View Full Version : Make sure your bredli is well fed!
John962
07-08-16, 03:55 PM
I haven't fed my bredli for 5 weeks as I've been on holiday. Anyway, I got him out tonight and he bit and hung on. I had to hold him under the cold water tap for a few minutes until he let go and there is a nasty looking bulge near my wrist! I've washed the wound and it's not bleeding now. Should I do anything else? Cheers
RAD House
07-08-16, 04:08 PM
First I would recommend not making your snake go five weeks without food. Second just make sure to clean it well and keep it clean.
Ian of Oldham
07-09-16, 01:00 AM
if you was not feed for five weeks you may bit at something and if you did not get any visits for some time it will al so have a big affect on your mental state. so get someone to pop in next time you have to leave him.
2 Royals 1 corn 1Boa and a mad Cat with 1 Hog on its way
John962
07-09-16, 04:40 AM
He normally feeds every 4 weeks. Anyway, I was at the accident and emergency for 5 hours. They cleaned the wound, did an x-ray, took blood tests, gave me a tetanus jab, antibiotics and even an ECG! I'll go back to feeding him every 3 weeks.
PatrickT
07-09-16, 12:57 PM
He normally feeds every 4 weeks. Anyway, I was at the accident and emergency for 5 hours. They cleaned the wound, did an x-ray, took blood tests, gave me a tetanus jab, antibiotics and even an ECG! I'll go back to feeding him every 3 weeks.
evry 4 weeks?
Thats animal abuse...
John962
07-09-16, 01:22 PM
evry 4 weeks?
Thats animal abuse...
Check out the thread 'how often to feed?'
I got a tetanus jab last year. The protection lasts at least for ten years. As snake owner it can be wise to have a good protection against tetanus. Tetanus is a very serious disease and can be fatal. In the treatment of an injury it's common to get antibiotic and immunoglobulin. This acts as an antidote. A first tetanus vaccination at the time of the injury will not provide protection for the current injury, but is a preventive measure for future protection.
sirtalis
07-09-16, 02:26 PM
Dang... 4 weeks, I'd personally feed every 1-2 weeks...
NOT enough information to be screaming "animal abuse" here, people. For an adult Bredli, every 2 to 3 weeks would appropriate depending on the size of the meal...every 4 weeks is stretching it IMO but STILL is not "abuse" if it's very large meals. If it's not an adult yet...you simply aren't feeding it enough. Not having anyone drop in would be beneficial to it's "mental state" so having someone come by for "company" is not a problem that would arise...these animals don't crave attention or interaction unless you're a member of the opposite sex at the right time of year...but someone should've definitely been by to change water and feed in your absense. Perhaps something to consider for the future.
RAD House
07-09-16, 02:58 PM
I don't think anyone is screaming animal abuse just making suggestions based on the posts. Will the animal die by going for five weeks with out food? It is very unlikely. Should a snake be left to its own for five weeks? I would say no.
Ian of Oldham
07-09-16, 03:15 PM
I don't recall anyone suggesting any form of abuse, but just pointing out that if you have snake then you chose the snake and not the other way round
evry 4 weeks?
Thats animal abuse...
This person said it's abuse, that seems to be why Andy posted what he did. Which I agree with (Andy that is)
evry 4 weeks?
Thats animal abuse...
Meso/Ian...
John962
07-09-16, 04:00 PM
The snake had its water changed every 2 or 3 days during this period. It's a 4 year old male bredli. It eats large defrosted rats. Im sure it hasnt suffered during this period, other than going a bit hungry. As I said, I will make sure it doesn't go hungry in future. - I do not want to repeat spending all night at the hospital.
What surprised me about this experience is the power of a bredli bite.
RAD House
07-09-16, 05:15 PM
Meso/Ian...
You are right and I apologize. I think sometimes I glaze over the less than helpful posts.
EL Ziggy
07-09-16, 05:46 PM
I hope you and your critter are both fine John. I'm sure he was plenty hungry after 5 weeks and attacked the first warm object he saw. I'm on vacation now and it'll be 2 weeks since all of my snakes have eaten. I'm planning on feeding my adult carpets every 14 days.
Thanks Meso...
See...we really did not have all the facts. To the OP...hope your bredli doesn't nail you again...but if it does, unless there are some teeth embedded that you can't get out or if you pull away and require stitches...an emergency visit may not be warranted. :)
Ian of Oldham
07-10-16, 01:14 AM
Well I did not use any words that indicted abuse but more concern than abuse, also that if you was it the same situation that you my take a bite at anything that looks like prey.
