Interesting necropsy photos showing problem force feeding and fatty tissue build up

[joyful girl]

http://community.livejournal.com/herpers/1595022.html

I hope a link is ok.. when I saw this over on LJ I thought some of you might find it interesting.

[muddoc]

Very good post. I learned alot from that concise writing. Hopefully this will also help people to realize how overfeeding and force feeding should be taken very seriously.

[joyful girl]

I'm waiting to hear back about the size prey and how often he fed the spitting cobra to have an idea of how there is that much fatty tissue.

[lillyorchid]

Man as much as I like learning things like this... I really have to wonder... just how many pinky mice did he feed / force feed these hatchlings for them to die. Those had to be some huge pinks or some very tiny babies. Poor snakes either way.

[West Coast Jungle]

Wow that is amazing.
One thing my vet mentioned to me was not only the amount snakes eat in captivity but the lack of exercise the have in captivity. In the wild snakes spend alot of energy searching for safe havens, food and running for their lives. In captivity they spend no energy at all for any of these necessities and obesesity can become fairly common place.
I think we as caretakers spend too much thought worrying about not eating than eating more than needed. I have a girl that is definately on the chunky side and now I realize the dangers involved.
In my opinion a snake not eating for what we might think are long periods is probably better off than one that gets feed large items weekly.

Thanks for sharing this very important piece of information.
I am not as worried for my one boy who is a crummy eater, because other than that he is healthy and lean.

[joyful girl]

here is the reply to my question about food quantity for that cobra

Interestingly enough, that specimen was maintained on a relatively conservative diet, once it reached adulthood. The feeding records show a schedule that included one 45-65g rat every 10-14 days, with slightly shorter intervals preceding brumation. Elapids have a relatively high metabolism, and as such require a slightly less conservative feeding schedule than, say, vipers or boids. Nonetheless, the fact that this specimen had plentiful fat tissues, despite not having fed for some time, is quite telling about how relatively little food is required to sustain an adult snake.


I think this is valuable information because just hearing 'captive snakes can become obese if overfed' really doesn't give a novice much to go on.

[Ginevive]

Hm.. I wonder if it has anything to do with the snakes not choosing to rest on/in the heat source? I would think that a snake that preferred the cool side of its cage, would digest slower..

[Jahbeard]

here is the reply to my question about food quantity for that cobra

Interestingly enough, that specimen was maintained on a relatively conservative diet, once it reached adulthood. The feeding records show a schedule that included one 45-65g rat every 10-14 days, with slightly shorter intervals preceding brumation. Elapids have a relatively high metabolism, and as such require a slightly less conservative feeding schedule than, say, vipers or boids. Nonetheless, the fact that this specimen had plentiful fat tissues, despite not having fed for some time, is quite telling about how relatively little food is required to sustain an adult snake.


I think this is valuable information because just hearing 'captive snakes can become obese if overfed' really doesn't give a novice much to go on.

So how does this reflect on the mantra that if your snake doesn't eat every week, year round, you are a bad owner?