View Full Version : Size feeding question
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/pennyforadollar/r_zpsc1dc813d.jpgPlease excuse the crud quality- I had to use my phone.
So today I had to go any buy some new frozen rodents -
I've been noticing lately that my snake has been wanting 2 pinkies, I figured that it might be time to move him up to a small fuzzy but looking at them they seemed huge, so I just bought another box of pinkies. Upon feeding him, I am now wondering if I should have bought the fuzzies - this picture was taken about 5 minutes after feeding (No, he is not on the carpet he is in a feed bin -yes I do use bins- ) He seems to barely have a feed bump at all.
I'd love some other opinions, should I continue just feeding 2 pinkies, or try to move him up to small fuzzies ... ?
He is about 5/6 months old.
stephanbakir
03-13-13, 11:49 PM
thats a decent bulge, you could go one size bigger but its not a huge deal. Use the rest of your pinkies then swap up a size.
I don't want to waste the ones I just bought certainly (They jumped in price since I last bought them . . man I miss being able to breed the mice myself)
Looking at it again, it does seem bigger than I thought - I think I will stick with feeding two pinkies for now, the fuzzies still seem to big.
Starbuck
03-14-13, 03:42 AM
how long is your guy? From what i've read, more smaller items is better than a single larger item, to most extent. You could always up him to even 3 pinkies towards the end of this box; if he does that no problem then you could switch to fuzzies. He's pretty cute thought :)
KORBIN5895
03-14-13, 05:10 AM
I'm pretty sure you have that backwards buck. If I remember correctly a larger meal cause the heart and other organs to enlarge.
Personally I feed a lot larger than that.
He is just short of 10 inches.
I may try the three pinky thing next time I feed.
I don't want to burn through my stock, but I don't want leave him hungry either.
new question- what is the size difference between rat and mouse pinkies. .
stephanbakir
03-14-13, 11:49 AM
He is just short of 10 inches.
I may try the three pinky thing next time I feed.
I don't want to burn through my stock, but I don't want leave him hungry either.
new question- what is the size difference between rat and mouse pinkies. .
Frozen Mice, Frozen Rats, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Chicks and Quail (http://www.rodentpro.com/) Tons of sizing info on there.
Starbuck
03-14-13, 01:41 PM
Korbin, i meant on the side of the extreme. i would rather feed my juvenile snakes 2-3 smaller items than the max-sized prey they could potentially swallow; i think they digest them quicker due to the increased surface area/volume, and theres less likelihood for the prey item to rot and then cause regurg. In the case of this OPs sand boa, i think it sounds like it could handle a fuzzy, but 3 pinkies shouldnt do any harm either. It all depends on the individual snake too, my Pine snake refuses to eat more than 2 prey items at a time, regardless of size :P
KORBIN5895
03-14-13, 02:22 PM
Okay. I understand that but I'm pretty sure it's healthier for the snake to eat on larger prey item then a couple of smaller ones.
Alright, thank you for the input guys. I think I will finish out what I have, and then possibly bump up. It does make more sense to just get a bigger size than have to feed 2/3 at a time.
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/pennyforadollar/pcc1_zps9cda2f57.jpg
Added a pic. I had to buy a fuzzy for my milk any way- figured I'd see the size comp.
Think it's still ok?
Starbuck
03-15-13, 10:00 PM
Do i think he COULD eat it? yes.
Do i think he SHOULD...? no :/
it does look a little big, though maybe the angle of the picture is misleading? I would feed 2-3 pinkies instead. The shop i get my F/T feeders from will often pick through their stock for me to get 'large pinkies' or 'small fuzzies', maybe yours would too?
KORBIN5895
03-15-13, 10:29 PM
Yeah. I would do it. A snake won't eat anything too big for it.
I have about a month month of pinkys left which I will finish out. (not including shed time) I think he may be ready for them after that. Holding it next to his body it is not as big as I first thought. It's still large don't get me wrong/but not HUGE in comparison. Most of that is fur.
I my may have to find some one who sells sizes as well. Right now I am buying them at petsmart, but that is only because it is a mile away - I'd love to find another source. I swear they have jumped in price 20cents every time I have bought them ..
stephanbakir
03-15-13, 11:17 PM
A snake won't eat anything too big for it.
That is one of the least informed statements I've ever heard. Please do some research and try again.
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/pennyforadollar/pcc1_zps9cda2f57.jpg
Added a pic. I had to buy a fuzzy for my milk any way- figured I'd see the size comp.
Think it's still ok?
He will be fine eating that... although I wouldn't go any bigger.
Starbuck
03-16-13, 07:27 AM
eek, petsmart!! lol i buy dozens of mice at a time; i would need to take out a loan shopping there!! hahahahahaha :) Good luck with him!
KORBIN5895
03-16-13, 10:39 AM
That is one of the least informed statements I've ever heard. Please do some research and try again.
