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This weekend I saw a 2+ years old Burmese python. It was the size of a kingsnake. I don't have any experience with Burmese python but I imagine a 2 year old can be bigger. The owner explained he feeds his pythons once a month and this python receives a small rat. His plan is to keep this male small. He admitted the python's growth would be "stunted" somewhat. The python seemed very healthy though. All of his other pythons also seem to be in excellent condition. I've always thought his animals were gorgeous and healthy and he's very knowledgeable and experienced with snakes.

I'm no expert but I know he's definitely not overfeeding this snake. I consider this feeding schedule "light". Is this common for most Burmese python owners? I saw a Reptiles magazine article written by Bob Clark who was writing about retics. He also mentioned how large snakes don't necessarily have to be fed huge amounts.

http://www.bobclark.com/a07_02.asp

Do other Burmese owners use a "light" feeding schedule? Is this common? thanks ahead of time.

that's crazy! my male burmese that i have had for 11 months now is almost 5 feet but not 5 feet yet and i feed him every thursday that's once a week of feeding. and he's thicker than my kings and corns! he could have fed him at least every 10-12 days rather than once a month. i will bet with more replies from others might not like the idea of him feeding once a month. let's see what the guys have to say.

I'll offer a different viewpoint. Having worked with burms for over 30 years, I can say with some degree of confidence that most captive burms are overfed and many are obese leading to a shortened life span full of health problems. The healthiest and longest lived burms I have seen are fed 1-2 prey animals per month...many have lived long lives on one meal per month. You say its crazy because your snake is a lot bigger. I could also say that your burm is grossly undersized because I personally know of a male burm that grew to nearly 14' in less than two years. When you base things on single incidents you get a skewed result. There are many factors that determine optimal feeding schedules but realize this, burms have slow metabolisms and don't require a constant food supply like colubrids, etc. Sure, this burm could be bigger, could be fed more, could be "thicker", etc but does that mean it is in the snake's best interest? I doubt it. I would rather err on the side of feeding slightly less than feeding more (if we are talking about high quality diets). If you want to see a beautiful burm that has excellent muscle tone, is active and alert, etc go to: http://cbs2chicago.com/mornings (look at the video clips and the one with the weatherman holding a large burm with me at his side - the ugly dude with the beard).
This burm is a beautiful labyrinth female that is approximately 13' and 6 years old...she could easily be 18' but we feed her once a month and she has grown slow but steady.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>that's crazy! my male burmese that i have had for 11 months now is almost 5 feet but not 5 feet yet and i feed him every thursday that's once a week of feeding. and he's thicker than my kings and corns! he could have fed him at least every 10-12 days rather than once a month. i will bet with more replies from others might not like the idea of him feeding once a month. let's see what the guys have to say.
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

I saw the video's...that was pretty cool. I've been told by several people my snake is to thin but he looks to be about the exact same size and the one in the video. When I first got my burm I read artices form you about obese snakes so never tried to fatten him up. I'm sure it would be "Cool" if he was so much larger but not necessarily good for him.

DZ
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

In the end, your burm will become very large on this type of diet; and, a lot healthier and long lived. Folks are blown away by the size of my boa constrictor (over 11'); this snake was given to me because it was the runt of the litter. One or two meals a month and 15 years later, we've got one big honking boa.

>>I saw the video's...that was pretty cool. I've been told by several people my snake is to thin but he looks to be about the exact same size and the one in the video. When I first got my burm I read artices form you about obese snakes so never tried to fatten him up. I'm sure it would be "Cool" if he was so much larger but not necessarily good for him.
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>>DZ
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>>DZ
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>>"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

i like the video! burms have a slow metabolism? i have always thought that was in boas and i feed my 8 foot boa 2 times a month and i have always thought that burms and retics need/handles foods well. i always thought that people who feed his/her snakes once a month just because they wanted to keep the snake small and can't handle a large boids. i have waited in like 5 years before getting myself a burm and after keeping other snakes i was ready for a large one and this burm that i have is staying with me for life. yes good point we do want our snakes to live long and active. well i guess i will have to see what i can do with feeding plans and see how it go. thanks for the video. any more info feel free to explain to me. i am always willing to learn for my reptiles.

Most people seem to forget that while Burmese pythons will move and travel some in the wild, they are mostly lie and wait type predators. Colubrids, however, are very flighty, quick specimens which can and will travel various places where they think food will be available. As a result, you have different energy usage in these two animals which requires a different food intake. It's much the same as a human being eating a large quantity of food, but rarely getting any exercise to burn it off. What happens? They get obese. Burmese pythons, A.) typically in captivity don't get a lot of exercise because the average owner doesn't like getting them out of their cages after a certain size. B.) Most of them are provided with bare minimum cage requirements (or less than) and therefore, exercise isn't as easily available to them. Being that Burmese pythons are not really that athletic and dont prefer to do much exercise even in the wild, they have a slower metabolic rate than other quicker, slender snakes such as colubrids and such.

I hope this helps.

Chris

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My Website
www.herpfanatic.com

WHile I agree with Rob that the quick growth and unintentional powerfeeding is in the end unhealthy, intentionally "stunting" an animal is unhealthy as well. This guy is feeding a little light for a young animal IMO but not to any extreme where I'd be super concerned. I have 2, two year old boas that are still small for a corn snake and are in perfect body condition; but like Rob's boa, will still reach their genetic potential (albiet not 11' as the mother is only 6-7)

Cheers, Ian

'agree and dissagree' makes very good points. I just wanted to add one other undesirable consequence of underfeeding (especially if the python is over 6 foot!) You may end up with a very hungry, cranky, irritated snake that will come exploding out the door when it thinks food may be coming...not the best thing if you are just going in for handling.
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Heather J. Martin
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1 Solomon island ground boa, female
1 Green iguana, male
1 Ball python, gender unknown
1 Green anaconda, juvenile, gender unknown
1 Burmese python, 9', female