Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everybody....
First time poster with a couple of questions. I have a cb04 Eastern who is healthy and growing. She feeds weekly on 2 to 3 f/t rat pups and seems to want more. She is a shade over 4 feet long, doesn't seem too skinny and sheds with frequent regularity. My questions are these: How often and how much should I be feeding her for close to optimum growth? Should I offer food during her sheds or is it a waste of time? I have to admit that she is quite aggressive when she does feed. Is it okay to slightly underfeed rather than risk obesity? Thanks for your input!

Elvis,

I did not worry about over feeding my yearlings. The Indigo metabolism runs food straight through them. Your girl is still developing, feed the need.

I gave them adult food items as quickly as I could. More nutrition. Your feeding rat pups try adult mice. Or move up in your rat choice to provide more of a developed food item. Rat pups are still on mom’s milk possibly. Rats and Mice that feed on grains and rodent chow have more to them nutritionally and have better developed bones for calcium. I would also try small chicks and fish to add to her diet. But watch your hands….

Schedule? The only schedule I maintained with my young Indies was to provide more food when the indigo pooped which is often.

My 2 cents…

Thanks for the advice. I'm about to restock my freezer with a big rat/mice order and this helps me figure out what and how many. I've got some other snakes to consider in the mix. Thanks again.