What I'm wondering is -
1. Is the snakes growth rate permanently stunted ?
2. Sinces hes 6 ft at 3 years old how long might he get ? ( weight will vary on what I feed him )
3. Whenever I'm near him ..when hes inside our outside his lil habitat he really watches my movements, wether they be slow or normal ( I try to never make sudden movements around him). Is this a warning sign or just normal burmese behavior ? I read on one of the posts here that under fed Burms can be agressive.
4. I'm only handing him 1 or mebbe twice per week, should I be doing it more often ?
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very good questions!
1. I recently adopted a burm that is 9-10 years and 11 feet. from what i've been told, he should be about 6 ft longer. we've had him for a few months and hes put on a much needed 25 lbs and 1 foot. (you could see each rib when we got him). I think if you slowly start increasing the food intake/size, he'll grow for yha. at 6 ft, I think he could probably take a decent size rabbit. ours is currently getting 5-7 lb rabbits- 3 of them at a time about once a month, when we first got him he was getting 2- 7 pounders every 10 days or so.
2. depends on how much you feed him. like i said- ours has gained 25 lbs and a foot in probably 7 months or so. granted that was a different situation- he was terribly skinny and much too small for his age. I know a lot of people are totally against 'power feeding' i'm sure with 7 snakes, you've heard about it. BUT there are no studies that prove it shortens thier life but logically over feeding a dog or human could give them somethign like diabetes or organ failure so you have to form your own opinion on that. If you want him to get big quick- feed him a lot, often- if you want him to grow at a steady rate- space out your feedings.... just depends on you
3. lol. i have wondered this myself. we take our snakes out in the yard all the time. I've noticed that our RTB's dont really care but Retics and Burms are VERY 'aware' of what is going on around them. i just love telling this story: my husband had never handled a snake that large before. when we first got the snake, we put him in his cage and went to bed. the next morning i was still in bed with the dogs, my hubby comes in and says what do i do with this snake. i said leave him in the cage. my hubby just looked at me and said 'uhhh'. so i drag out of bed and go in the LR. he seemed quite tame and was just checking things out. not even thinking i just told my husband to 'act normal' my husband isn't really a light walker and we lived up stairs in an apt. so he went tromping across the floor right in front of his head, pissed him off, the snake raised up and was eye level with my 6ft, 3 in. husband who was squished into the corner almost in tears yelling get him GET HIM. i was 6 months pregnant at the time and laughing sooo hard i couldnt stand it. I reach down and pick up the snake that has 6 ft of his 10 ft body off the ground and is stiff as a board. I lift his rear end up (still laughing my ass off) and put him back in his cage and put the lid on. when i turned around my husband was in the bathroom 'releiving himself'. they still dont really have a good relationship. I found him hiding behind the refrigerator door one day in a similar situation.
to better answer your question: i think they're just more aware and i also think they have better vision than other snakes- i may be wrong but thats just what i think. I think its normal and healthy to 'pay attention' to thier surroundings- just dont get backed in the corner. lmao.
4. another good question- we handle him all the time. we wait until our son goes to bed and we kick the dogs out and lock the cat up and sit down and watch a movie- he cruises around and usually ends up on the couch under the blankets on our laps. we wait 4-5 days after feeding him and 'test' his mood before we let him out. when he goes blue before his shed we dont handle him until he sheds which has been like a week and half now so it just depends on the circumstances- i think the more the better- just dont be stupid.
Beth
- and congrats on the new baby. i may be getting a rescue ball python this weekend- the first rescue in almost 4 months. 
hope hes as much fun for you as ours are to us.
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue
