a week that is slightly smaller than you might think they need. (Not head-sized small!) This keeps their appetite revved up and keeps 'em eating consistently week to week. Been working for me...and when I tried to give her something that was bigger than she was used to, she ate it...but then refused to eat again for two months! (Other husbandry issues may have been involved and have been fixed....but I'm betting that that "big" rat is what put her off food in the first place.)

Anyhow...that is working for me. Might not work for everybody, but Adam's got the most consistently healthy, awesome bunch of pythons I've seen....so it obviously isn't starving them or leaving them malnourished.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Two points ...

1. In 25 years, I have never seen an obese ball python. Ball pythons do an extremely good job at regulating their own food intake and therefore their own body weight ... if they aren't hungry, they're not going to eat. In my opinion this is one of the main reasons why so many ball pythons fast for extended periods of time ... overfeeding.

2. In my opinion looking at the size of a snake to determine what size prey you should feed it is an antiquated husbandry method. 30 years ago as more and more people began to keep boids in captivity and didn't know what or how much to feed them, the notion of using the girth of the snake made sense .... but, we've come a long way in the last 30 years. We know today that many more things go into determining what size prey item to feed ... feeding frequency, temperatures, metabolism, breeding cycles, amount of exercise, and other husbandry elements should all be taken into account when determining how much to feed your snake. Most importantly, you should KNOW YOUR ANIMALS ... they are living creatures ... every single one of them is different. There is no "cookie cutter" approach to their care.

There's my gumdrop for the day.

-adam