It really is not a power feeding thing for me... its what works for my time. I can go up, drop a mouse in each cage and I see them strike it, and go on with my night. I wait 2 days and do it again (some times 3 or 4... or even 5 or 6... but usually 2 or 3). they are not huge mice, and thats really the problem. If I could get good size mice around here I would feed 2 times a week... but all I can get are little shrimps, so I have to feed more often if I hope to see any growth.



I woundered back a while ago about how often I feed them and what really was an effective schedule... I feed many animals for about 6 months on different sizes and schedules. I got 4 import babies that where all eating well with good feeding insticts... all females. I fed one once a week, one mouse. No noticable growth in 6 months... about 40g... I will have to look now. I fed one a mouse about every 4 days (every other feeding for my other animals) and it grew about 20g a month. I fed two others about every other day unless something came up or I ran out of food... they started at 200g and at the end of 6 months one was about 650g and the other 600g. Thats 75g a month.



How much they ate vs how much consumed (assume mice are 20g):

SNAKE MEALS WEIGHT GAIN - BURNT OR WASTED

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#1 - 80g/month - 6.5g/month - 73.5g (91.8%)

#2 - 160g/month - 20g/month - 140g (87.75%)

#3 - 300g/month - 75g/month - 225g (75%)

#4 - 300g/month - 67g/month - 233g (77.6%)



Now what does this NOT show? how much weight is gained by feeding one 60g rat a week. I am sure I could go look at my records and find out, but I dont know that I will have weights that often for those snakes. Other problems with this... likely many but one that is clear is its a small group, and what could have been the control? A rat feeder I guess, but its hard to have a reliable control with this small of a group.



What DOES this show? I think it shows that the more they eat the more they waste by volume... but the more they eat the more the grow by volume. Looks like maybe about 80% to 90% of the meal is burned or wasted, while 10% to 20% goes tword the weight and growth. Is this a bad thing for FEMALE BPs to have??? They will breed it off soon anyhow.



Maybe I just have some fat snakes now, but I think I am going to have more babies. Sure in 15 years when mine die of a heart attack, and your lives to 20 you can say I told you so. I am OK with that... at least mine go to go out to eat all the time



Ben

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