.
Lol. Really? I bet you believe snakes die from eating too large of a meal huh? I bet you also believe a regurge can be caused by a meal too large.
Pony up and show me where a snake ate too large of a meal and something bad happened.
Aaron_S
03-16-13, 10:48 AM
That's what I would consider a hopper mouse. It's the next size up from fuzzy it seems. I feed my rough scale sand boas, similar size to yours a small hopper or a couple of fuzzies.
Bigger meals, like the one you have is still fine. You'll probably see a shed cycle in a feeding or two of those as the larger meals will kick a growth spurt. That's purely from my experience and nothing but a lot of snake years to back it up.
stephanbakir
03-16-13, 11:10 AM
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/images/051006_pythoneatsgator.jpg
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/3/1/7/6/cannibalisticroyals21zh3.jpg
The list goes on.
KORBIN5895
03-16-13, 11:18 AM
Lol! I knew it! ( that you would use that picture)
You're disillusioned. Most people think that's from the claws tearing through (hence where the rip is) not because it's too big. Do some research and try again.
stephanbakir
03-16-13, 11:26 AM
"most people think"? who are these people...
Its well understood that when an animal eats a prey item that is simply too large, the item starts to go bad inside their systems (before their body can break it down). Generally its fine because in the wild some species have been known to feed on carrion, but it can hurt the animal.
Also, with a prey item that is too large, once swallowed the snake is pretty fragile, working with it, or even it trying to move around could hurt it pretty bad. Is there a risk? Yes, Is it worth it to put your animal at risk? not to me. I feed some pretty large food items... my 2 year old retic just ate a 10lb rabbit... but I dont push them hard enough to put them at risk. She is fine with that in her belly.
KORBIN5895
03-16-13, 11:44 AM
"most people think"? who are these people...
Its well understood that when an animal eats a prey item that is simply too large, the item starts to go bad inside their systems. Generally its fine because in the wild some species have been known to feed on carrion, but it can hurt the animal.
Also, with a prey item that is too large, once swallowed the snake is pretty fragile, working with it, or even it trying to move around could hurt it pretty bad. Is there a risk? Yes, Is it worth it to put your animal at risk? not to me. I feed some pretty large food items... my 2 year old retic just ate a 10lb rabbit... but I dont push them hard enough to put them at risk. She is fine with that in her belly.
Like I said do your research and you will learn a bit more of what people think about that pic. If it was too large of a meal it would've burst further back not at the thinnest part of the gator. It would've probably burst out of the side too.
As for too large of an item spoiling that's hooey too. I would blame that more on improper husbandry ( low temps) than I would on prey size. I feed my animals what's on hand and if I have a snake normally on mediums and I give it an XL I just bump the temps a few degrees.
Snakes have survived a long time with out our intervention because their instincts guide them to not eat when its too cool, if they feel threatened, the meal is to large. Gravid females prove the last point as I have seen many people claim a gravid female won't eat a large meal.
You claim my statement was uninformed but you seem to be the one lacking legitimate logic or proof. All you have is a photo you clearly misinterpreted.
Terranaut
03-16-13, 11:49 AM
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/pennyforadollar/pcc1_zps9cda2f57.jpg
Added a pic. I had to buy a fuzzy for my milk any way- figured I'd see the size comp.
Think it's still ok?
I think thats perfect. I think larger prey is good for your snake but I also mix it up a bit. Sometimes I feed my female jcp 2 large rats or one jumbo or a small rabbit.
I also agree that a snake will not attempt prey that is too large but only if it is properly fed. A starving snake will attempt anything close and can hurt itself accidently by going a bit to big. Honnestly I think even in the wild this is very rare. The shot of the ripped open snake.... if you look at the rest of the bulge of the snake that gator was ok in size for that snake. A sudden awakening inside the snake or a last acting nerve caused the snakes death...not overeating.
stephanbakir
03-16-13, 11:51 AM
Who said females skip large meals when pregnant? I'd say half of the tics I've bred eat straight through their gestation period, they might skip the last week or two prior to laying but other then that they are ravenous... same goes for the carpets I've worked with
Terranaut
03-16-13, 11:55 AM
Who said females skip large meals when pregnant? I'd say half of the tics I've bred eat straight through their gestation period, they might skip the last week or two prior to laying but other then that they are ravenous... same goes for the carpets I've worked with
My carpet doesn't eat when she is gravid. She eats like mad all summer but won't touch a meal from December until she lays. Ok let me clairify that with her eating one small rat this season but other than that she slithers away when I offer it and I offer it every 2 weeks.
KORBIN5895
03-16-13, 12:11 PM
Who said females skip large meals when pregnant? I'd say half of the tics I've bred eat straight through their gestation period, they might skip the last week or two prior to laying but other then that they are ravenous... same goes for the carpets I've worked with
How many is that again? Also what do the other half do?
