Posted by:
terryp
at Sun Aug 3 15:55:54 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by terryp ]
Every snake gets a rodent meal on Monday. I do another feeding on Thursday, but only the ones with a certain mark on their enclosure gets a Thursday feeding. Everyone has their own schedule and sequence we feed. The main thing is to get it down to feeding them the same shedule each week. Frozen rodents that I'm using for feeding on Monday get taken out on Sunday night to thaw. I live in Bakersfield, CA where the day temperature the other day was 103 degrees. I would rather thaw the rodents at night when it's cool, then thaw them during the day temp until I get home from work. Our rodents Del and I order are delivered on Mondays. They are in my laundry room when I get home from work. They are alive since I don't want frozen ones thawing during the day. If I need to feed any snake from the ones delivered, I just thump it and hold it up in front of the snake and let him take it so I know he or she has it. The rest of the live are thumped and frozen. I don't keep alot of frozen and generally prefer to thump the live ones and feed them when I get home from work. Over half the snakes get a rodent meal on Thursday. Especially this time of year. Almost all the females and some males. I feel males can do well on once a week feedings right now until I start gearing them up for brumation. If I'm doing a chick feeding, chicks are delivered on Thusdays. Hatch days at the hatchery we order from is Wednesday and they ship on Wednesday. Del and I order 75 or 100 chicks. They are a day old when we get them. All are roosters. They cost us $.34 each. That's kind of the way I do the feedings. Like I said, everyone has their days that are convenient for them and can be worked on a certain schedule that is only deviated a little each year. I try not to gear feedings by when the snake starts moving around the enclosure, although that's one way it can be done. I have snakes that have different metabolisms and vary in activity. My spilotes have very high metabolisms. They can eat then deficate like the next morning and start roaming around. They can also eat 4 or 5 rats each in a few moments. They don't constrict. It's amazing to see them practically suck a rodent down and go after another one in a couple seconds. They can eat 4 rodents and be back up on their branches before any of my other snakes have downed one rodent. They get a Monday and Thursday feeding. BTW - when are you going to pick up a male emoryi to breed to your 4 foot female? You don't have to, I just always ask when someone has a 4 foot snake when they are getting it a mate. How do you like your trans pecos? I've been procrastinating getting some to work with. Just curious what you thought about them. Good luck.
>>Thanks for the advice. As far as gutloading the chicks, I do that to
>>my mice as well. Just wasn't sure the nutrients in a chick as compared
>>to a mouse.
>>
>>How often do you feed your ratsnake? I have been feeding any time she
>>acts hungry and it seems she wants to eat weekly. When I first got
>>her she ate 6 mice in a period of four days. She has never regurged
>>and her stool is normal, no fowl odors either, even when fed chicks. She
>>is a captive bred and about 4 feet long.
>>
>>Although I have worked with quite a few snakes, this is the first
>>one I have owned. I bought her at a herp show and got a trans pecos as well.
>>
>>
>>Thanks
>>Nina
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I feed my snakes on Mondays and Thursdays . . .> - terryp, Sun Aug 3 15:55:54 2003