PatrickT
07-10-16, 03:12 AM
I stand for my words. Leaving an animal for 5 weeks without food is animal abuse for me.
John962
07-10-16, 05:11 AM
I hope you and your critter are both fine John. I'm sure he was plenty hungry after 5 weeks and attacked the first warm object he saw. I'm on vacation now and it'll be 2 weeks since all of my snakes have eaten. I'm planning on feeding my adult carpets every 14 days.
Thanks for your kind wishes Ziggy. Good luck with y snakes.
John962
07-10-16, 05:15 AM
I stand for my words. Leaving an animal for 5 weeks without food is animal abuse for me.
OK Patrick, I hear your opinion. I think we have to to get the right balance for the good health of our animals. Many people overfeed their reptiles and make them obese. Obviously in this situation I was at fault.
What surprised me about this experience is the power of a bredli bite.
Yes, it's good pressure in the bite in adult carpet pythons and must be experienced to be understood :)
Ian of Oldham
07-10-16, 08:13 AM
Well hear ends the first lesson.
jpsteele80
07-10-16, 09:25 AM
Wow every 4 weeks that is just sad, I don't have bredli's but my snakes eat ever 7 days. If I was that snake I would have bit you as well.
dannybgoode
07-27-16, 03:45 PM
Wow every 4 weeks that is just sad, I don't have bredli's but my snakes eat ever 7 days. If I was that snake I would have bit you as well.
Totally depends on the species and age of snake. Feeding an adult boa constrictor or imperator every 7 days could be considered abuse as they should be fed every 4-6 weeks. Feed an adult boa weekly and it will die young from fatty liver disease in all likelihood.
Similarly every 7 days is way to often for the vast majority of pythons also.
In fact every 7 days is too often for the vast majority of snake species full stop. Yes there are exceptions but not many.
Perhaps research the snake in question before posting a comment like this.
sirtalis
07-27-16, 09:10 PM
Hardly, keep a reptile in a proper enclosure and fatty liver disease will probably never be an issue, yes certain species such as boas are better off every few weeks but a bredli has a higher metabolism and requires higher temps so I'd go every 7-10 days for an adult
Aaron_S
07-28-16, 02:19 PM
Hooks bro. Hook train your snakes and this becomes a non-issue.
Snake_eyes_88
07-28-16, 02:27 PM
I definitely second the hooks idea... I can't suggest them enough to people, they save so many bites and make the whole thing less stressful on both the keeper and snake. :)
Totally depends on the species and age of snake. Feeding an adult boa constrictor or imperator every 7 days could be considered abuse as they should be fed every 4-6 weeks. Feed an adult boa weekly and it will die young from fatty liver disease in all likelihood.
Similarly every 7 days is way to often for the vast majority of pythons also.
In fact every 7 days is too often for the vast majority of snake species full stop. Yes there are exceptions but not many.
Perhaps research the snake in question before posting a comment like this.
I agree. How often you should be feeding a snake depends on many different husbandry variables. I do agree that feeding most snakes once every 7 days is overfeeding.
To the OP if you want to continue feeding once every 4 weeks or so I would suggest having some "seasonal" periods where it gets a few meals for that month. Obviously, with a feeding schedule like that it is even more important to make sure prey is ample size.
John962
07-31-16, 01:48 AM
Thanks for all the sensible comments. I was feeding him every month because the meal size was relatively very large, a large rat for a 2 metre snake left a very big bulge. But I did that because so many carpet keepers on forums suggest that they can easily take huge meals.
John962
07-31-16, 01:51 AM
Im going to try feeding on a more frequent basis with smaller rats and see how that goes.
RAD House
07-31-16, 09:37 AM
I appreciate that you are able to take constructive criticism in stride and make changes to better your animal. Everything I have read suggests smaller meals more often is better for just about any snake.
Check out the thread 'how often to feed?'
Where is this thread? I'd like to read this myself!
John962
07-31-16, 01:45 PM
Its in this section, spilota, just a few threads down.
Its in this section, spilota, just a few threads down.
Thanks! I'll figure this thing out yet!
Thanks for all the sensible comments. I was feeding him every month because the meal size was relatively very large, a large rat for a 2 metre snake left a very big bulge. But I did that because so many carpet keepers on forums suggest that they can easily take huge meals.
They absolutely can, but very large meals put more stress on the snakes body, so that is somethingto consider as well.
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