I only concern myself with boas. I can go dig up tons of posts where people claim their gravid female won't eat a normal size meal and they feed smaller. I can also get lots of posts where they won't eat period. My female was eating 2lb Guinea pigs but is now only eating 400g rats. She has refused anything larger. I'm pretty sure she is gravid.
Corey209
03-16-13, 12:19 PM
Lol. Really? I bet you believe snakes die from eating too large of a meal huh? I bet you also believe a regurge can be caused by a meal too large.
Pony up and show me where a snake ate too large of a meal and something bad happened.
Aren't BCC's prone to regurgitating from too large of a meal?
stephanbakir
03-16-13, 12:22 PM
5 females wanted food and couldnt get enough, 5 didn't care and wanted nothing to do with food, it depends on the female. Re carpets, all of them wanted food 6 of them. I'll check with a friend in the states who has way more animals and see what his numbers are, but I'm expecting it to be about the same.
Aaron_S
03-16-13, 12:29 PM
Aren't BCC's prone to regurgitating from too large of a meal?
Who says he owns BCC?
Go back to the kiddie table. Adults are talking.
Thank you for the info c:
I don't plan on trying to feed my snake a gator any time soon -xP
nor would I try to to feed him any thing crazy large, I know he is obviously not ready for grown mouse yet but with him eating two 2 pinkies a week it might just be better to move him up one size.
Another new question time. My milk is a very finicky eater, and I was warned before I bought it that it would be hard to get it to eat f/t. I also know that I Just got it, but it had not eaten for two weeks and I figured I'd throw one in just to see if it might bite. It hasn't - for the future (not with this one, as my boa just ate two days ago) when I get them on the same feeding schedule, and my milk won't take the f/t can I use it for the boa - I have head people suggest that cross tank feeding isn't a good idea .. (SOrry if that is difficult to understand, I am on my phone and don't have much time- I'll clarify more if needs be later tonight)
Lankyrob
03-16-13, 01:50 PM
If snake A is in quarantine and doesnt eat i would toss the feeder in the bin. If Snake A is an animal that is well settled into your collection and doesnt eat then i would toss it to another snake without hesitation.
Terranaut
03-16-13, 03:08 PM
5 females wanted food and couldnt get enough, 5 didn't care and wanted nothing to do with food, it depends on the female. Re carpets, all of them wanted food 6 of them. I'll check with a friend in the states who has way more animals and see what his numbers are, but I'm expecting it to be about the same.
No need for strength in numbers. I wasn't arguing a point just sharing my personal experiences.
KORBIN5895
03-16-13, 03:34 PM
No need for strength in numbers. I wasn't arguing a point just sharing my personal experiences.
It was in response to a question I asked.
Terranaut
03-16-13, 03:40 PM
It was in response to a question I asked.
I know. It went to carpets from boas when I added my experiences. I just see no need to go in another dirrection.
The prey size for the op is great!! See back on topic :)
reptimama
03-16-13, 03:57 PM
I bet you also believe a regurge can be caused by a meal too large.
My BP regurged when I fed him a jumbo rat. No other ill effects though and I went back down to the large.
As for the OP pic to me that size looks fine for him.
KORBIN5895
03-16-13, 07:44 PM
My BP regurged when I fed him a jumbo rat. No other ill effects though and I went back down to the large.
As for the OP pic to me that size looks fine for him.
I would dare say it had to do with the temps being too low for it to properly digest that size prey and not really the prey size.
I have snakes that normally eat a 175g rat that I have fed a 300g-400g rat and just bumped the temp 2°f.
reptimama
03-16-13, 07:48 PM
I would dare say it had to do with the temps being too low for it to properly digest that size prey and not really the prey size.
I have snakes that normally eat a 175g rat that I have fed a 300g-400g rat and just bumped the temp 2°f.
I'll have to try bumping his temps and seeing if he'll eat bigger, he's shedding right now so it may be time to try again anyway.
Aaron_S
03-16-13, 08:11 PM
I'll have to try bumping his temps and seeing if he'll eat bigger, he's shedding right now so it may be time to try again anyway.
What would be the point in trying to feed such large meals to a ball python?
Corey209
03-24-13, 05:21 AM
Who says he owns BCC?
Go back to the kiddie table. Adults are talking.
He said to show him a snake that has regurged from too large of a meal, and I asked because I thought that can happen to BCC's.
Can you not read?
lady_bug87
03-24-13, 08:32 AM
He said to show him a snake that has regurged from too large of a meal, and I asked because I thought that can happen to BCC's.
Can you not read?
I really don't care for your attitude lately
Terranaut
03-24-13, 10:25 AM
He said to show him a snake that has regurged from too large of a meal, and I asked because I thought that can happen to BCC's.
Can you not read?
So where is the snake your showing him?
