Hi Kyle –



Unlike Rob, I didn’t find that large adult pythons fed chickens had loose, runny stools – quite the opposite in fact. Those, um, turds, came out rather dry, and all those undigested quill feathers packed together looked kind of uncomfortable. As far as smell goes, well, I guess that’s an individual matter. Seemed about the same as any other poop.



Day-old chicks fed to snakes was a different story, however. In that case, I agree with Rob – stools were softer than with a rodent diet and the smell was worse. Who knows if that was due to maybe less calcium content or just that the snakes needed to allow their systems to adjust. I can’t say because I didn’t utilize baby chicks all that often.



As I think I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had big Burmese that loved poultry and lived to a decent age eating mostly chickens after they switched over from rats. But the large breast size of those birds makes it more difficult for the snakes to eat say, a 6 pound chicken than a 6 pound rabbit or piglet.



You asked what people fed their “big” Burms. By the time a python gets to a really big (or just maximum) size, most males and non-breeding females require a rather modest amount of food to maintain good health. A few half to one pound lab rats make a perfectly adequate meal, with the added advantage that you don’t have to waste the food if the “big” python isn’t hungry. You can just give those rats to some not-so-big snakes.



-Joan

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