I can't believe what I overheard at a show... Talk about power feeding..

[blackcrystal22]

I'm all eyes! Dig it up and post it! And I'll tell you the TRUTH!!

How interesting.
I may know less than you, but you seem pretty darn sure that you know more than anyone else here.

Well, why don't you give us some solid reasoning and facts? Your previous experience and collection perhaps?

Through common sense (and what I've heard about from people here and there) usually power feeding is meant to make a snakes growth rate increase. There may be different forms of this power feeding, but it may only be meant as used as power feeding specifically on occasion. (am I making any sense?)

If your feeding a snake every other day to get it up to breeding size, I would believe that to be an inappropriate form of increasing growth rate quickly and ineffectively... naturally I don't think snakes are meant to grow that fast or eat that much. I don't know this as a fact, but would assume that it's probably hard on their intestinal tract as well as their heart.

I donno, thats what I think.

[djansen]

I dont do it But, you can with no harm to the animal. People really need to stop and think. Books and forums dont make the snake live. The snake does! And 20-30 people will post after this about how wrong I am. LOL.. I will feed some 3-4 rats a week. Some only one. It ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.. Depends on the single animal! Just like people. Some here are FAT,some are Small,some are SHORT,some areTALL some are GAY, some are STRAIT! LOL!

If you feed smaller multible meals you can feed every other day. I like to feed twice a week if possible. 2 small rats 2 times a week is HARDLY Power feeding.

so your saying its like the abs diet for snakes, mulitiple smaller meals will increase his metabolism and fat burning right?

[bigballs]

I dont do it But, you can with no harm to the animal. People really need to stop and think. Books and forums dont make the snake live. The snake does! And 20-30 people will post after this about how wrong I am. LOL.. I will feed some 3-4 rats a week. Some only one. It ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.. Depends on the single animal! Just like people. Some here are FAT,some are Small,some are SHORT,some areTALL some are GAY, some are STRAIT! LOL!

If you feed smaller multible meals you can feed every other day. I like to feed twice a week if possible. 2 small rats 2 times a week is HARDLY Power feeding.

a parent could feed a child mcdonalds every day and the child may seem healthy but for how long? as a keeper you are the care giver to the animal and although you know that a snake can eat every other day maybe you should stop to think should the snake eat every other day.

looking healthy and actually being healthy are two different things. being overweight is unhealthy whether you are human or reptile.

[shadi11]

maybe i am not the smartest of all out here but i guess the question is how long does it take the snake to digest the meal. How long does it take you to become hungry. We don't feed every other day. but some snakes eat twice a week like our adult female mouse eater. I have several snakes that will eat small to medium rats. These snakes take sometime to digest the meal and will not eat for about 2 weeks after that. We do have multiple pray items offered at times to animals, especially the for mentioned mouse eater. Am i power feeding this snake I don't think so because if i only feed a 2000 gram female one mouse per week she would probably drop weight and not survive. So i guess the question still is WHAT is the true definition of power feeding. Normally these snakes will find a meal in the wild once every couple of weeks from what i have heard sometimes even longer. I guess by that standard most of us powerfeed to get faster growth, or do we all just feel bad about only feeding once a month. So what is the apropriate time between feedings. Are you supposed to wait for defication before offering another prey item. Im still waiting for a scientist or a vet to tell me when and what i should feed but I've been to several vets and gotten different answers.

[frankykeno]

Here's some interesting reading by the experts, those that have studied the very complex digestive processes of multiple species of snakes (burmese python, ball python, garter snakes to name a few).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/sc...=1&oref=slogin

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/208/5/881

http://www.csulb.edu/~brourke/CMP_Research.htm

Their results seem to indicate that there is a sharp increase in blood volume, liver size, heart size (in particular the ventricle), lipid production, mucus lining of the intestines, etc.

For me that confirms what I was always taught. That the digestive process for snakes is so energy intensive, so complex and involving so many organ systems that it's just not a good idea to feed every few days or to feed what I'd call "non productive prey" - aka mouse pinks that are far too small to be worth the energy a ball python would use to consume them.

This "truth" is backed by recognized scientific study and it does say to me that giving a snake a reasonable time to digest and allow it's systems to return to a relaxed, non-digestive state for a time is a good thing for the snake and how nature designed them. I don't think that offering meals every couple of days allows for that down time.

[avdnco]

I'd be careful about listening in and passing judgement on other peoples conversations. You can often get misinformation and come to the wrong conclusion.

We are talking Ball pythons right? Just because food is offered doesn't mean they will take it. All my animals were chow hounds as hatchlings- though I never fed them regularly more than every 3 days, but come to 500-600 gms Most went into adolesence and went on hunger strike. Every animal is different. Experienced breeders observe their animals, and know which
animals they can push a little more...
You can plan as much as you want, but in reality the animals will regulate themselves... it seems to me, the hatchling that you most want to eat and get to breeding size is the one least likely to cooperate... and just because they reach breeding size does not mean that they will actually breed and produce viable sperm/eggs. Murphy's ball python laws.

[adizziedoll]

Well the point has been proven, but here is the link that Miss Robin found for me a while back.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...02_python.html

[frankykeno]

Well the point has been proven, but here is the link that Miss Robin found for me a while back.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...02_python.html

Ahh there's that link I couldn't find! Thanks! It references the Hicks study as well.

[JenH]

Great article - thanks....

[Sloburn]

I never really read in any of the articles where this is a bad thing. The enlarment of the heart and liver. Seems most the studies where in realtion to the benefits of humans and really not much about the negativity to the snake. Grant it I did not read each article entirely but I did not see anything about negative effects. From the studies

I have read about snakes in the wild they are oportunist feeders. If the food is available then they eat if they are hungry. The analogy of a kid eating mc donalds every day is not remotely the same. How many artificial chemicals and what not is put into a mc donalds hamburger? Mice or Rats are a fairly organic food source.

I am not advocating power feeding in anyway. My collection of ball pythons is not huge and I am returning to hobby after a long Hiatus. I think the forcing a second food item down while the first one is going down is definatly the wrong thing to do but offering food every few days and the snake is receptive to it probly is not a bad of a action as you would think. Then again its just my opinon and is just that a opinion.