I don't get this post at all. Maybe I can't read either but the BCC thing made no sense to me ??
snakeriver
03-24-13, 10:45 AM
Well first of all you have a beautiful snake! Second, compare the fuzzy to its thickest part of its body, a few days before it eats. If it is too thick than just keep feeding it the pinkies. I have a a king snake and he is very thin, smaller than a pencil. He eats two pinkies but isn't nearly big enough for a fuzzy.:D
snakeriver
03-24-13, 10:47 AM
Oh woops I posted a comment to the wrong person! I don't know how to delete it. Sorry!:hmm:
snakeriver
03-24-13, 10:52 AM
Well, you have a beautiful snake! Feed him two pinkies. I have a king snake, and he is as thin as a pencil we feed him two pinkies. He isn't nearly large enough to eat fuzzy.
Corey209
03-26-13, 02:02 AM
So where is the snake your showing him?
I don't get this post at all. Maybe I can't read either but the BCC thing made no sense to me ??
I wasn't showing him a snake, I was asking Korbin if BCC's had regurgitation problems from large meals because that's what I heard. It was a question not a statement.
I really don't care for your attitude lately
Yet you have no problems with Aaron's rude remark to me for asking a question, he does this to everyone so don't single me out.
lady_bug87
03-26-13, 07:30 AM
I wasn't showing him a snake, I was asking Korbin if BCC's had regurgitation problems from large meals because that's what I heard. It was a question not a statement.
Yet you have no problems with Aaron's rude remark to me for asking a question, he does this to everyone so don't single me out.
you single yourself out. I'm pretty sure every post lately has been you acting disgruntled.
As for Aaron he is like the crotchety old guy that everyone has in their neighborhood. You know, the one who chases you off his lawn? You just gotta go with it.
you single yourself out. I'm pretty sure every post lately has been you acting disgruntled.
As for Aaron he is like the crotchety old guy that everyone has in their neighborhood. You know, the one who chases you off his lawn? You just gotta go with it.
No, Cory didnt, and I think he reacted quite well to Aaron being incredibly condescending. If you felt like calling someone out in that little interaction the smarter bet wouldve been Aaron.
Aaron_S
03-27-13, 05:02 PM
No, Cory didnt, and I think he reacted quite well to Aaron being incredibly condescending. If you felt like calling someone out in that little interaction the smarter bet wouldve been Aaron.
Actually I'm just tired of seeing people trying to get into conversations where they don't belong. You can learn without having to be apart of something. I don't need someone to regurge google search information for me. I do it all on my own.
Quite well eh? One comment in return for another is "quite well"? I see it's just on a similar level. You can keep your jaded views of me Josh because I know some days we both agree ;)
Haha, you're such a snob man. Some people learn better through participation. Who are you to limit that? All he did was ask a question.
As for it being on a similar level, ask yourself what you would do if someone were ever that blatantly condescending to you? I know my reaction would've been much less explanatory and much more expletive. ;)
lady_bug87
03-27-13, 06:37 PM
No, Cory didnt, and I think he reacted quite well to Aaron being incredibly condescending. If you felt like calling someone out in that little interaction the smarter bet wouldve been Aaron.
I meant in general....
Aaron_S
03-28-13, 02:57 PM
Haha, you're such a snob man. Some people learn better through participation. Who are you to limit that? All he did was ask a question.
As for it being on a similar level, ask yourself what you would do if someone were ever that blatantly condescending to you? I know my reaction would've been much less explanatory and much more expletive. ;)
Participate? How can you participate if it's just bad information that someone else has to correct yet again?
In school, I didn't tell my teacher "HEY! I learn by participation so I'm going to just write on the chalk board what I've HEARD is calculus. You shouldn't stop me because then you're limiting me."
It's a waste of time.
Participate? How can you participate if it's just bad information that someone else has to correct yet again?
In school, I didn't tell my teacher "HEY! I learn by participation so I'm going to just write on the chalk board what I've HEARD is calculus. You shouldn't stop me because then you're limiting me."
It's a waste of time.
Again, go back and look at the thread. All he did was ask a simple question. A very valid and useful way of participating, and generally seen as an effort to learn.
So anyway .. back to my original question.
I ended up feeding him Wednesday what my petstore considered to be a small fuzzy ( I still swear it looked like a hopper :/ )
He ate it fine, only took about 35 minutes for him to get it down.
I didn't bother him at all yesterday, but this morning he still has a fairly large feed bump .. is that normal? I though they were suppose to digest most of the animal within 24/48 hrs. It' not bulbous or anything, but definitely still visible .. does that mean the meal was to large?
Terranaut
03-29-13, 10:10 AM
He ate it, kept it down and is digesting. He should have a lump for a couple days. Stop worrying. It's all good. He is fine. Probably better thanfine :) When it's feeding day again = repeat !!
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