snake weight

[bob351]

alright so i posted some pics of my pastel and now i weighed him and he is 330 grams after going to the washroom and with an empty stomach, he is about 26" long and i was just wondering if he is on track with weight or to thin, he does not look thin or fat to me he seams lean and could use some fat but i wanted others opinions.

[TanyaL]

It sounds as if our BPs are on about the same track. My BP is about 30" and 360 but still has a bit of a ridge on her back that I'm trying to work out of her but overall she looks pretty good.

What are you feeding and how often? I just managed as of last night to get Foster to take a small rat and will do so in another 7 days.

[bob351]

mine will eat just about what ever you put out infront of him he is not fussy at all i just dont want to overfeed but im feeding on a 10 day cycle i am switching to 5 or 6

[TanyaL]

At 330 grams I think you will want to shoot for about once a week on the feedings. What size prey are you offering?

As for the size of the prey, some say that you should offer something that is about equal to the widest girth on your snake OR about 10 - 15% of the snakes body weight. I'm not sure which one is more important though. The first rat I tried was where it needed to be girth wise but more than 10 - 15% of Foster's body weight. I've asked before but didn't get an answer so I really can't tell you.

I'm willing to bet that once you switch to a more frequent feeding cycle you will end up with a nice size bp. I don't think I would go any more frequent than once a week though provided you are feeding appropriate size prey.

Hopefully somebody else will chime in and let you know if I was giving bad advice. I just thought since nobody else answered that I would give you my opinions.

[bob351]

well i have been feeding fuzzies for now because i was not sure if he was over weight so i was feeding 2 fuzzies every 7-10 days or so but im moving up to a mouse i think its regular size it what they were feeding him where i got him

[starmom]

As you have suspected, a fuzzy every 10 days is really not enough for your snake Yea for taking corrective measures!!!

Tanya had good advice when she suggested getting the snake onto an every-7-days feeding schedule. And your thought of offering an adult mouse is a good one. I don't know about your supplier, but I have one snake who eats live mice and I can't seem to ever get any that are over about 23g. Your snake will need one about 30g or a bit more (I'd suspect).

Double check your environment temps and make certain that the snake has an area warm enough for digestion (92-94F) and, like Tanya believes, your snake ought to start putting on weight and looking good!!!

[littleindiangirl]

I feed my young ones every 5 days. I prefer it over every 7. Juvi's and adults get every 7, depending on size and growth.

[bob351]

alright am going to get him on a one mouse a week feeding schedule the mouses that i feed, thanks for all the help everyone does anyone know what his weight should be around? this was i have a goal to reach because i would rather have a skinny snake than obese.