Feeding / Breeding worries

[GoingPostal]

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[colin-java]

I always used to give her smaller meals (about 80g) for about the first 20 years, then I figured she could take bigger ones less frequently as she was big enough for the last 6 years or so.
From my research, its suggested prey size 1 - 1.5 times their width, but I always thought 1.5 was too much, so I've been feeding 150-200g rats the last few years.
I've only been feeding more frequently as she was almost skeletal after laying the parthenogenesis eggs last year and I wanted her fat enough to get through this winter and through the egg thing again (if it happened).
But she has eaten through the winter which hasn't happened for years, and I have let her get a bit fat, but she's no where near obese.

I think I'll try smaller rats in the summer and try to get her to 2800-2900g, if she lays this year I'm sure that will take off much of the weight.
Gonna exercise her for half an hour a day too.

Thanks for advice.

[Bogertophis]

Keep in mind that all ounces (or grams) are not created equal. Older (larger) rodents have packed on more body fat that they pass on to their consumers, & if that consumer is a slow-moving snake, you can see the problem, right? Snakes can easily gain too much weight, & they have a much harder time losing it than even we do. Prevention is best.

[EL-Ziggy]

Large rats biweekly is a lot of food for BPs. I agree that mixing in some small and medium rats, or extending the time between feedings, is a good idea. I know what you mean about the parthenogenesis egg laying though. I have a female bullsnake that’s been doing the same thing for the last few years and I hate seeing her lose so much weight laying a bunch of infertile eggs. I’ll give her large or jumbo rats every 10-14 days and it seems like as soon as she starts putting the weight back on and getting to a decent size, it’s spring and she’s laying eggs again. It’s very frustrating.

[colin-java]

I still donno if there's gonna be eggs this year, cause as I mentioned, she ate one rat in December, one in January, one in February, which is the first time in years that she has eaten in winter.
There's a slight bulge about 1/3 of the way up from the tail end, but its not that funny wedge shape that I got during the last 2 years from ovulation, I think its just the last meal she had.
I haven't seen her gulping much water like in the last 2 years prior to ovulating, and there's been no lying on the side/upside down yet (I forget if that's before or after ovulation).
I'll just have to wait and see.

[colin-java]

Ok good news, she went to the toilet earlier as I was exercising her (partially on my bed, but I don't care),
She was 3500g, and now 3140g and looks less bloated at the rear end.
I know she'll be okay for eggs now if she wants to do them, shouldn't be any blockage issues now (if that's even a thing anyway).

[colin-java]

Exercising snake on stairs, she likes to go up it seems.

[mdb730]

I would not be concerned with size of prey with yours, hardly anyone here can claim the have a 26 year old BP you are obviously doing something right. BPs size can also be genetic, a breeder friend of mine has a 6500g wild caught female he got from outback years ago that came in at about 5900g. My clowns are in the 3500g range and they get fed the same size prey as my other females of the same age but have grown much larger. I feel soon I will need to step them up from mediums to large rats because they are looking for food like a retic.

[colin-java]

I would not be concerned with size of prey with yours, hardly anyone here can claim the have a 26 year old BP you are obviously doing something right. BPs size can also be genetic, a breeder friend of mine has a 6500g wild caught female he got from outback years ago that came in at about 5900g. My clowns are in the 3500g range and they get fed the same size prey as my other females of the same age but have grown much larger. I feel soon I will need to step them up from mediums to large rats because they are looking for food like a retic.

Thanks, there's a lot of factors to weight, females will naturally be wider than males of the same length as they have to lay eggs. And like with people, there is variation too.
That 6500g female sounds obese at first, but weight isn't proportional to length, just a 26% increase in length equates to a doubling of weight (if shape stays the same).

I think mine is less muscular than it was a couple of years ago as the 2 years of egg laying made her skin and bone (weighing 2100g and 1900g after each egg laying), so the bit of extra fat she has now should help with that if she lays this year.

I think the easiest thing for me to do is to exercise her more and keep her weight under 3000g, she is roughly 4'4" now.