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    Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    I've looked around the forum a bit, but I haven't been able to find a similar thread so here goes. About ten minutes after taking her pinky my kingsnake hatchling will usually keep looking hungry for a while after (although who am I kidding she looks hungry all the time ). I know she would gladly take another pinky then but I also know that she'll be just fine on one prey item a week. However, if I did decide to offer two I'm pretty sure there's no risk in terms of obesity or power feeding since she's still growing and these are just pinkies. My questions are: is it at all beneficial to double up on appropriately sized mice, and how do you decide when to do so?
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    Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    Quote Originally Posted by aurum View Post
    I've looked around the forum a bit, but I haven't been able to find a similar thread so here goes. About ten minutes after taking her pinky my kingsnake hatchling will usually keep looking hungry for a while after (although who am I kidding she looks hungry all the time ). I know she would gladly take another pinky then but I also know that she'll be just fine on one prey item a week. However, if I did decide to offer two I'm pretty sure there's no risk in terms of obesity or power feeding since she's still growing and these are just pinkies. My questions are: is it at all beneficial to double up on appropriately sized mice, and how do you decide when to do so?
    What size : age is your snake ?

    Maybe a photo showing some kind of scale would help .

    The tiniest King hatchlings I bought were on two pinkies at a time ...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Last edited by Zincubus; 11-15-2019 at 09:17 PM.




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    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    Young colubrids on pinkies should be fed at least every 3 to 4 days, keep in mind that pinkies have little to no nutritional value and are nothing but fat and water.

    Digestion wise it will be easier to feed several times a day than feed the equivalent of a larger meal.
    Deborah Stewart


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    Re: Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Zincubus View Post
    What size : age is your snake ?

    Maybe a photo showing some kind of scale would help .

    The tiniest King hatchlings I bought were on two pinkies at a time ...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    She’s a bit over a foot long and a little smaller than pinky width at her thickest point. I’m guessing she’s about 4 months old (I got her at the beginning of October and she is a 2019 baby). Given what Stewart Reptiles said I will probably be doubling up at least while she is on pinkies.
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    Re: Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    Quote Originally Posted by aurum View Post
    She’s a bit over a foot long and a little smaller than pinky width at her thickest point. I’m guessing she’s about 4 months old (I got her at the beginning of October and she is a 2019 baby). Given what Stewart Reptiles said I will probably be doubling up at least while she is on pinkies.
    She's big enough to eat 2 pinkies at one time- she's a growing girl & one pinkie won't fill her up for a week. Depending on her cage temperatures, if warm enough, she'd probably eat 2 every 5 days with ease, but I'm not saying you should do that...it's also hard to say- I'm not seeing her. Most ppl on this forum will recommend only one item per meal, but keep in mind they're mostly not dealing with colubrids.

    Of my 3 hatchling rat snakes, the oldest one easily takes 2 pinkies per meal now...the 2 hatched recently are still only on one at a time, but it won't be long. Colubrids differ in that their body is relatively narrower & longer, & their metabolism is pretty fast. I tend to feed 2 pinkies before I size up to fuzzies.

    Another reason to double up is for specific kinds of snakes with abnormally narrow faces, like desert glossy snakes (which none of you probably have but they're sweet pets)or my TX longnose snake, whose normal meal is actually 5-6 f/t fuzzy mice; the largest he can eat is a skinny hopper, but he prefers fuzzies, and since he's a lizard-eater by "design", I'm just happy he eats fuzzies so well.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 11-16-2019 at 03:21 PM.
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    Re: Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    She's big enough to eat 2 pinkies at one time- she's a growing girl & one pinkie won't fill her up for a week. Depending on her cage temperatures, if warm enough, she'd probably eat 2 every 5 days with ease, but I'm not saying you should do that...it's also hard to say- I'm not seeing her. Most ppl on this forum will recommend only one item per meal, but keep in mind they're mostly not dealing with colubrids.

    Of my 3 hatchling rat snakes, the oldest one easily takes 2 pinkies per meal now...the 2 hatched recently are still only on one at a time, but it won't be long. Colubrids differ in that their body is relatively narrower & longer, & their metabolism is pretty fast. I tend to feed 2 pinkies before I size up to fuzzies.

    Another reason to double up is for specific kinds of snakes with abnormally narrow faces, like desert glossy snakes (which none of you probably have but they're sweet pets)or my TX longnose snake, whose normal meal is actually 5-6 f/t fuzzy mice; the largest he can eat is a skinny hopper, but he prefers fuzzies, and since he's a lizard-eater by "design", I'm just happy he eats fuzzies so well.
    Agreed


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    Re: Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    She's big enough to eat 2 pinkies at one time- she's a growing girl & one pinkie won't fill her up for a week. Depending on her cage temperatures, if warm enough, she'd probably eat 2 every 5 days with ease, but I'm not saying you should do that...it's also hard to say- I'm not seeing her. Most ppl on this forum will recommend only one item per meal, but keep in mind they're mostly not dealing with colubrids.

    Of my 3 hatchling rat snakes, the oldest one easily takes 2 pinkies per meal now...the 2 hatched recently are still only on one at a time, but it won't be long. Colubrids differ in that their body is relatively narrower & longer, & their metabolism is pretty fast. I tend to feed 2 pinkies before I size up to fuzzies.

    Another reason to double up is for specific kinds of snakes with abnormally narrow faces, like desert glossy snakes (which none of you probably have but they're sweet pets)or my TX longnose snake, whose normal meal is actually 5-6 f/t fuzzy mice; the largest he can eat is a skinny hopper, but he prefers fuzzies, and since he's a lizard-eater by "design", I'm just happy he eats fuzzies so well.
    Thanks for the reply I was under the impression that doubling up wasn't very typical, but it's good to know that just one pinky a week actually isn't enough for her. As far as frequency I think it'd be safe to start going 5-7 days between feedings instead of always feeding weekly. I have some pictures of her on her arrival thread which might help assess body condition if that's what you're looking for. I'm not using tapatalk right now so I can't upload pictures directly to this thread at the moment.
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    FYI, my hatchling rat snakes are eating either 1 pinkie every 5 days (unless in shed, then nothing until after) or the older one takes 2 pinkies about every 7 days.
    It's very obvious when they're "ready" for more... When they bump up to fuzzies, they'll be on just one at first, then 2 as they grow, etc.

    I don't really need a picture...I've raised plenty of king snakes & I trust your judgement anyway. 2 pinkies every 5-7 days should be fine.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 11-16-2019 at 08:12 PM.
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    Re: Doubling up feedings for young snakes?

    I like to mix things up a bit. All of my snakes get multiple/varied prey items from time to time. I'd feed one prey item for a couple of feedings and offer two prey items every 2nd or 3rd feeding. If they can consistently and easily eat 2 pinkys then they're probably ready for fuzzys.
    Last edited by EL-Ziggy; 11-16-2019 at 11:22 PM.
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